Marine Conservation Zones in Wales

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Marine Conservation Zones

WILDLIFE TRUSTS in Wales WALES

Welsh Government’s recently launched consultation considers the location of Marine Conservation Zones in Welsh waters. Whilst the consultation considers 10 potential sites, it is intended that only 3 – 4 will be designated in 2014.

Lying where warm waters from the south meet cool nutrient rich waters from the north, the sea around Wales is home to a rich diversity of life, from gardens of soft corals and sponges, to the world’s second largest fish, the basking shark. The importance of Wales’ special seas has long been recognised and currently over 36% of our territorial Octopus and mussel bed © David Kipling, Seasearch waters have been designated as Marine Protected Areas. Whilst this is a commendable start by decision makers, Marine Protected Area (MPA) is an unfortunately these sites are failing to adequately protect the umbrella term used to define areas of wildlife found within their boundaries and better management the sea that have been designated to is needed to allow them to achieve their objectives. protect the features found within it. Under legislation introduced in 2009, the Welsh Government now has the powers to introduce a new type of protected Marine Conservation Zones (MCZs) area in our seas, known as a Marine Conservation Zone. are a new type of Marine Protected As set out in the consultation which will be open until 31st Area that will be introduced in 2014 to July 2012, these sites are intended to play an important role add further protection to Welsh seas. in helping Welsh seas cope with increasing pressures. In contrast to processes underway elsewhere in the UK, Welsh Government have decided that these sites will be highly protected, and despite consulting on 10 potential options, Location they will only designate 3-4 sites in 2014. Wildlife Trusts Wales welcomes the introduction of a greater Puffin Island level of protection for areas of Wales’ sea and recognises the North East Menai Strait value in creating highly protected areas situated in the right places for wildlife. However, we also work at a local level with a wide range of sea users and coastal communities North Llyn Peninsula Mouth of the Dwyfor around the Welsh coastline and support sustainable Bardsey Island marine activities. Therefore, rather than an exclusively St Tudwal’s Island highly protected approach, we would favour management East and Llanbedrog considered on a site by site basis, to determine whether certain activities could continue at appropriate levels within these sites. Introduction of further designations should also be accompanied by the improved management of our existing protected areas, which will play an important role in New Quay offshore our journey towards achieving Living Seas in Wales. South West of Strumble Head The following sheets provide information on the wildlife and habitats found within the 10 sites. Skomer

We need your help to show support for greater Dale protection for Welsh seas by responding to the consultation. For more information, please visit www.wildlifetrusts.org/XXXX www.wildlifetrusts.org/walesmczs Protecting Wildlife for the Future Puffin Island

WILDLIFE TRUSTS Potential Marine Conservation Zone 1 WALES

This is one of 10 sites considered in Welsh Government’s consultation on Marine Conservation Zones. Only 3 – 4 sites are expected to be designated in 2014. For information on the Wildlife Trusts views on the consultation, please visit www.wildlifetrusts.org/walesmczs

Site size: 2km2 Earning its name from the population of puffins that once made the island home, Puffin Island is located Plumose anemones and sponges © Rohan Holt, CCW off the south-east corner of Anglesey. Unfortunately, the local puffin population was destroyed when rats were introduced to the island in the 19th century; today however the population is slowly increasing. The island is now home to Wales’ largest cormorant and shag colonies, as well as breeding eider and black guillemot. This potential Marine Conservation Zone is within the Liverpool Bay Special Protection Area (SPA) and Menai Strait and Conwy Bay Special Basking Shark © Charles Hood Area of Conservation (SAC). Trwyn Du lighthouse © Natasha Lough, CCW This site supports a large number of different habitats both onshore and underwater. The rocky shore supports barnacles and mussels, and a variety of Location brown and red seaweeds provide shelter for smaller species. Grey seals can also be seen hauled out on the beach to rest and sunbathe.

