Safe Havens Will Protect Marine Wildlife In UK

The announcement of a marine Bill, a Labour manifesto pledge, with powers to create protected zones within Britain’s 200-mile limit marks the final phase of a conservation campaign that has lasted more than 15 years.

At least 100 different types of marine habitat are under consideration for protection as marine conservation zones and a high proportion of the 8,000 species off our shores are expected to benefit. Only three marine nature reserves have been created since the 1981 Wildlife and Countryside Act, and the Bill is intended to speed their introduction dramatically, with a network of scores of protected zones by 2012.

Hilary Benn, the Environment Secretary, described the announcement as a “significant day for our seas and the wonders that lie beneath them”.