UKDIVING
Healthy reefs support a wide array of marine life , from the humble nudibranch to smallspotted cat sharks and the much loved grey seal
Ideally , the boundaries of an MPA should be placed around a diverse array of marine species and habitats , or areas of significant degradation . Protecting a wide range of marine environments improves biodiversity and can increase resilience to climatic changes and other anthropogenic pressures . In the UK , important sites often include cold water reefs , seagrass meadows , kelp forests , maerl beds and sandy or muddy sea floors .
Seagrass meadows in particular are known to capture carbon from the atmosphere up to 35 times faster than tropical rainforests , and support over 30 times more species compared to adjacent sandy habitats . Together , these sites form a mosaic of protected species and habitats , also referred to as an MPA network . The goal is to develop an ecologically coherent MPA network that forms a ‘ blue belt ’ around the UK , providing protection to a wide variety of important marine environments and features .
Well protected and managed MPAs have been shown to increase the diversity of species and habitats , and even produce bigger fish within the boundaries . The benefits created by MPAs are not limited to the boundaries assigned to them . As larvae drift along currents , the ‘ spill over effect ’ allows for an increase in species populations elsewhere . However ,
these benefits are reliant upon successful management and the development of an ecologically coherent corridor of protection .
Within the boundaries of an MPA , restrictions are placed on certain damaging activities , often those destructive and
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