The Menai Strait is renowned for its strong currents; Puffin Island those flowing between Puffin Island and the mainland carry abundant food for the sponges, Penmon soft corals and anemones that favour high energy Llangoed conditions. Beneath the water, sea squirts and small Anglesey porcelain crabs can be found on the rocky slopes, and stretches of gravel and sand provide homes for Beaumaris burrowing anemones. Dense patches of brittlestars Menai Strait can carpet the seafloor waving their slender stripy Llanfairfechan arms in the currents to catch small food particles. Menai Bangor Bridge

The consultation area includes the mainland shores Brittlestars © Rohan Holt around Trwyn Du. www.wildlifetrusts.org/walesmczs Protecting Wildlife for the Future North East Menai Strait

WILDLIFE TRUSTS Potential Marine Conservation Zone 2 WALES

Site size: 4.1km2 Lightbulb sea squirt © Rohan Holt At 15 miles long, the Menai Strait was carved out of an existing valley during a recent ice age. The habitats and species found here are strongly influenced by the fierce tidal currents that rush through the Strait at speeds of up to 15km an hour. Located at the north-east end of the Menai Strait, this proposed Marine Conservation Zone sits within the Menai Strait and Conwy Bay Special Area of Conservation (SAC). Shores along this site vary from boulders and cobbles in high energy areas to muddy gravel and Sponges and anemonesBasking on Shark a low © shore Charles boulder Hood sand in more sheltered parts. Submerged rocks © Jon Moore exposed to strong currents are ideal sites for species adapted to such turbulent conditions. Small bivalves Location called piddocks use “teeth” along their shell edge to grind away soft rock, creating burrows to keep from being swept away by the tides. Porcelain crabs specially adapted for living under boulders also survive here. Puffin Island In areas less affected by current, muddy gravel is colonised by seaweeds, barnacles and periwinkles, Penmon and burrowing worms and bivalves inhabit the Llangoed sediment. During the winter, wading birds, gulls and Anglesey wildfowl flock to the foreshore for an easy meal. Beaumaris In central parts of the channel, cobbles provide a Menai Strait solid foundation for a variety of species that flourish Llanfairfechan as each new tide brings an abundance of food. Here, Bangor sea squirts, sponges, soft corals and seafirs are Menai Bridge perfectly positioned to take advantage of the plentiful supply of food carried by the strong currents.

Mussels © Kent Wildlife Trust

Only the shores on the Anglesey side of the Strait and Mixed muddy sediment shore © Jon Moore channel are included, not the shores on the mainland. www.wildlifetrusts.org/walesmczs Protecting Wildlife for the Future North Llŷn Peninsula

WILDLIFE TRUSTS Potential Marine Conservation Zone 3 WALES

Site size: 26.8km2 The Llŷn Peninsula is a 24 mile long finger of land extending from north-west Wales into the Irish Sea. This potential Marine Conservation Zone is situated on the north of the Llŷn peninsula and is within the Pen Llŷn a’r Sarnau Special Area of Conservation (SAC). The site covers part of a large horse mussel bed – one of only a handful found in Welsh waters. Living attached to the seabed large populations of horse mussels can bind themselves together, creating diverse reefs. These reefs provide important food and shelter that attracts many other animals – 23,000 were recorded in a single square metre of horse mussel reef off the north Llŷn! Horse mussel reef © Bill Sanderson, CCW Nearby, rocky reefs are home to a wide variety of sea squirts, sponges, anemones and seamats, including Location the Ross “coral” which forms a hard orange flower- like structure. In soft sediment areas, a smaller species of mussel called the green crenella forms reefs where densities can exceed 60,000 mussels per square metre. There are also beds of brittlestars, forming writhing masses on the seafloor. With the exception of two small sandy beaches Nefyn around Porth Towyn and Porth Colmon, the shores are predominately rocky. Dense canopies of brown seaweeds sway in the shelter of gullies and rock pools, whilst caves and overhangs dotted along the shore provide additional refuge for a wealth Porth Colmon of animals such as anemones, sponges, small crustaceans, and sea squirts.

