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Marine Conservation Zones (MCZs)

There are two main types of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) found in English waters, European Marine Sites (EMS) and Marine Conservation Zones (MCZs). Unlike EMS which are found across Europe, MCZs are found only in English waters. MCZs are designated under the Marine and Coastal Access Act, 2009 and form a national network of sites that protect nationally important marine wildlife, habitats, geology, and ecological processes. They are a key tool in England’s protection of the marine environment. There are 7 MCZs within the North West IFCA district and you can find out more about each one below.

North Western IFCA MCZ Map

Different Tranches

There are now a total of 91 MCZs in waters around England, 7 of which are found in the NWIFCA District. MCZs were established in a staged process of different tranches (T).

T1 – 1 MCZ (Cumbria Coast) was designated in November 2013.

T2 – 3 MCZs (Allonby bay, West of Walney and Fylde) were designated in January 2016.

T3 – 3 MCZs (Solway Firth, Ribble, Wyre-Lune) were designated in May 2019

 

Different MCZs in our district (NWIFCA)

Allonby Bay MCZ

Allonby Bay MCZ was designated in January 2016. The site is an inshore site covering an area of approximately 40km2. It is located on the English side of the Solway Firth stretching around 9km from Dubmill Point in the north to just north of Maryport in the south.

Designated Features: blue mussel beds; high energy intertidal rock; honeycomb worm reefs; intertidal biogenic reefs; intertidal coarse sediment; intertidal sand and muddy sand; low energy intertidal rock; moderate energy infralittoral rock; moderate energy intertidal rock; peat and clay exposures; subtidal biogenic reefs; subtidal coarse sediment; subtidal mixed sediments; subtidal sand.

Management: The Allonby Bay MCZ covers a wider area of Sabbellaria alveolata reefs that was not covered by the original EMS. To ensure this additional area was protected from bottom towed fishing activities, NWIFCA extended the closed area to cover the full extent of the MCZ under Byelaw 6.

Byelaw 6 was implemented on the 1st May 2014 and prohibits the use bottom towed gear and limits the vessel length in the area. Bottom towed fishing means fishing using gear which is pushed or pulled through the sea and contacts the seabed. This includes use of demersal otter and beam trawls, shellfish dredges and demersal seines. This type of fishing is considered the most damaging to Sabellaria reef features. This byelaw is also intended to ensure that bait digging and other hand worked fisheries on seagrass is prohibited. The byelaw provides the necessary legal powers to prevent damage to these features,  and reduce the possibility of deterioration. The management in the area is enforced by NWIFCA and partner bodies and is important to maintain a healthy marine environment.

Byelaw 6 – NWIFCA-Byelaw-6.pdf (nw-ifca.gov.uk)

Cumbria Coast MCZ

Cumbria Coast MCZ was designated in November 2013. It is an inshore site covering an area of 18km2. The site stretches for approximately 27km along the coast of Cumbria extending from south of Whitehaven, around the cliffs at St Bees Head, to the mouth of Ravenglass Estuary.

Designated Features: high energy intertidal rock, honeycomb worm reefs, intertidal biogenic reefs, intertidal sand and muddy sand, intertidal under boulder communities, moderate energy infralittoral rock, peat and clay exposures, razorbill (Razorbill was added as a protected feature on 31st May 2019).

Management: Cumbria Coast MCZ partially overlaps with a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and an RSPB reserve as the area is particularly important for many species of seabirds which nest on the cliffs and feed on fish in the area. The management for the MCZ comes in the form of the St Bees Headland Voluntary Code of Practice.

The first St Bees Headland Voluntary Code of Practice (COP) was introduced by NWIFCA in 2018, and since then has been implemented each year. The COP recommends that no netting of any type takes place in a 1km area around the St Bees Headlands. The timings of the COP are reviewed yearly and can change depending on the assessments by Natural England and RSPB, and the behaviour of the birds, but typically the COP is between mid-March to the end of July.

Here is the latest COP – Fishing Around St. Bees Headland Voluntary Code of Practice 2022 – IFCA North West (nw-ifca.gov.uk)

Solway Firth MCZ

Solway Firth MCZ was designated in May 2019. It is an inshore site covering an area of approximately 45km2. The site is located in the Solway Firth, Cumbria, on a large estuary in the far north-eastern Irish Sea.

Designated features: Smelt. The main threats to smelt are considered to be barriers to migration and degraded habitat, rather than fishing activities. Therefore, no management has been put in place by NWIFCA.

West of Walney MCZ

West of Walney MCZ was designated in January 2016. It covers an area of around 388km2. The site is located in the Irish Sea, off the coast of Cumbria and to the west of Walney Island. Most of the site is in inshore waters, with a small section crossing the 12 nautical mile boundary into offshore waters.

Designated features: sea-pen and burrowing megafauna communities; subtidal mud; subtidal sand

Management: West of Walney MCZ spans the 6nm limit and so is covered by byelaws introduced by the Marine management Organisation, which came into force on the 4th July 2019. The MMO introduced a prohibition on the use of bottom towed fishing gear in the The MMO works in close liaison with NWIFCA to co-manage the area and NWIFCA has agreed to support the MMO with information on fishing activity to ensure a consistent approach to management of fishing within the West of Walney MCZ.

Fylde MCZ

Fylde MCZ was designated in January 2016. It protects an area of approximately 260km2. The site is located in Liverpool Bay, lying between 3 and 20km off the Fylde coast and Ribble estuary. The depth of the seabed within the site ranges from almost being exposed on low tide (just 35cm depth) to 22 metres at its deepest part.

Designated features: subtidal mud; subtidal sand

Management: Any activity that would damage the designated features of the area does not occur on the site and so therefore no management is currently required.

Ribble MCZ

Ribble MCZ was designated in May 2019. It is an inshore site covering an area of approximately 15km2. The site is located on the north-west coast of England, near Preston.

Designated features: Smelt. The main threats to smelt are considered to be barriers to migration and degraded habitat, rather than fishing activities. Therefore, no management has been put in place by NWIFCA.

Wyre-Lune MCZ

Wyre-Lune MCZ was designated in May 2019. It is an inshore site that covers an area of approximately 92km2. The site is located in the southern part of Morecambe Bay, Lancashire, in the Irish Sea.

Designated features: Smelt. The main threats to smelt are considered to be barriers to migration and degraded habitat, rather than fishing activities. Therefore, no management has been put in place by NWIFCA.

More information can be found below:

Link to interactive map showing IFCAs MPAs – IFCAs Management of Inshore Marine Protected Areas (association-ifca.org.uk)

Link to Marine Conservation Zone designations in England – Marine conservation zone designations in England – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)