Berwickshire and Northumberland Marine Nature Partnership c/o Conservation County Hall Morpeth Northumberland NE61 2EF Tel. 01670 622 651 Email [email protected]

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New Marine Nature Partnership for Berwickshire and Northumberland

The Berwickshire and Northumberland Marine Nature Partnership is a collaboration of more than 20 Scottish and English organisations responsible for managing our local inshore waters. The original partnership was established 16 years ago to proactively manage the Berwickshire and North Northumberland Coast Special Area of Conservation (SAC) and the Lindisfarne Special Protection Area (SPA). The new partnership will coordinate management for the entire network of inshore marine nature conservation designations between Fast Castle Head in Scotland, and the River Tyne in England.

Partnership members include statutory regulators such as Natural England, Scottish Natural Heritage, the Environment Agency and Marine Scotland, together with ports and harbours, local authorities, Northumberland Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority, and conservation charities. Working together, the partnership will develop a toolkit to help them manage this suite of important marine areas.

The toolkit will provide management organisations with the resources they need to effectively manage these sites, such as accurate mapping, up to date condition assessments and an inventory of local monitoring activity. It is hoped that the toolkit will eventually sit on a publicly available web-hub, so anyone interested in the management of the local marine environment can learn more.

The partnership project officer, Claire Hedley, said: “Management of the marine environment can be really complex, especially in the intertidal zone where land and marine legislation, policies and organisations overlap. It’s even more complicated when we have sites that cross the Scottish-English border. Working in partnership is really important and we’re excited to be developing a coordinated approach for the area.”

The iconic coastline of Northumberland is famous for its large sandy bays like those at Bamburgh, Beadnell and Druridge. The bays are punctuated by rocky headlands that tumble into the sea to form offshore reefs that support large kelp forests. Extensive sand and mud flats between Holy Island and the mainland support large seagrass meadows and dense mussel beds, providing a rich food source for over-wintering seabirds. The high coastal cliffs of Berwickshire and the rugged offshore Farne Islands and Coquet Island support thousands of breeding seabirds in the summer months. Sea caves created by the pounding waves can plunge for hundreds of meters into the depths. One of Europe’s most important breeding colonies of grey seal resides on the Farne Islands and at St Abbs, regularly hauling out on Fenham Flats, while the Tweed and Aln estuaries are important havens for fish.

The Partnership chairman, Tom Cadwallender, said: “the shallow sea, shores and estuaries of Berwickshire and Northumberland are home to some of the most spectacular marine life in world. With so many people involved in management, the partnership really helps us to work together to protect these special areas.”

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Notes to the editor:-

The Management Group for the Berwickshire and North Northumberland Coast European Marine Site formed in 2000 to collaboratively and proactively manage the Berwickshire and North Northumberland Coast Special Area of Conservation (SAC) and the Lindisfarne Special Protection Area (SPA). The group was made up by statutory regulating authorities responsible for managing coastal and marine activities in Berwickshire and Northumberland. A cohesive approach to management was achieved through the development of a single management plan for the two sites. The work of the group is led and supported through the employment of a dedicated project officer.

The group recently evolved into the Berwickshire and Northumberland Marine Nature Partnership after agreeing at the annual meeting in November 2015 to apply a partnership management approach to additional marine protected areas. The group will now work together to apply a single management framework for the following marine conservation designations:

 St Abbs to Fast Castle Head Special Protection Area (SPA)  Berwickshire and North Northumberland Coast Special Area of Conservation (SAC)  Tweed Estuary SAC  Northumbria Coast SPA (down to the River Tyne)  Lindisfarne SPA  Farne Islands SPA  Coquet Island SPA  Aln Estuary Marine Conservation Zone (MCZ)  Coquet to St Mary’s MCZ

The Partnership is made up by the following organisations:

 Natural England  Northumberland County Council  Environment Agency  Warkworth Harbour Commission  Marine Management Organisation  St Abbs Harbour Trust  Scottish Natural Heritage  Eyemouth Harbour Trust  Scottish Environment Protection Agency  Berwick Harbour Commission  Northumbrian Water  Port of Blyth  River Tweed Commission  North Sunderland Harbour Commission  Marine Scotland  Maritime and Coastguard Agency  National Trust  Northern Lighthouse Board  National Trust for Scotland  Trinity House  Historic England  Ministry of Defence  Scottish Borders Council  RSPB  Northumberland Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority

The management framework will eventually be made available as an online toolkit.

Image: Common brittlestar (Ophiothrix fragilis)

Media Contact: Claire Hedley, Project Officer. Tel: 01670 622 651 Email: [email protected]