Abersoch Aberdaron

Snakelocks anemones © Dan Bayley, CCW www.wildlifetrusts.org/walesmczs Protecting Wildlife for the Future Bardsey Island

WILDLIFE TRUSTS Potential Marine Conservation Zone 4 WALES

Site size: 10.5km2

Known as the island of 20,000 saints and 20,000 Dabberlocks © Rohan Holt birds, Bardsey Island is internationally important for several species including the Manx shearwater. Bardsey is situated off the south-west tip of the Llŷn peninsula and is within the Pen Llŷn a’r Sarnau Special Area of Conservation (SAC). Bardsey’s Welsh name translates as “Island in the currents” and the influence of the strong tidal currents is reflected in the plant and animal species present. In the north-west, the lower shores of steep cliffs rising from the sea appear bright pink due Basking Shark © Charles Hood to encrusting seaweeds. Barnacles, limpets and Yellow staghorn sponge © Rohan Holt stumpy sprigs of bladderwrack seaweed cling to exposed rocks but lush kelps such as the ribbon- like dabberlocks flourish in the waters along the low Location tide mark. Below the waves, animals that thrive in tideswept conditions such as seamats and seafirs form luxuriant carpets over the rocks, together with yellow staghorn sponges and anemones. Over 70 species of red seaweed have been recorded around the island and in less exposed areas Irish Aberdaron moss and pepper dulse form a thick turf. In late summer, grey seals haul out and raise their young on the island’s gently sloping shores. Numerous species of fish, small crustaceans, anemones, Bardsey Island starfish, brittlestars and seaweeds are able to find refuge in the rock pools and sandy bottomed pools dotted around the island and in the bays.

The consultation area includes the shores around the Yellow cluster anemone © Chris Wood Seasearch island. www.wildlifetrusts.org/walesmczs Protecting Wildlife for the Future St Tudwal’s Island East and Llanbedrog

Potential Marine Conservation Zone 5 WILDLIFE TRUSTS WALES

Site size: 28.2 km2 Mantis shrimp in hand © Rohan Holt This potential Marine Conservation Zone is situated on the south of the Llŷn peninsula in Tremadog Bay and sits within the Pen Llŷn a’r Sarnau Special Area of Conservation (SAC). Atlantic grey seals are common in this area, using rocky shores for hauling out and pupping. There are a number of rare and uncommon species found in this site. Usually found on the south coast of England, mantis shrimps – predators with the most Basking Shark © Charles Hood complex vision in the animal kingdom – have been Gooseberry sea squirts and white lace sponge recorded and the rare shrimp Pectenogammarus © Rohan Holt planicrurus is found in shingle areas near Pwllheli. Rare communities of white piddock (a small bivalve that burrows into rock) colonises areas of red clay Location exposed through the sand. Due to the mixed nature of the seabed, an abundant and diverse array of species occurs here. Seaweeds, sponges, seafirs and seamats grow attached to Pwllheli cobbles and pebbles and over 500 animals from 85 different species have been recorded in a single grab of sediment, including small worms, shrimp-like Llanbedrog amphipods and bivalves. Gently sloping rock slabs around the island support patches of seaweeds, mussels and barnacles. In tideswept areas and in Abersoch small caves and gullies, species tolerant of strong wave surges become increasingly common such as seamats, seasquirts and sponges.

