Lyme Bay marine protected area: a governance analysis Abstract The Marine Protected Area Governance (MPAG) framework can be used to analyse MPA governance by moving away from conceptual discussions to focus on particular governance approaches leading to effectiveness. The framework was applied to the Lyme Bay MPA, southwest England, the site of a controversial fisheries closure, which has subsequently been proposed as a Special Area of Conservation (SAC), as well the location for an NGO-led project focusing on stakeholder engagement. This paper examines a broad range of perspectives on the governance of this MPA, via semi-structured interviews with representatives of different interest groups and document analyses. The MPAG framework found a governance structure with a diversity of incentives, providing for bottom-up stakeholder engagement and awareness-raising coupled with strong top-down legislative structures. Although the fisheries closure and subsequent SAC restrictions have provided the main mechanisms for protecting biodiversity, an NGO-led project has provided a complement to the legislative framework and helped to facilitate a mechanism for adaptive co-management. However, the site is predicted to be subject to external pressures from changes in legislation, state resource restrictions and reduced NGO involvement, which will test the resilience of the structure and whether such a diversity of incentives provides sufficient resilience to maintain MPA effectiveness in the face of these pressures. Rebecca Singer* and Peter JS Jones [email protected] [email protected] Department of Geography, University College London, Pearson Building, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK *Corresponding author Highlights: Strong legislation to ban bottom-towed gear is supporting observed reef recovery An NGO-led working group has facilitated compliance with the legislation Effectiveness may be impacted by legislative change or NGO exit Keywords: Lyme Bay Marine protected areas Governance This is the authors’ version of the final accepted Marine Policy manuscript. Elsevier© 2018. This manuscript version is made available under the CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 license. DOI:10.1016/j.marpol.2018.07.004 Singer R & Jones PJS (in press) Lyme Bay Marine Protected Area: a governance analysis. Marine Policy, in press https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2018.07.004. This manuscript version is made available under the CC-BY-NC- ND 4.0 license 1. Introduction Lyme Bay is situated in the English Channel in South West England, and has been identified as a “marine biodiversity hotspot”, possessing particularly high species richness, making it one of England's top five most important areas for marine biodiversity [1], [2]. The area possesses reefs which support species such as the pink sea fan (Eunicella verrucosa) and ross coral (Pentapora fascialis), and are therefore of national and international conservation importance. Lyme Bay is also an important area for the provision of social and economic benefits; fishing is an important employer in SW England, contributing 12% of GVA [3]. Sea angling and dive charters also contribute significantly to the local economy [2]. However, concerns were raised for many years over the effects of mobile demersal fishing, such as scallop dredging, which was damaging the fragile reef habitat. Lyme Bay was the subject of controversy in 2008 when it was subject to a Statutory Instrument (SI) banning bottom-towed fishing gear from a 206 km2 area, creating a de facto Marine Protected Area (MPA), the largest UK MPA at the time of its designation [2], [4]. Since 2001, there had been voluntary closures protecting two areas of reef habitat from demersal trawling, but concerns around infringements of these agreements eventually led to a public consultation process by the Department for Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) for England, seeking opinions on the implementation of various sizes of closure [2], [5]. The subsequent closure led to widespread academic interest, due to the conflicting interests of stakeholder groups and the significant flaws identified in the stakeholder consultation process [2], [5]. The process led to an erosion of social capital, with a breakdown in trust between some members of the fishing community, Natural England and NGOs involved in the campaign (such as the Devon Wildlife Trust) [2]. Since the closure, a larger area of the Lyme Bay site subsequently came under European Commission (EC) designation though the Habitats Directive in 2010 as part of the Lyme Bay and Torbay candidate Special Area of Conservation (cSAC, also known as a Site of Community Importance (SCI)). Lyme Bay has therefore attracted considerable attention, both as a case study of the conflicting interests of stakeholders, and as a test site for UK and European marine conservation policy [2], [6], [7]. Against this backdrop of strong legislative control and stakeholder conflict, the