Amendments to the Habitats Regulations for England and Wales
and the new Offshore Marine Regulations came into force on 21
August 2007. Both Regulations revised the definition of disturbance
of European Protected Species (EPS). These are species listed on
the Annex IV to the Habitats Directive and include all species of
cetaceans and turtles occurring in European waters and the Altantic
sturgeon.
It is now an offence to deliberately disturb
wild animals of EPS in such a way as to be likely
significantly to affect:
a) the ability of any significant
group of animals of that species to survive, breed, or rear or
nurture their young; or
b) the local distribution or
abundance of that species.
The JNCC (with input from Natural England and
Countryside Council for Wales) is required to provide advice on
interpreting regulation 39(1)(b) from the point of view of nature
conservation, by drafting guidance for those carrying out
activities in the marine environment, to help determine when an
offence might be committed, how it can be avoided and, if
appropriate, when a wildlife licence might be required.
The public consultation on the marine species
disturbance guidance will begin on 12 of March 2008 and will run
for a 12 week period. The deadline for JNCC to receive feedback
from consultees is 4 June 2008. Please see below
the public consultation invitation and the feedback form.
The Guidance is divided into sections. The
first few sections introduce the offence; provide some of the
background to JNCC’s advice on the interpretation of the law and
present guidance on how to assess the likelihood of disturbing
marine EPS. The next sections focus on species- and activity-
specific guidance. Guidance is provided per species on what would
constitute a “significant group” and what species would be most
sensitive to the effects of disturbance on their local distribution
and abundance, in UK waters. The activities section provides
information on known impacts, highlights active areas of research
and makes links to existing good practice guidelines currently in
practice (or under development) in UK waters. Good practice
guidelines on seismic surveys, pile driving and explosive
use are included as annexes.
Please contact us at
if you
require any more information, or alternatively contact Sonia Mendes
or Saville Gunn on 01224 655704.