The consultation area includes the shores and waters surrounding St Tudwal’s Island East Lower shore © Francis Bunker northwards to Llanbedrog and Traeth Crugan. www.wildlifetrusts.org/walesmczs Protecting Wildlife for the Future Mouth of the Dwyfor

WILDLIFE TRUSTS Potential Marine Conservation Zone 6 WALES

Site size: 6.0 km2 This potential Marine Conservation Zone is in Tremadog Bay, on the south of the Llŷn Peninsula and reaches across both sides of the mouth of the Afon Dwyfor. It is in the Pen Llŷn a’r Sarnau Special Area of Conservation (SAC). Honeycomb worm reefs are found along much of the shore. These living reefs are created by worms that cement sand and shell fragments together to make tubes. When dense aggregations of these worms occur, their tubes form a distinctive honeycomb-like reef, which in turn provides a habitat for other shore- dwelling animals and seaweeds and so are of great importance. Honeycomb worm © Dan Bayley, CCW The seabed is a mixture of different sediments of which patches of muddy gravelly sand have been found to have the highest species diversity – a single Location grab of sediment can contain around 60 different species. Some species occur in particularly high numbers – over 500 in a single grab – such as the small bivalve Mysella bidentata. Small boulder reefs in the centre of the site are dominated by numerous species of seaweed such as the descriptively named bootlace weed, and are joined by occasional Llanystumdwy Portmadog sponges, seafirs, anemones and seamats. Criccieth To the west of the site, mussel beds can be found on shore but other rocky areas are dominated by brown seaweeds. Investigating under the boulders will reveal a rich diversity of animal species, such as sea squirts, beadlet anemones and porcelain crabs.

Harlech

Periwinkles © Dan Bayley, CCW www.wildlifetrusts.org/walesmczs Protecting Wildlife for the Future New Quay offshore

WILDLIFE TRUSTS Potential Marine Conservation Zone 7 WALES

Site size: 5.3 km2 This proposed Marine Conservation Zone is the only site that is entirely sub-tidal. It is located in the Cardigan Bay Special Area of Conservation (SAC) Hermit crab © Rohan Holt approximately 7km west of the popular seaside town of New Quay and 3km north of Ynys Lochtyn on Ceredigion’s Heritage Coast. The site was selected because it has a range of different sediment habitats, some of which support the long lived Icelandic cyprine (Artica islandica), also called the ocean quahog. These molluscs are thought to be the oldest animals on earth, living up to 400 years. Sharing these sediments are other smaller bivalves, small shrimp-like amphipods and a wide range of worms. Goosebump sponge © Rohan Holt To the north of the site, the boulders and cobbles support a range of species including goosebump Location sponge, feathery seafirs, soft corals, ross worms, hermit crabs, squat lobsters and porcelain crabs. These mixed sediments support more species than other areas of the site, including over 80 different species of worms. To the east, the sandy sediments appear more stable. Divers have recorded sediment dwelling seafirs, sandstars and burrowing sea cucumbers. Tower shells – small to medium sized sea snails with elegant, long pointed shells – have been recorded on New Quay the surface of the muddy sediments in the south of the site.

Ynys Lochtyn

Aberporth

Sand star half buried in sand © Rohan Holt www.wildlifetrusts.org/walesmczs Protecting Wildlife for the Future South West of Strumble Head

WILDLIFE TRUSTS Potential Marine Conservation Zone 8 WALES

Site size: 4.1 km2 Apart from the beach at Aber Mawr and sandy patches at Abercastle and Pwllstrodur, the shore Mixed sponge community © Chris Wood, Seasearch within this site is predominantly rocky. Much of the rocky shore is exposed to strong wave action, and whilst rocks are encrusted with barnacles and limpets, seaweed growth is stunted. Some of the rocky shores are used by Atlantic grey seals for hauling out and pupping. In more sheltered areas, spaghetti-like thongweed grows in amongst a thick turf of red seaweeds. Sheltered sandy shores offer sanctuary to burrowing animals such as small shrimp-like amphipods, lugworms and sand mason worms Pink sea fan © Chris Wood, Seasearch The rocky reefs support a high diversity of animals, many of which are only found in a few places in Welsh waters. Over 100 species of sponge have Location been recorded between Strumble Head and Porthgain, and a profusion of species can be found carpeting the rocks. These include the descriptively named Indian feather’s seafirs, crispy thread seamats, yellow staghorn sponges, pink sea fans, yellow cluster anemones, and Ross “coral”– which is actually a seamat that forms a hard orange flower- like structure. Rock pools dotted along the shore provide shelter for a multitude of species to flourish including daisy and Strumble Head snakelocks anemones, top shells, prawns, crabs, Goodwick coralline seaweed and a variety of brown and red Fishguard seaweeds. There are also numerous caves, gullies, cliffs and blowholes where coralline algae, elephant’s ear and breadcrumb sponges have been found. Abercastle

