Marine Conservation Zones: Consultation on proposals for designation in 2013

Spend some time over the Christams break looking through the most relevant documents to your fishing area - these legislative moves will affect the livelihoods of future generations of fishermen!

Consultation starts: 13 December 2012
Consultation ends: 31 March 2013

Summary

This consultation seeks views on proposals for the designation of Marine Conservation Zones (MCZs) in English inshore and English and Welsh offshore waters.
This consultation seeks to engage with everyone who has an interest in the marine environment and coastal communities. It’s the primary opportunity for people to have their say and influence the decisions on how many MCZs are designated, where they are designated and for what features.
Information and comments submitted will be used to inform the decision on which sites will be designated in the first tranche in 2013. Information gathered at this stage will also be used as part of the decision-making process for designation of sites in later tranches.

Consultation documents

Please note: Some of these files are very large and you should download them to your computer before opening them: right click on the links below and choose ‘Save As’.

Consultation letter (PDF 50KB)
Consultation document (PDF 680KB)
List of consultees (PDF 20KB)
Welsh, German and French translations of the executive summary (PDF 110KB)
Annex A.1 – Sites proposed for designation in 2013:
- Part 1 - Balanced Seas (PDF 15MB)
- Part 2.1 - Finding Sanctuary (PDF 6.3MB)
- part 2.2 - Finding Sanctuary (PDF 29MB)
- Part 3 - Finding Sanctuary (PDF 15MB)
- Part 4 - Irish Sea Conservation Zones (PDF 6.2KB)
- Part 5 - Net Gain (PDF 2.7MB)
Annex A.2- Irish Sea Conservation Zones sites requiring further consideration (PDF 8.1MB)
Annex A.3 – Balanced Seas MCZs requiring further consideration (PDF 17MB)
Annex A.4 – Net Gain sites requiring further consideration (PDF 11MB)
Annex A.5 – Finding Sanctuary sites requiring further consideration (PDF 25MB)
Annex A.6 – Sites not suitable for designation (PDF 670KB)
Annex B – Consultation site summary explanatory note – explains the contents of the tables in the site summaries (PDF 180KB)
Annex C – Cost quartile distribution of sites – tables summarising the cost distribution of proposed MCZs (PDF 180KB)
Annex D – Marine Protected Areas – Summary tables for existing Marine Protected Areas in the UK (PDF 180KB)
Annex E – Sector Issues – the key sector issues and concerns relating to MCZs (PDF 180KB)
Annex F – commentary on SNCB Advice – How we have treated the formal advice and recommendations from SNCBs (PDF 180KB)
Annex G – Example Designation Order – An example designation order for a fictitious site to illustrate the format of a designation order (PDF 90KB)
Annex H – Consultation Response Form and Data Submission Form (Word format 45KB)
Annex I – Glossary (PDF 70KB)

How to respond

Please send responses to either: mcz@defra.gsi.gov.uk
or
MCZ Team,
c/o Post Room
Nobel House
17 Smith Square
London
SW1P 3JR
Responses should be received by midnight on 31 March 2013.

Supporting documents

Defra has produced an Impact Assessment to support the consultation by providing illustrative examples of potential costs of designating MCZs to the main sectors that use the sea.