Marine Conservation Zones Consultation

On World Oceans Day, Michael Gove, Secretary of State for the Environment, announced the start of the public consultation period for the third and final tranche of recommended Marine Conservation Zones.

Time remaining to respond to the Marine Conservation Zones consultation

This consultation runs until 11:45pm on Friday 20th July 2018 and we would encourage anyone who has an interest in preserving the Goodwin Sands to respond to DEFRA as soon as possible.

Marine Conservation Zones (MCZs) are the Government’s way of implementing their Blue Belt programme, aimed at protecting our marine habitats and species from the pressure of human activity. 300 MCZs have been designated so far and this final tranche contains 41 new sites dotted around the coast of Britain. Goodwin Sands rMCZ is especially important to us because of the current threat from dredging.

The particular features designated for protection within Goodwin Sands rMCZ are:

Subtidal sand – the finer sand that is permanently underwater.

Subtidal coarse sediment – the more gravelly part of the seabed, also always underwater.

English Channel outflood features – evidence of a megaflood 200,000 years ago.

Moderate energy circalittoral rock – your guess is as good as ours.

Blue Mussel beds – colonies of mussels that stablise the sea bed and create homes for other species.

Ross worm reefs – tube shaped colonies created from sand and attached to the gravelly seabed.

Shipwrecks and seals – we believe these are important factors too even though they aren’t officially designated.

There are 2 golden rules to responding!

1. Don’t just cut and paste these suggestions into your email, as it will only get binned…

2. Make it short, simple and straight from the heart

Please email your response to: mcz@defra.gsi.gov.uk before Friday 20th July 2018

Subtidal sand – this is the stuff Dover Harbour Board want to dredge. This sand makes up 42% of the seabed area of the rMCZ and is full of micro organisms that sit at the bottom of the food chain. These little creatures are gobbled up by the fish, which in turn are eaten by seabirds and seals. Man, of course, loves fish too!

Shipwrecks and subtidal sand – the shipwrecks which lie scattered around the Goodwins are buried in this subtidal sand, which has beautifully preserved them for generations of marine archaeologists to explore. Those parts of wrecks that lie exposed on the seabed make perfect homes for lobster, crab and other flora and fauna which would otherwise have nothing to attach themselves to.

Seals and subtidal sand – not all of the sand of the Goodwins remains permanently underwater; twice a day large expanses of it are exposed – this is called intertidal sand as it is exposed ‘inter’ (between) the tides. (A Latin lesson here for you too). These stretches of wonderfully rippled sand make perfect resting places, or haul out sites, for the 500 strong seal colony that live in these waters. The harbour seals even give birth here and those of us lucky enough to visit the Sands can wander about for an hour or so before getting our feet wet.

Subtidal coarse sediment – the Ross worms and Blue Mussels build their colonies of reefs and beds here, which in turn create habitats for other species that otherwise wouldn’t be able to live on the seabed.

Ross worms – not one of nature’s beauties by any means but an essential part of the food chain. They build homes using sand grains from the subtidal sand, forming them into tubes which, when all stuck together, create reefs that can extend over quite large areas. These reefs, as they are called, act as stabilisers for the seabed and provide a habitat for other organisms to make their homes here.

Blue Mussels aren’t just for eating but are another important part of the food chain. They tie themselves together using ‘beards’ – the bits one tries to scrape off when cooking – and provide accommodation for other mini species which don’t have a home of their own on the seabed. Their ‘body waste’ is a rich source of nutrients for organisms living around them.

Please email your response to: mcz@defra.gsi.gov.uk before Friday 20th July 2018

Thank you very much for responding; showing DEFRA how much we care could make all the difference.

If you would like to send us a copy of your response, we would very much like to receive it. Thank you!