Island Life Magazine Ltd December 2014/January 2015 | Page 66
COUNTRY LIFE
ACTION NEEDED TO
MAKE OUR WATERS
HEALTHY AGAIN
Kizzie Henderson, Hampshire & Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust
What is the best thing about living on the Isle of Wight? Many would say it holds a number of
beautiful coastal areas which is something that wildlife lovers would agree on. Unfortunately, our
seas are suffering from overfishing, exploitation for resources and damage to natural habitats.
With Government commitments for protecting the sea yet to be fully met, urgent action is needed
to turn our currently under-protected waters back into a healthy and sustainable environment.
I
n February the Government
announced that six marine sites in
the Hampshire and Isle of Wight
region will go forward as candidates
for designation as Marine Conservation
Zones (MCZs) in 2015. The six designated
sites, all surround the Island, demonstrate
how important the sea life is around
the area. The six sites are The Needles,
Offshore Overfalls, Utopia, Bembridge,
Norris to Ryde and Yarmouth to Cowes.
Marine Conservation Zones are a new
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type of Marine Protected Area created by
the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009.
There are already sites in the Solent, the
Solent Harbours and round the Island
which are protected by European law,
designated for habitats and species
important across the EU region. Marine
Conservation Zones are designed to
protect the important marine diversity
in UK waters and provide an important
route to the Trust’s vision where our
marine life is protected from the most
damaging activities and allowed to
recover from past declines.
The six sites were recommended for
designation in 2013 but did not make
it on to the first tranche of 27 sites
designated last November. The sites were
chosen from a longer list of 127 sites to
make an ecologically coherent network
across all English sea areas. It was also
announced at the time that two further
tranches of designations will take place
over the next three years, with the first of