WILDLIFE TRUSTS Potential Marine Conservation Zone 9 WALES

Site size: 10.5 km2 Considered one of the most important wildlife sites in Europe, Skomer Island lies within the Pembrokeshire Sea grass © John Archer Thompson Marine Special Area of Conservation (SAC) and is currently designated as Wales’ only Marine Nature Reserve. The island is internationally important for a number of bird species including Manx shearwaters which migrate each year from South America to breed, and the iconic puffin. Surrounding the island, the rocky seabed is a perfect habitat for a rich variety of seaweeds and animals to attach to. Over 100 species of sponge, 240 seaweeds and 72 types of sea slugs have been recorded. Around the northern side of Skomer, the Ross coral © Skomer MNR staff, CCW rocks are covered by a colourful array of species, including numerous anemones, Devonshire cup corals, pink sea fans, and soft corals. Unusual Location species like pink sea fingers and scarlet and gold cup corals can also be found under areas of overhanging rock. In higher energy tideswept areas, thriving communities of animals that are more adapted to surviving such conditions can be found, such as oaten pipes seafirs and sea squirts. The areas of sediment are just as diverse – over 200 different species including burrowing worms, bivalves Skomer and shrimp-like amphipods have been recorded in St Brides a single grab sample of sediment. Furthermore, a small seagrass bed at North Haven is one of only Marloes four known in Welsh waters. Seagrass beds play an important role in stabilising mobile seabeds and are a key food source for many species of marine animals Dale Skokholm and birds.

WILDLIFE TRUSTS Potential Marine Conservation Zone 10 WALES

Site size: 2.9 km2 This potential Marine Conservation Zone is situated in south Pembrokeshire, on the north Dunlin © Lyndon Lomax side of the Milford Haven waterway. It is within the Pembrokeshire Marine Special Area of Conservation (SAC). The shore beyond Dale, known as Gann Flats is the most biologically diverse intertidal sediment site within the Pembrokeshire Marine SAC. It acts as an important feeding ground for wildfowl and waders such as wintering teal, wigeon, curlew, shelduck, little grebe and dunlin, that are attracted to the area by the View of the site from the cliffs near ample supply of food found buried in the mud. Worm Monkhaven looking towards Dale Roads © CCW casts and holes on the sediment surface give clues to the presence of invertebrates like sand mason and peacock worms, ragworms, cockles, razor shells, sea Location potatoes and daisy anemones. Sheltered rocky shores to the south of the site allow large brown seaweeds to flourish. In contrast, shores to the north are more exposed to wave action; black lichens dot the upper shore while barnacles and limpets are found lower down amongst a turf St Brides of red seaweed. Filter feeders such as velvety sea mats, star sea squirts, and gooseberry sea squirts Marloes thrive in the strong currents and form lush growths. The undersides of boulders are a mosaic of saddle oysters, breadcrumb sponge, scaleworms and Dale Milford Haven porcelain crabs The seabed is generally muddy but gravel, pebbles and cobbles are present. Sugar kelp and red seaweeds colonise loose rocks in shallow water and moving deeper, sponges and sea squirts dominate.

The site includes Dale Roads and the shore beyond Orange sea squirts © Chris Wood, Seasearch Dale, known as Gann Flats. www.wildlifetrusts.org/walesmczs Protecting Wildlife for the Future