Submission of Marine Conservation Zone advice pack

[Coddy]

Hi all

 

I have had this sent to me to pass onto everyone.

 

Dave

 

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Dear Stakeholder,

 

Submission of Marine Conservation Zone advice package

 

We are delighted to inform you that Natural England and JNCC have submitted our formal advice to Defra on Marine Conservation Zones (MCZ). This advice is an assessment of the science behind the MCZ recommendations made by four regional MCZ projects in September 2011, the quality of the ecological data and our views on the overall regional MCZ Project process.

 

We would like to acknowledge the significant amount of time and energy dedicated by stakeholders and the regional project teams in producing the regional MCZ project recommendations. The stakeholder approach has added considerable value and support to the recommended MCZs.

 

On the whole Natural England and JNCC commend the process and support the recommendations made by the regional MCZ projects, subject to some additional suggestions proposed in the advice. We have advised that overall the recommendations submitted by the regional MCZ projects, when combined with the contribution of existing MPAs, have met many of the network design principles and have minimized where possible, the impact on socio-economic interests. This represents good progress towards the achievement of an ecologically coherent Marine Protected Area network.

 

Our advice has been comprehensively checked and quality assured through our internal systems, reviewed by an independent expert review group commissioned by Defra, and finally reviewed and signed-off by our respective independent non-executive boards. Our assessments followed published peer-reviewed protocols and used the best evidence available at the time.

 

With the delivery of the formal advice from Natural England and JNCC, Defra will continue evaluating all the evidence in preparing for the public consultation in December 2012. This will include the formal advice, the regional project site recommendations, the impact assessment material and information from the