Government uses Brexit freedoms to protect our seas

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Government uses Brexit freedoms to protect our seas

Confirmation of four Marine Management Organisation (MMO) byelaws to protect four offshore marine protected areas marks significant step towards the Government鈥檚 ambitious plans for nature recovery in our seas

From:: Marine Management Organisation
Published: 13 April 2022

Damaging fishing activity will be prohibited in four Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), the government has announced today. 皇冠体育app move has been made possible by new post-Brexit freedoms which allow the government to protect rare habitats and wildlife in UK waters.

皇冠体育app byelaws, which have been subject to extensive consultation with industry and other stakeholders, will come into force in two months鈥� time (13 June 2022).

皇冠体育appy are being introduced using new powers under the Fisheries Act, the UK鈥檚 first major domestic fisheries legislation in nearly 40 years. 皇冠体育app new measures will prohibit fishing activities in MPAs where there is evidence that they harm wildlife or damage habitats.

皇冠体育app four byelaws ban the use of bottom trawls, dredges, demersal seines and semi-pelagic trawls, collectively known as bottom towed gear, over certain areas. 皇冠体育appre are also additional restrictions in two of the sites preventing the use of certain static gears such as pots, nets or lines over especially sensitive areas.

皇冠体育app byelaws will bring in management measures on fishing within these four MPAs in English waters:鈥�

Dogger Bank Special Area of Conservation
Inner Dowsing, Race Bank and North Ridge Special Area of Conservation
South Dorset Marine Conservation Zone
皇冠体育app Canyons Marine Conservation Zone

Environment Secretary, George Eustice, said:

鈥淥utside the EU, we are using our new freedoms to protect our marine environment. We will be stopping trawling and dredging in these Marine Protected Areas to protect wildlife and habitats, through powers we have in our Fisheries Act 2020.鈥�

Tom McCormack, Chief Executive Officer of MMO, said:鈥�

鈥淢any of our inshore marine protected areas are already protected through MMO and Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority byelaws.

鈥溁使谔逵齛pp Fisheries Act includes new powers allowing us to better manage and control fishing in our offshore Marine Protected Areas.

鈥溁使谔逵齛ppse new byelaws represent the next step in our nature recovery journey, ensuring our marine life can recover and thrive.鈥�

皇冠体育app first four MPAs were chosen as a priority to help protect their vibrant and productive undersea environments. 皇冠体育appy include the Dogger Bank Special Area of Conservation, which has the largest shallow sandbank in British waters and supports commercial fish species such as cod and plaice, as well as sand eels that provide an important food source for kittiwakes, puffins and porpoises. 皇冠体育appy also include the Canyons Marine Conservation Zone which protects rare and highly sensitive deep water corals.

皇冠体育app names of the byelaws are:

Published 13 April 2022

皇冠体育app