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Presentations 03.03.16 New Marine Designations Richard Macdonald Lead Adviser Marine • Introduction • New Marine Designations • Coquet to St Mary’s MCZ • Northumberland Marine pSPA • Additional features added to Coquet Island, Farne Island and Northumbria Coast SPA • MPA – Conservation Advice • Teesmouth and Cleveland Coast pSPA • Holderness Inshore MCZ • Flamborough and Filey Coast pSPA • Possible Greater Wash SPA • pSPA Creating a network of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) • UK government has signed up to international agreements (e.g. OSPAR convention) committing to creating an ecologically coherent network of MPAs • ‘Ecologically coherent’ means that the network will function as more than the sum of its parts • Marine Strategy Framework Directive - ecologically coherent and well-managed UK MPA network contributing to Good Environmental Status by 2020. • The government is committed to delivering a Blue Belt of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) around our coasts. These will protect precious species and habitats in our seas. Components of a UK MPA network England’s contribution: SACs – Habitats Directive SPAs – Birds Directive Ramsar sites – Wetlands Convention SSSIs – Wildlife & Countryside Act 1981 MCZs – Marine & Coastal Access Act 2010 Marine Conservation Zones (MCZs) • MCZs set up to conserve – Representative marine habitats – Nationally rare or threatened species and habitats (‘FOCI’) – Overall marine diversity – Not designed to directly protect mobile species such as fish (with a few exceptions), cetaceans or birds • A different approach to MPA planning...placed stakeholders central to the decision making process • Contrasts with approach to other designations, where only scientific evidence can influence site boundaries Marine Conservation Zone: Aln Estuary Features Coastal saltmarshes and saline reedbeds Intertidal mud Estuarine rocky habitat Sheltered muddy gravels New Marine Designations • 23 New areas along the UK Coast as the latest Marine Conservation Zones Extending Country’s Blue Belt to cover 20% of English Waters • Coquet to St Mary’s MCZ • (Designated January 2016) • specific features are protected • and where necessary marine activities managed Marine Conservation Zone: Coquet to St. Mary’s NG13 Features Moderate energy intertidal rock Low energy intertidal rock Intertidal coarse sediment Intertidal sand and muddy sand Intertidal mud Intertidal mixed sediments High energy infralittoral rock Moderate energy infralittoral rock Moderate energy circalittoral rock Subtidal coarse sediment Subtidal sand Subtidal mud Subtidal mixed sediments Intertidal under boulder communities Coquet to St Mary’s • Site protects several different types of rock and sediment on the shoreline and on the seabed. • The range of habitats provides a home for a large variety of life. Coarse Sediment worms, shrimp burrowing anemones. • Rocks in shallow water (infralittoral rocks) - a habitat for kelp and red seaweed, The deep water (circalittoral) rock is a habitat for cup coral, sea- fans, and anemones, and sponges, these animals thrive in deeper water where there is not enough sunlight for algal growth. These complex habitats and communities support mobile species. starfish, sea urchins, crabs, and lobsters. Coquet to St Mary’s • The site also supports a range of intertidal habitats, which are above water at low tide and underwater at high tide. • One of these habitats is intertidal underboulder communities. Boulders create shaded areas that provide a refuge for animals to seek food and shelter sea squirts, sea mats, and sponges . • The undersides of the boulder provide a habitat for animals like sea slugs, long-clawed porcelain crabs and brittlestars, • Crabs, fish and young lobsters also seek food and shelter amongst the boulders. Agreements • Example Dredge Disposal – monitoring, modelling and evidence New pSPA’s • Northumberland Marine SPA - Ministerial approval to go to formal consultation so has legal protection and requires Habitat Regulation Assessments • Changes to Existing Terrestrial SPA’s Coquet Island, Farne Island, Northumberland Coast • Teesmouth and Cleveland Coast pSPA – Informal Dialogue working with stakeholders Northumberland Marine pSPA • Create a new marine SPA to include: – little tern – Arctic tern – Sandwich tern – roseate tern – common tern – Atlantic puffin – common guillemot – Seabird Assemblage Northumberland Marine pSPA • Protect important areas for breeding seabirds and auk species when foraging or performing maintenance activities (such as preening and sleeping) • Protect foraging waters used by breeding Birds from the already classified SPA’s Amend Existing SPA to include existing SPA’s • SPA Boundaries remain the same, features added • Coquet Island SPA Internationally important Seabird Assemblage of over 20,00 • Farne Island SPA Common Guillemot and Internationally important seabird assemblage of over 20,000 • Northumbria Coast SPA – Artic Tern Marine Protected Area Conservation Advice • 1. Site Overview – feature description sub feature and supporting habitat • 2. Condition Information – advice on current condition of features • 3.Conservation Objective- setting targets against identified ecological attributes • 4. Advice on operations- sensitivity of feature to identifiable pressures • 5.Site maps - Boundary, features, and supporting habitat Advice on Operations Advice on Operations Management of Operations • Fisheries, By Catch of Seabirds in Net • Linked to type of netting location seasonality • Tourism Bird disturbance Type and frequency of activity • Monitoring programme will be set up by authorities to look at impacts of fishing and recreational activities Teesmouth and Cleveland Coast pSPA Teesmouth and Cleveland Coast pSPA • Informal Dialogue • Working Closely with Stakeholders • Extension foraging areas for SPA birds little Tern and Common Tern • Add features • Common Tern, Eurasian Spoonbill and Pied Advocet • Extension brings in Little Tern colony at Crimdon Dene and the river Tees Holderness Inshore MCZ • Designated in January 2016 • Runs from Skipsea in the north to Spurn Point in the south • Extends out to 3 nautical miles – 309km2 in total • Area already prohibited for trawling • Designated features: - Intertidal sand and muddy sand - Subtidal habitats - circalittoral rock, coarse sediment, mixed sediments, sand and mud - Spurn Head geological feature (subtidal) Runswick Bay MCZ • Also designated in January 2016 • Runs from just east of Staithes Harbour to Sandsend Point • Extends out to 3 nautical miles, also a prohibited area for trawling • 68km2 in size. • Designated features are: - Intertidal rock - Intertidal sand and muddy sand - Subtidal habitats: rock, coarse sediment, mixed sediments, sand and mud - Ocean quahog – a long-lived bivalve (see photo) Flamborough & Filey Coast SPA • Updating the existing Flamborough Head & Bempton Cliffs SPA • Adding gannet (photo), razorbill and guillemot and the seabird assemblage as features. • Protecting the cliffs at Filey to include 20,000 breeding seabirds. • Marine extensions out to 2km to protect important resting areas around colony. • Revised landward boundary to accommodate predicted coastal change over a 50-year period. A possible Greater Wash SPA… • Large area of interest between Great Yarmouth and Bridlington Bay • Aerial surveys carried out between 2002/3 and 2007/8 • Potentially being brought forward for wintering red- throated diver, common scoter and little gull • Would encompass important foraging areas for breeding terns, including the colony of little tern (see photo) at Easington - protected by Humber Estuary SPA. • Informal discussions with stakeholders in 2015. • Formal consultation anticipated later this year. Greater Wash draft SPA • Draft boundary only – subject to change. .
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