Rathlin among new Marine Conversation Zones

Environment Minister Michelle McIlveen announced four Marine Conservation Zones including Rathlin

The new zones, Rathlin, Waterfoot, Outer Belfast Lough and Carlingford Lough have been given protection through Designation Orders using powers that were made available through the Marine Act (Northern Ireland) 2013.

MCZs conserve the diversity of rare and threatened habitats and species in the waters, and in addition to protecting nationally important marine wildlife they also protect geological features. 

Minister for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs Michelle McIlveen said: “Designation of these four sites is an important step towards protecting and enhancing the biodiversity of our seas, and helping protect important marine habitats and species. 

“Achieving this objective is challenging but I am committed to continuing to work with the fishing industry and all marine stakeholders to develop appropriate management measures that will support and promote sustainable activities including fishing.

“These proposals have been developed using sound scientific evidence and with the involvement of stakeholders from all marine sectors including fishing, ports and harbours, renewable energy, angling and environmental groups.”

In developing the Marine Conservation Zones, the Department gave full consideration to the need to protect marine biodiversity while supporting sustainable activities including fisheries. 

Following designation there is a duty on all public authorities to manage activities that could impact on the achievement of the Conservation Objective for the MCZs. 

There will be a presumption of sustainable use within an MCZ so long as the conservation objectives of a site can be furthered or least hindered. However, specific activities which pose a significant risk to a protected feature may have to be managed.

The four Marine Conservation Zones were designated on December 12. The protected features for which they are being designated are as follows:

Rathlin – Deep-sea bed, Black guillemot (Cepphus grylle) and Geological/Geomorphological features (features indicating past change in relative sea level).

• The MCZ supports the only known location of the broad scale habitat, Deep-sea bed in Northern Irish waters. 
• Rathlin Island also supports a large population of Black guillemots (Cepphus grylle) that nest within the Island’s cliffs. Their reproductive success here may be related to the highly productive waters and rich feeding grounds within the MCZ.
• A range of subtidal Geological and Geomorphological features have also been recorded including a submerged coastline, underwater caves, sea arches and lagoons. These are important indicators of global sea-level change.