MCZs Wales 

The first round of public consultation in spring 2012 on ten proposed sites for highly protected MCZs in Wales caused huge controversy and the plans have since been withdrawn.

In July 2013 Alun Davies AM, WG Minister for Natural Resources and Food, released a statement on MCZs and other types of existing marine protected areas (MPAs) in Wales. (The full statement is available to read in English and Welsh under the "downloads" section to the right of this page.)

Instead of proceeding with the ten previously identified new MCZs, Mr Davies has now commissioned an assessment of the existing MPAs in Wales to identify if there are any gaps and what options might be appropriate to fill those gaps. It may be that MCZs are not needed for Wales to fulfil its contribution to an ecologically coherent network of well-managed MPAs. You can read more about the WG's decision to withdraw plans for ten MCZs it consulted upon.

The RYA has been talking to WG about its plans for MCZs for some time, and together with the RYA Cymru-Wales, is well placed to represent the views of recreational boaters in these discussions. As well as meeting with WG directly, the RYA and RYA Cymru-Wales have seats on the Wales Coastal and Maritime Partnership (WCMP) ensuring the interests of recreational boaters are represented. The WCMP has been selected to represent end-users including industry and recreational sectors during the MCZ/MPA process.

The RYA is also a member of the Stakeholder and Citizens Engagement Group (SCEG) that was set up to lead on the socio-economic input to the Welsh MCZ programme.

In spring 2012 the RYA responded in full to the Welsh MCZ consultation, including a large amount of information gathered from members and clubs highlighting important anchorages, the importance of navigational aids and socio-economic information relating to each of the proposed highly protected MCZs. Read more about the RYA response here.

We asked our members across Wales to get in touch with information about where they go boating if they thought they might be affected by the HPMCZ proposals. In particular, we were keen to receive hard data about the types of boating that takes place, the number of boats involved, where the main cruising routes lay, where most racing takes place, the types and numbers of moorings and the location of important anchorages. We also sought feedback more generally on the WG’s proposals in recognition of the early stage in this consultation process.

As well as receiving some really useful data, we also learnt a lot about the mix of views from boaters around Wales. Strong views were offered on both sides of the camp, but the prevailing opinion indicated general support for the concept of MPAs with some serious reservations about the ten sites that were being proposed in Welsh waters and some concerns about the ‘top-down’ process leading to designation. We captured as much of this information as possible in our formal response to WG’s consultation and followed it up with a meeting with the Marine Branch of WG.

After receiving over 7000 responses to its consultation, the WG announced a period of additional work to inform how it would move ahead with MCZs in Wales. This work was carried out by a “Task & Finish Group” from WG supported by a “Stakeholder Focus Group” which contributed to and provided challenge to the work of the team, testing ideas and advising on practical solutions. The RYA together with RYA Cymru-Wales was part of this Stakeholder Focus Group and continued to represent recreational boating interests in this forum.

The purpose of the first consultation was to gather information on the social and economic importance of the proposed sites so that WG could decide which sites to take forward and which to knock out. Now that the proposed sites have been withdrawn, the RYA and RYA Cymru-Wales await the WG's decision due early next year as to how it wishes to proceed.

WG published its guidance on how the HPMCZs should be selected at the end of 2010 and identified 5 key principles that must guide how sites are chosen:

1. The ability of the proposed sites to contribute to ecosystem resilience and recovery and to deliver a range of ecosystem services.
2. Until it is understood how these sites contribute to the network in practice, coupled with pressures on public funding including practicalities of ensuring sites are managed, monitored, evaluated and enforced properly, WG considers it appropriate to designate no more than 3 or 4 MCZs initially. The focus will be on identifying sites within existing protected sites within Welsh waters.
3. The size and scale of the sites needs to be no more than necessary for ecological viability and must be supported by the best available evidence on the existence of the features to be protected.
4. Social and economic constraints will be minimised whilst recognising that the sites can offer social and economic benefits. In general, where a site is considered to offer a unique contribution to ecosystem functioning, a greater weight is likely to be attached to environmental considerations; where there is a choice of alternative sites which are equally suitable for ecological grounds, social and economic factors could be more significant in deciding which areas to designate as HPMCZs.
5. Proposed sites in Welsh waters will be looked at in the context of their contribution to a network of conservation sites across UK waters in accordance with the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009.

Under this guidance recreational boating is considered to be an activity that could potentially be conflicting with the objectives of the HPMCZs. Each potential site will be considered on a case-by-case basis and where possible management and mitigation measures will be considered to minimise any impact.

The contributions of recreational activities to the economy in terms of jobs and income, communities, general well-being and health will be taken into consideration. The aim of the process is to ensure that HPMCZs are chosen to maximise benefits (ecological, social and economic) while minimising any conflicts with the different uses of the sea, as far as possible.

More information on the Welsh MCZ project can be found on the WG website.