Highly protected marine areas: “red herring” or will they hang on? | Climate News

The introduction of “highly protected marine areas”, where all harmful activity is prohibited, must be experimented with in the seas of England.

The government also unveiled a pledge from 80 countries to protect 30% of the world’s oceans by 2030, in an announcement to mark World Oceans Day.

But 38% of the UK’s seas are already designated as Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). So why do we need “highly” protected areas, and are they “red herring” or will they spread?

Why are marine protected areas controversial?

Despite recent growth in the areas covered by MPAs, overall marine biodiversity has continued to decline.

MPAs are controversial because, on the one hand, many areas are not fully protected from damaging practices such as dredging and trawling.

And on the other hand, they also create a conflict for space and resources with sectors such as parts of the fishing industry.

Heavy towed bottom fishing gear is still used in 62 of the 64 benthic MPAs off the UK, according to Oceana’s analysis of 2020 fishing data. study of EU MPAs have found that trawling, one of the most damaging types of fishing, is in fact increasing in MPAs.

Daniela Schmidt, professor of paleobiology at the University of Bristol, told Sky News that climate change already had an impact on the temperature and acidification of the waters – but such changes are not part of the protection.

“As such, many MPAs fail to achieve the conservation they want,” she said.

Melissa Moore, UK Policy Officer at Oceana in Europe, said: “Given the climate and ecological emergency we face, it is of great concern that the government cannot protect even a small portion of 30% of our seas. If they don’t, what hope do we have for all of our seas and oceans? “

What is a “highly” protected marine area?

The government is developing a program that would ban “all activities that could …