Marine and fisheries

Marine protected areas

'Aplysia on maerl' Sue Scott © JNCCThe term Marine Protected Area (MPA) has been used to describe a wide range of marine areas which have some level of restriction to protect living, non-living, cultural, and/or historic resources.

In the UK, MPAs have primarily been set up to help conserve marine biodiversity, in particular species and habitats of European and national importance. The main types of MPA in the UK are Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) for habitats of European importance, Special Protection Areas (SPAs) for birds, and Marine Nature Reserves (MNRs) for nationally important habitats and species. There are also a number of voluntary and non-statutory MPAs.

Marine protected areas are one management tool which can:

  • protect areas of threatened species and habitats to help ensure biodiversity is not lost as a result of widespread damaging activities,
  • protect areas of representative species and habitats to help ensure that they do not become threatened as a result of human activities,
  • provide some relatively unaffected areas of high biodiversity value to support the structure and functioning of the wider marine ecosystem.

MPAs have been used for fisheries management and for nature conservation, but they can also be established to provide multiple benefits.

'Safeguarding Sea Life' affirmed our commitment to establishing networks of marine protected area to contribute to the attainment of healthy, functioning and resilient ecosystems and to help to halt the decline in marine biodiversity.

  Legislative mechanisms to protect marine species and habitats

A range of legislative measures are already in place to provide protection to important marine species and habitats. Approximately 1.8 million hectares (2% of UK waters) currently benefit from the protection afforded by being designated as marine protected areas either under domestic legislation or under legislation enacted to implement the EC Habitats Directive and EC Birds Directive. These designations overlap to a considerable degree but comprise:

  • 3 statutory marine nature reserves
  • 81 Special Areas of Conservation (for marine habitats or species)
  • 73 Special Protections Areas (marine habitats for birds)

The JNCC website contains more information and maps of SACs and SPAs.

Marine protected areas designated under the Wild Birds and Habitats Directives

The Habitats Directive requires the creation of a network of protected areas known as the 'Natura 2000'. This network consists of Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) to protect habitats and species listed under the Habitats Directive and Special Protection Areas (SPAs) to protect wild birds as set out under the Wild Birds Directive.

The Conservation (Natural Habitats &c.) Regulations 1994 transpose the Habitats Directive into domestic legislation in England, Wales and Scotland, including their territorial seas out to 12 nautical miles (nm). Northern Ireland has its own regulations which also cover the territorial seas adjacent to Northern Ireland, The Conservation (Natural Habitats, etc.) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1995.

In addition to existing marine protected areas, work is underway to identify and survey further sites in UK waters (English territorial waters and UK offshore waters). A selection of the areas surveyed are likely to be recommended as marine protected areas under the Habitats and Birds Directives, but the number and area of these sites is not yet known.

In August 2007, the Offshore Marine Conservation (Natural Habitats, &c.) Regulations 2007 (OMCRs) came in to force, which transported the Habitats Directive and the Wild Birds Directive beyond territorial waters (beyond 12 nautical miles) – see Offshore Marine Conservation Regulations page. The Joint Nature Conservation Committee is responsible for the identification of SACs and SPAs beyond 12nm from the coast.

In September 2008, Defra submitted its first offshore marine sites to the European Commission as candidate Special Area of Conservation (cSAC).  These are Braemar Pockmarks, Darwin Mounds, Haig Fras, Scanner Pockmarks and Stanton Banks. Further information about sites identified in the offshore area can be found on the JNCC website.

For more information on SACs and SPAs in English waters and UK offshore waters see www.jncc.gov.uk and www.naturalengland.gov.uk

Current National legislation - National Marine Protected Areas

Marine nature reserves can be designated using the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. Reserves designated using this provision can extend to 3 nautical miles. Currently, three reserves have been designated in the UK :

Proposals for a new national MPA designation

The Marine and Coastal Access Bill contains proposals for a new type of marine protected area called Marine Conservation Zones (MCZs). Please click on the links below for more information:

Proposals for an ecologically coherent network of MPAs

In April 2009, Defra launched a consultation on ‘Delivering Marine Conservation Zones and European Marine Sites: A draft strategy for marine protected areas’. The draft strategy sets out our proposed vision and framework for marine protected areas in territorial waters adjacent to England and UK offshore waters over the next ten years. It will allow anyone with an interest in marine conservation to understand why we are creating an MPA network and how we intend to deliver it.

The draft strategy sets out how existing obligations for marine protected areas under European Directives together with Marine Conservation Zones under the Marine and Coastal Access Bill and other designated sites will deliver an ecologically coherent network by 2012.

In addition to this, we have produced a document which illustrates how the network design principles contained in the draft strategy might be applied in UK waters.  

Further information is available on our Help page about downloading or reading Adobe Acrobat PDFdocuments.

Page last modified: 13 May 2009

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs