The final recommendations for Marine Conservation Zones in the Irish Sea project area are now available to download from this page.

You can download either a summary version or the full 450 page report.

These recommendations have now been passed on to the government and its advisors for consideration. The government is  reviewing the recommendations and will bring some or all of them to full public consultation in 2012.

The government aims to beging designating Marine Conservation Zones in 2012.

You can also download the earlier draft versions of the Irish Sea recommendations that were developed during the project.

Background

The recommendations for Marine Conservation Zones in the Irish Sea project area were developed by a group of people with interest and expertise in the Irish Sea. This Regional Stakeholder Group was made up of around 40 people, each of whom was drawn from a different sea use or interest.

These included commercial fishing, conservationists, marine scientists, recreational sea users such as sea anglers and boaters, and marine industries such as wind farms, aggregates extraction and the oil and gas industries.

The group was tasked with making recommendations to the government on the location and conservation objectives of Marine Conservation Zones that fulfil certain ecological criteria.