site has received further attention due to the work of an NGO-led stakeholder group, the Lyme Bay Fisheries and Conservation Reserve (LBFCR) Working Group. This group, created and chaired by the Blue Marine Foundation (BMF), consists of a broad range of stakeholders, and has been publicised as achieving the first example of self-regulation of the fishing community in the UK, through a voluntary agreement [8]. Lyme Bay is therefore an important case study for exploring the relatively understudied roles of both NGOs and voluntary agreements in MPA governance, especially in the current climate of deregulation, uncertainties concerning the role of European legislation after the UK's proposed exit from the European Union (Brexit) and emphasis in governance on stakeholder engagement. This paper is based on the author's M.Sc. thesis, undertaken as a case study using the Marine Protected Area Governance framework [9], [10]. For methods and comparisons to other case studies, please see the accompanying discussion paper [11]. 2. Context Lyme Bay is situated in the English Channel in South West England, sharing its coast between Devon and Dorset. The MPA consists of two overlapping conservation designations; 206 km2 was designated under the 2008 SI banning bottom-towed gear, and an overlapping area of 275 km2 was proposed as part of the Lyme Bay and Torbay cSAC in 2010 [12]. The area analysed by this report will be the combination of the SI closure and the Lyme Bay portion of the Lyme Bay and Torbay SCI, along with the LBFCR, collectively referred to here as the Lyme Bay Marine Protected Area (MPA) (Fig. 1). There are a number of adjacent designations to the east of the MPA, including the Chesil and the Fleet SAC, proposed in 1996, and Chesil Beach and Stennis Ledges MCZ, designated in 2013 [13]. Singer R & Jones PJS (in press) Lyme Bay Marine Protected Area: a governance analysis. Marine Policy, in press https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2018.07.004. This manuscript version is made available under the CC-BY-NC- ND 4.0 license Fig. 1. Designations at Lyme Bay comprising the Lyme Bay MPA discussed in this research [16]. The Jurassic Coast is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Britain. It forms part of the East Devon and Dorset Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and is designated as a World Heritage Site due to its geological and geomorphological features. The tourist economy is an important income generator in SW England, and contributes to the region's low unemployment rate of 4% (lower than the national average of 4.9%) (Table 1) [3]. There are a number of coastal fishing towns adjacent to Lyme Bay, and sea angling clubs and dive charters also contribute significantly to these local economies [2]. GDP Per Capita US$39,899 (2016, State Capacity 1.42 (87.3%, 2016) 23/225) GDP Growth 1.8% (2016) Human Development Index 0.909 (16/188, Rate (HDI) 2016) Table 1. Main development metrics and ranks where appropriate for the United Kingdom [14], [15]. 3. Objectives 3.1. Conservation objectives The Statutory Instrument (SI) by which the MPA was originally designated aims to ‘prohibit the use of certain damaging fishing practices that have a negative impact on important biodiversity in Lyme Bay’ [17]. These fishing practices consist of the use of mobile gear, in particular scallop dredging, which was breaking up the fragile reef habitat and removing sessile fauna [7]. Although the statutory closure pre-dated the UK Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009, the decision reflected awareness of the act's content and the change in direction for marine conservation [2]. The closure therefore represented a significant attempt by the government to implement an MPA to protect marine life [6], and resulted in the exclusion of mobile gear from a large area encompassing both reef features and interstitial areas. Due to the discovery of extended Annex I reef habitat lying outside of the boundary site of the SI, and therefore requiring protection, the Lyme Bay area was put forward as a candidate SAC in 2010 [18]. The reefs cover approximately 40 nm2 of the total 90 nm2 Lyme Bay and Torbay candidate SAC [12]. The site has the legally binding conservation obligations of an SAC, and is Singer R & Jones PJS (in press) Lyme Bay Marine Protected Area: a governance analysis. Marine Policy, in press https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2018.07.004. This manuscript version is made available under the CC-BY-NC- ND 4.0 license only awaiting final designation as an SAC by the UK government once the EC have adopted it [1]. Therefore, the second conservation objective of the site is to maintain the reef features of the SAC in ‘favourable condition’ under the EC Habitats Directive. 3.2 Operational objectives Operational objectives have been set by the Lyme Bay working group, including emphasising socio-economic and cultural benefit of the fisheries, and promoting best possible fishery management practices.