Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
100 m, outside the foraging range of the sea lion). In this situation the fisheries manage-
ment agency has regulated areas which are more restrictive than the marine protected area
network, which only has general zoning guidelines for the same area. This illustrates the
complex interplay that can occur between 'sectors' (in this case fisheries and conservation
management), even where marine spatial planning has already been implemented.
In the UK there were two important developments in 2012, guided by the framework
of the ecosystem approach. Firstly, in the waters around the Scottish coast, selection of
Nature Conservation Marine Protected Areas has been undertaken, employing a science-
led approach, while at the same time, the selection process has incorporated opportunities
for stakeholders to feed in to the development of the network. Five national-level work-
shops were undertaken with over 80 national stakeholder representatives, providing oppor-
tunities for stakeholder interests to input scientific and other information and to discuss
the development of proposed MPAs. Furthermore, regular update meetings continue to be
held with key interest groups to enable more detailed discussions. These interests extend
beyond Scotland, and include UK and non-UK users of Scotland's sea. Moving forward,
all users of the Scottish marine environment will have important roles to play in develop-
ing the management of proposed MPAs. Full details on this activity can be found at JNCC
the ecosystem approach.
The second important development occurring in 2012 was a stakeholder-led project in
English, Northern Irish, and Welsh waters to attempt a balance between fisheries, renew-
able energy(wind farms), offshore exploration and extraction, and conservation. Key to the
success of this endeavour was the identification and establishment of a series of Marine
Conservation Zones (MCZs). The MCZ Project consisted of four regional MCZ projects
covering the south-west (Finding Sanctuary), Irish Sea (Irish Sea Conservation Zones),
North Sea (Net Gain), and south-east (Balanced Seas). Historically, designation processes
have begun with nature conservation bodies such as Natural England, Countryside Council
for Wales and Northern Ireland, Environment Agency, and the Joint Nature Conservation
Committee (JNCC), providing advice to the government on where sites should be desig-
