Government says yes to Highly Protected Marine Areas

The North West Wildlife Trusts cheer long fought-for commitment to first ever sea sanctuaries where all damaging activities will be banned

Last year, the Benyon review of Highly Protected Marine Areas (HPMAs) was published by Defra. The Wildlife Trusts backed its recommendations that HPMAs should be an essential part of the UK network for protection and recovery of the marine environment, and that the government should introduce HPMAs as soon as possible.

On World Oceans Day (8 June), Defra has announced it will begin the process for designating HPMAs by the end of 2022, setting an ambitious commitment to protect our seas. The Wildlife Trusts believe there is an overwhelming case for the designation of HPMAs across our seas which would see a ban on all damaging activities, offering the strictest possible protections for the marine environment and giving nature the best chance of recovery.

The Wildlife Trusts have called for HPMAs for the last three years and launched a petition urging speedy implementation which was signed by over 10,000 people. Joan Edwards, director of policy and public affairs at The Wildlife Trusts was invited to be on the review panel.

Fin whale

Dan Bolt

Lions mane jellyfish © Alexander Mustard/2020VISION

Joan Edwards says:

“This new type of marine protection will be the gold standard for rewilding parts of the sea. It’s a fantastic step-forward, one which The Wildlife Trusts and over 10,000 of our supporters have been waiting for – we’re absolutely delighted!

“The removal of all harmful activities – from fishing and trawling to construction – in some of our most at risk sites, will be an historic moment. We’re certain that HPMAs will help our seas become healthier and that degraded underwater habitats will be better able to recover.

“This special form of protection is vitally needed. Decades of overexploitation and pollution have left our precious seas damaged and the wealth of wildlife that once lived there is much diminished. It is hard for us to imagine the abundant scenes that historic records reveal, with dolphins, whales and seabirds as far as the eye can see and huge numbers of fish which were far bigger than you see today.

“Existing Marine Protected Areas are limited in their ability to restore nature as they only go as far as conserving its current, sometimes damaged state. HPMAs will allow us to see what truly recovering seas look like. They will set a new bar against which other protected areas could be measured.”

Following today’s announcement, The Wildlife Trusts will be participating in the Government’s consultation process: we believe HPMAs should be designated in each regional sea, in inshore, nearshore and offshore English waters, encompassing a range of habitats so that experts can study how different ecosystems recover when pressures are reduced.

In order for HPMAs to be effective, The Wildlife Trusts are calling for:

HPMAs to be a whole-site approach, protecting all the wildlife and habitats within their boundaries with effective management measures
HPMAs should be sufficient in size and number, and well monitored to understand what happens when damaging activities are removed and how our seas can recover

This will also help us determine appropriate management measures for the rest of the Marine Protected Area network
HPMAs must provide a higher level of protection than other types of protected area, allowing marine areas to return to as natural a state as possible, with more wildlife

The designation of HPMAs will act as a mechanism for recovery and should contribute significantly to the Government’s commitment to protecting 30% of our seas by 2030. HPMAs will also act as a natural solution to help store carbon and tackle climate change, as well as generating benefits through tourism, recreation and marine education.

Joan Edwards continues:

“HPMAs will allow wildlife and habitats to be conserved on a large scale. This will have multiple benefits such as increasing the number, diversity and size of fish, as well as enabling the ‘spill-over’ of species to other areas, helping to restock our depleted waters and benefit commercial fisheries. HPMAs will provide space for nature and wonderful places where people can experience rejuvenated marine life.

“We know HPMAs will work. When bottom trawling was banned from Lyme Bay in 2008, we saw the astonishing recovery of beautiful sunset corals and pink sea fans within just a few years. When fishing was banned off Lundy, fisheries benefited from increased lobsters and tourism boomed following positive marine publicity.”

The North West

In the North West, we have a really rich marine environment, all the way along the coastline from the Dee Estuary to the Solway Firth, and in the wider Irish Sea. We have different habitats from rocky shore, sand dunes, saltmarsh to muddy habitat that all support huge amounts of wildlife.

We currently have a number of different designations in the North West Marine Area including 10 Marine Conservation Zones, 6 Special Protection Areas and 5 Special Areas of Conservation, with varying levels of protection.

Georgia de Jong Cleyndert, Marine Conservation Officer for North West Wildlife Trusts said:

“This is fantastic news for our seas. HPMAs will be an essential tool to protect our precious underwater wildlife on a large scale and a massive step in the right direction for ocean recovery. At The North West Wildlife Trusts, we have been campaigning for HPMAs for the last three years. The Benyon Review has a list of recommended sites for such protection, including some in the Irish Sea, both inshore and offshore. Whilst we are unsure which sites will be designated, The Wildlife Trusts will be calling for designations to encompass a range of habitats in all regional seas. HPMAs will help to tackle climate change and will lead to healthier, more abundant seas. This really is a momentous announcement.”