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A new byelaw prohibiting anchoring across the entire Allonby Bay Highly Protected Marine Area (HPMA) will come into force on 30 July, the Marine Management Organisation has confirmed. The measure covers all 28 square kilometres of the site, which sits off the north-west coast of Cumbria in the Irish Sea, and follows a formal consultation held in the spring of 2025.
What makes Allonby Bay significant
Unlike marine protected areas, which permit certain activities within their boundaries, HPMAs are intended to allow the full recovery of every species and habitat in the site, from the shoreline through the water column to the seabed, by removing damaging activities such as fishing, dredging and construction. Allonby Bay was selected in part for its blue carbon habitats: honeycomb worm reefs and blue mussel beds that store carbon, help purify water and provide protection against coastal erosion, alongside nursery and spawning grounds for commercial species including cod, plaice, sole and herring. The MMO’s assessment concluded that, for this site, anchoring was incompatible with the conservation objective, on the grounds that even modest activity risked damaging seabed habitats without any cost being borne by the vessels causing that damage.
How England’s HPMAs came about
Allonby Bay’s designation was not a one-off decision but the result of a longer policy process. The concept has its roots in the 2020 Benyon Review, an independent panel that concluded HPMAs were an essential component of England’s marine protected area network and recommended a small number of pilot sites, describing five as “the bare minimum required” to test the approach. Defra consulted on five candidate sites in July 2022 and received more than 900 responses. Two were subsequently dropped: a proposal around Lindisfarne in Northumberland, which drew strong local opposition from fishermen and councillors, and Inner Silver Pit South off Lincolnshire, both set aside after further consideration of socio-economic impacts. That left Allonby Bay, Dolphin Head in the eastern Channel and North East of Farnes Deep in the northern North Sea, which were designated in 2023 under the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009 as England’s first three HPMAs.
Where the byelaw fits
The prohibition is the first formal management measure to apply to Allonby Bay since that 2023 designation. Marine Minister Emma Hardy signed the byelaw on 16 July, describing it as “a proud milestone in our mission to protect one of England’s most important marine environments”. Nick Greenwood, MMO Head of Marine Protection and Operations Services, said the measure represented a step towards the “full recovery” of the ecosystem. The byelaw itself requires that anchors are stowed when vessels are in the specified area, and applies across the whole site rather than being zoned. Management measures at the other two English HPMAs, Dolphin Head and North East of Farnes Deep, are also under development.
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