Marine Protected Areas in Northern Ireland. Dr Nuala McQuaid Marine Conservation and Data Reporting DOE Marine Division

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1 Marine Protected Areas in Northern Ireland Dr Nuala McQuaid Marine Conservation and Data Reporting DOE Marine Division

2 What is covered in this talk What are Marine Protected Areas (MPAs)? Where are our MPAs? What legislation supports MPAs in Northern Ireland? Where are we with regard to existing European and national designation processes? New legislation Marine Act (Northern Ireland) 2013 Features that will be protected under Marine Act Site Designation process Socio Economic Assessment Management Options Consultation Process

3 What are Marine Protected Areas (MPAs)? A Marine Protected Area is defined by the International Union for Conservation (IUCN) as: Any area of the intertidal or subtidal terrain, together with its overlying water and associated flora, fauna, historical and cultural features, which has been reserved by law or other effective means to protect part or all of the enclosed environment In Northern Ireland we currently have: Special Areas of Conservation (SAC) Special Protection Areas (SPA) Areas of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) Ramsar sites Marine Conservation Zones (MCZs)

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6 Towards an Ecologically Coherent Network NI has completed its suite of Marine SACs Currently reviewing seaward extensions of SPAs Starting the selection and designation process for national Marine Conservation Zones (MCZs) using OSPAR principles

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8 Marine Act (Northern Ireland) 2013 The Marine Act (Northern Ireland) 2013 provides the mechanism to create Marine Conservation Zones (MCZs) for nationally important marine habitats, species and geological features. Strangford Lough is our first MCZ. The Marine Nature Reserve (MNR) designation was repealed on the Marine Act gaining Royal Assent. The boundary is co-current with the previous MNR boundary.

9 MCZs vs. SACs National legislation MCZ Protect nationally important biodiversity and geodiversity European legislation SAC Protect habitats and species at the European scale, e.g. sandbanks, reefs, common seals Socio-economic factors taken into consideration Site boundaries based on scientific evidence only Economic Impact Assessments Stakeholders involved in selection and designation process No Economic Impact Assessment No stakeholder involvement until consultation on proposals

10 What will be protected by MCZs? Priority Marine Features (PMF) lists developed from: OSPAR List of Threatened and/or Declining Habitats and Species UK Biodiversity Action Plan List Northern Ireland Priority Habitats and Species Lists Species of Conservation Concern Nationally Important Marine Features

11 What has been done so far for MCZs? Development of Priority Marine Features lists Initial gap analysis work: What features are already represented by the existing network? What features meet the replication principle through the existing network? Where can additional replication of features be met? Data gathering and Cataloguing in ArcGIS

12 Examples of PMF Habitats Fragile sponge and anthozoan communities Mud habitats in deep water Sea-pen and burrowing megafauna communities Ostrea edulis beds

13 Examples of Low/limited Mobility Species Atractophora hypnoides (a red alga) Pentapora foliacea (Ross coral) Porania pulvillus (Cushion star) Arctica islandica (Oceanic Quahog)

14 Arctica islandica (L.) 1767 When this animal was young, Henry the 8 th hadn t even married his first wife. Christopher Columbus had only just discovered the Americas. The team plucked the mollusc from 262-feetdeep (80-meter-deep) waters off the northern coast of Iceland 505 years old

15 Examples of Highly Mobile Species Dipturus batis (Common Skate) Solea solea (Sole) Pleuronectes platessa (Plaice) Cepphus grylle (Black Guillemot) Puffinus puffinus (Manx Shearwater)

16 Geological/geomorphological features Glacial process features Marine process features Mass movement features Features indicating past change in relative sea level Geological process features Seaward extension features

17 The five-stage selection process Stage 1 Identify Area of Search Stage 2 Prioritise Area of Search based on quality of PMF contained Stage 3 Assess the area of search to ensure this is sufficient to maintain the integrity of the features protected Stage 4 Assess the effectiveness of management features within the proposed Area of Search Stage 5 Assess the ecological coherence to prioritise between different areas based on the contribution to the MPA network

18 Socio-economic assessments Marine Act requires social, economic and cultural issues to be taken into consideration Overall network will have an Impact Assessment These will be filtered down into individual IAs for each proposed MCZ Will require input from relevant stakeholders to enable meaningful assessment to be carried out

19 Management Options Is active management required to achieve the conservation objectives? Depends on the condition of features for which the MCZ is designated, and Activities that are known to have an adverse impact on the features Site by site basis Working closely with stakeholders Range of management options from voluntary codes of conduct to compulsory closures

20 Consultations Draft Strategy for Marine Protected Areas in the Northern Ireland Inshore Region consultation ended on 30 th September 2013 Draft Guidance on the selection and Designation of Marine Conservation Zones (MCZs) in the Northern Ireland Inshore Region consultation ends 31 st January 2014

21 Contact us: Access to Strategy and Guidance documents are at: (click on Consultation tab) Thank you.