Marine Protected Sites

Our demand for resources from the sea, be they food, energy or materials, have affected the quality of the marine environment in parts of the UK's seas. There is a clear need to keep our demands for these resources within the capacity of the marine environment to continue to deliver our needs. All human activities require careful and sympathetic management to maintain and where appropriate, restore the marine environment's capacity to meet our needs.

Bedrock Reef within Solan Bank Area of Search © JNCC

Bedrock Reef at Wight-Barfleur Area of Search © BGS, Cefas, MES, JNCC

Iceberg Ploughmark Stony Reef at Wyville Thomson Ridge © Crown Copyright

Common Starfish <i>Asterias rubens</i> with Crab <i>Liocarnus</i> spp at Dogger Bank © JNCC

Cold Water Coral <i>Lophelia pertusa</i> at Hatton Bank Draft SAC, as found at Darwin Mounds © DTI, Defra

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A component of delivering this aim is the UK Government and Devolved Administration's commitment to establish an ecologically coherent and well-managed network of marine protected areas (MPAs) by 2012. This means the MPA network will be a collection of areas that work together to provide more benefits than an individual area could on its own. Such a network will enable the UK to meet commitments under international conventions and contribute to measures aimed at achieving good environmental status in the EC Marine Strategy Framework Directive.

The UK MPA network will comprise Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) and Special Protection Areas (SPAs) designated under the EC Habitats and Birds Directives, and new national MPAs, which the UK Government and Devolved Administrations propose to introduce through the forthcoming Marine Acts¹. To provide further information on all of the different types of MPA in the UK, JNCC have produced a document called "Different Types of Marine Protected Area". This document will be regularly updated as the situation progresses.

Further information on terrestrial and freshwater Protected Sites is available.

Latest Marine Protected Sites News

Four members of the Marine Protected Sites team are currently at sea surveying the seabed off the north-west of Scotland, around Anton Dohrn Seamount (an undersea volcano) and East Rockall Bank. Neil Golding, our Offshore Survey Manager, will be sending back a diary to keep us up-to-date with the new discoveries as they happen.

Sophie Elliott, our Stakeholder Engagement Officer, recently gave a presentation on the Marine Conservation Zone Project at a conference held in Spain on "Participatory Conservation - A Stakeholder Approach". A copy of the presentation that she gave and further details of the conference are available from their website.

JNCC have just published two new information documents - one on "Different Types of Marine Protected Area" and one on "The Marine Conservation Zone Project". These documents will be periodically reviewed and updated as the MPA projects move forwards.

JNCC have produced two new leaflets on offshore surveys to the mid-Irish Sea and to Stanton Banks. To find out more about the offshore survey that JNCC undertakes please visit our offshore survey pages.

On 29^th April 2009 the Scottish Marine Bill was introduced to Scottish Parliament. JNCC will be working with Scottish Government and Scottish Natural Heritage to develop Marine Protected Area criteria for all waters adjacent to Scotland. It is anticipated that further information on how a Scottish system of MPAs will be developed will be available shortly.

On 20^th April 2009 Defra launched a consultation on a "Strategy for Marine Protected Areas, Delivering Marine Conservation Zones and European Marine Sites". JNCC broadly support the strategy being consulted and encourage sea users or those with an interest in the sea to read and respond to the consultation material. JNCC will be making a formal consultation response to Defra in due course.

¹ The Marine and Coastal Access Bill is expected to pass into law in 2009; the Scottish Marine Bill was introduced to the Scottish Parliament in April 2009; and the Northern Ireland Assembly will introduce a bill in 2011.