Battle to protect wildlife at sea receives boost today


Friday 08 June, 2018


Norfolk Wildlife Trust welcomes possibility of 41 new Marine Conservation Zones

Today the government has launched a consultation asking the public for their views about protecting a new group of Marine Conservation Zones (MCZs) – areas at sea where wildlife is protected from damaging activities. 41 special places have been chosen for the public to comment on; these include Markham’s Triangle, an offshore site covering an area of around 200 km2 located in the Southern North Sea in the East of England.

Joan Edwards, Director of Living Seas at The Wildlife Trusts says:
“We’ve been calling for the government to give real protection to a connected network of diverse sea-bed habitats since 2009. Only 50 have been designated so far and this new consultation on 41 special places is really good news. We need to restore the sea-bed that has been ravaged over the past century and allow fragile marine life to recover – and this can only be done with good management. Without these astonishing submerged landscapes there simply wouldn't be any fish, let alone fantastic jewel anemones, seahorses, and all the other wild and extraordinary creatures which are part of a healthy marine ecosystem.”

Norfolk Wildlife Trust believes that the consultation is a big step in the right direction for England’s seas.  Proper protection of these sites after designation will mean that our seas will be given the opportunity to recover.

The Wildlife Trusts are calling on the public to back the 41 potential Marine Conservation Zones in the consultation – details of how to do this will be added to our MCZ page here. The consultation closes on Friday 20 July 2018.
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