Finding Sanctuary

Dear forum readers, We would like to draw your attention to Finding Sanctuary’s deadline, the 31st October, for receiving data from stakeholders. Finding Sanctuary is one of four regional projects which together make up the Marine Conservation Zone Project. The four regional MCZ projects cover the south-west (Finding Sanctuary), Irish Sea (Irish Sea Conservation Zones), North Sea (Net Gain) and south-east (Balanced Seas). These regional MCZ projects are working with sea users and interest groups to identify Marine Conservation Zones (MCZs) and provide recommendations for sites within their regions to Government. If you are concerned about the impacts MCZs may have on our activity, then please tell us which areas are important to you before the 31st October. You can do this through our online interactive map www.mczmapping.org or get in touch with your regional Marine Conservation Zone (MCZ) project to arrange an interview. The information you share with the regional MCZ projects is there for your representatives to use during negotiations about where to place Marine Conservation - they can use the data you supply to try to minimise any negative impacts to your activity. So far more than 198,000 West Country water users have had their views represented as part of Finding Sanctuary’s research in the south-west region. Following the end of the data collection exercise, the regional project stakeholder groups made up of fishermen, recreational sea users, scientists and other stakeholders will have 9 months to complete its deliberations with its final proposals going to the Government advisors in June next year. We cannot guarantee that any information submitted to the regional projects after the 31st October will be able to be processed in time to be used by your representatives on the regional project stakeholder groups during their deliberations. Any club, association or individual who wants to contribute information to the project can do so by contacting their regional project to arrange a meeting, or by visiting the online interactive map at www.mczmapping.org Balanced Seas (south-east) T: 01227 827 839 / www.balancedseas.org Finding Sanctuary (south-west) T: 01392 878 328 / www.finding-sanctuary.org Irish Sea Conservation Zones (Irish Sea) T: 01925 813 200 / www.irishseaconservation.org.uk Net Gain (North Sea) T: 01482 382 007 / www.netgainmcz.org We cannot check back on this forum regularly to respond to queries. If you have any questions please contact your regional project and we will be happy to answer them. Thanks.

LAST CALL - FINDING SANCTUARY WORKSHOP TODAY at Exeter Golf and Country Club (EX2 7AE) from 3.30pm – 7.30pm. This is your opportunity to see how Marine Conservation Zones (MCZs) are progressing and meet your Steering Group representative. It will all be the first chance to see the maps we have created of sea angling and kayaking activity around the south-west, which will be used during the planning of MCZs. The event is FREE. To book a place call Sarah on 01392 878 340. E-mail: sarah@finding-sanctuary.org

LAST CALL - FINDING SANCTUARY WORKSHOP TODAY at Exeter Golf and Country Club (EX2 7AE) from 3.30pm – 7.30pm. This is your opportunity to see how Marine Conservation Zones (MCZs) are progressing and meet your Steering Group representative. It will all be the first chance to see the maps we have created of sea angling activity around the south-west, which will be used during the planning of MCZs. The event is FREE. To book a place call Sarah on 01392 878 340. E-mail: sarah@finding-sanctuary.org

The Marine and Coastal Access Act introduces a new national designation for marine protection - Marine Conservation Zones (MCZs). MCZs must be identified and designated in the seas around England, to help create a coherent network of marine protected areas by 2012. New Marine Conservation Zones and existing designations: European Marine Sites, Marine Nature Reserves and Sites of Special Scientific Interest, will make up the network of marine protected areas. No MCZs have been proposed yet for the south-west, with the exception of Lundy Island whose protected east coast will have it’s designation changed from a Marine Nature Reserve to a Marine Conservation Zone in January. (This switchover will not alter the management measures currently in place.) Sea angling is one of the activities that could be affected in certain ways by MCZs. For example, some sites may become no-take zones in order to meet conservation targets, so it is important that you know how you can influence these decisions now, before they have been made. Four projects have been set up around England to work with sea anglers and other sea users to decide where these zones should go and what level of protection they should have. These projects are: Finding Sanctuary in the south-west, Balanced Seas in the south-east, Net Gain for the North Sea and Irish Sea Conservation Zones for the Irish Sea. Sea angling is recognised as an important activity in the south-west and with a detailed knowledge of local marks and fish ecology, sea anglers will play a vital role in developing ideas for MCZs, ensuring they protect key areas such as spawning and nursery grounds. In the south-west, Finding Sanctuary has brought together sea anglers, divers, commercial fishermen, sailors, conservationists, scientists and many other marine stakeholders on its Steering Group. The Steering Group is responsible for drawing the lines on maps – deciding where MCZs should be placed and what level of protection they should have. The level of protection given to each MCZ will be decided on a case by case basis. The Steering Group will make its recommendations to Government in June 2011 and the final decision lies with the Ministers. We have several liaison officers collecting information from sea anglers about which areas of sea they use, so that we can create a map of sea angling activity around the south-west. Accurate information about where sea angling takes place in the region is essential, as this is the information that the sea angling representatives on the Steering Group will use to stand up for your interests during the negotiations, with the aim of minimising the impact of MCZs on your activity. The sea angling representatives on the Finding Sanctuary Steering Group are Peter MacConnell (B.A.S.S. & Angling Trust), Mike Bailey (Brixham Angling Club) and Paul Taylor (Cornish Federation of Sea Anglers). We want to work with you to ensure we get the best result for everyone involved, but if we don’t know which areas are important to you, Peter, Mike and Paul can’t try to avoid them when planning MCZs. There are three ways you can get involved to have your say: 1. Visit our Interactive Map 2. Call Finding Sanctuary on 01392 878 340 and arrange to meet your nearest liaison officer who will help you to map the areas which are important to you. 3. Join us at one of our drop in days around the south-west over the next few months for more information, to ask questions or record the sea areas you use on our maps. New dates and venues for drop in days are being added frequently and are detailed on the News section of our website. We will try to check back here from time to time, but if you have any questions, suggestions or concerns please get in touch with us directly. South-west Finding Sanctuary Email: info@finding-sanctuary.org Tel: 01392 878 340 If you fish in other parts of the country get in touch with your nearest project. South-east Balanced Seas Email: balancedseas@kent.ac.uk Tel: 01227 827 839 North Sea Net Gain Email: dani@yhsg.co.uk Tel: 01482 382 007 Irish Sea Irish Sea Conservation Zones Email: info@irishseaconservation.org.uk Tel: 01925 813 200