The Marine Protected Areas (Prohibited Methods of Fishing) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2022 came into operation from 1 January 2023, prohibiting demersal mobile gear (bottom-towed) in nine inshore MPAs, alongside management of pot fishing activity. A collection of Northern Ireland organisations including DAERA, AFBI, environmental NGOs and the fishing industry have come together to discuss fishery […]
Protected marine areas are one of the essential tools for the conservation of natural resources affected by human impact —mainly fishing—, but, are they enough to recover the functioning of these systems? A paper published in the ICES Journal of Marine Science highlights the limitations of marine reserves in restoring food webs to their pristine state […]
Last week we covered the story of the Marine Management Organisation (MMO) launching a consultation on a proposed byelaw to ban bottom-towed gear in 13 MPAs to protect marine ecosystems in England. The area covered is over 4,000 km2 and combined with existing MMO byelaws, this will bring the total area protected from bottom-towed gear by MMO […]
The latest stage of proposed measures to protect further valuable marine habitats and manage harmful fishing activity in England’s Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are unveiled today (17 January 2023) by Defra and the MMO. The news follows the announcement from the UK Government on 13 April 2022 regarding a ban on bottom trawling from four […]
The Irish Government has announced newly protected marine sites and government approval of the General Scheme of the Marine Protected Areas Bill. Minister of State for Heritage and Electoral Reform, Malcolm Noonan, said: “We started from a low base of 2.3% marine protection in 2020, but since I became Minister we have more than tripled […]
The Scottish Government has released plans to offer added protection to Scotland’s marine biodiversity. Proposals to develop Highly Protected Marine Areas (HPMAs) have been launched. Views are being sought on proposals that would make Scotland the first country in the world to designate at least 10% of its seas as Highly Protected Marine Areas. […]
OSPAR is considering extending a Marine Protected Area the size of France to cover the seabed and other species and habitats. The OSPAR Commission for the protection of the marine environment of the North-East Atlantic (OSPAR) is seeking stakeholder views on proposed expansion to the North Atlantic Current and Evlanov Sea basin Marine Protected Area […]
The Minister for Climate Change, Julie James, has announced the commencement of the Welsh Marine Conservation Zone (MCZ) designation pre-consultation engagement process. Following the publication of the expert led ‘Biodiversity Deep Dive’ – commissioned by Welsh Government to assess how nature recovery across land and sea can best be accelerated – the Minister has said […]