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Local site shortlisted as proposed Highly Protected Marine Area

Niki Clear

Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust is delighted to hear suggested sites are progressing to the next stage of the HPMA designation process.

The first step has been taken towards the designation of England’s first Highly Protected Marine Areas (HPMAs) – as Defra announces a consultation on five proposed HPMAs, including one site off the Lincolnshire coast. These HPMAs will be the strongest ever protection measures for our seas.

The Wildlife Trusts have been calling for HPMAs for three years with the support of over 10,000 people who have called for greater protection of marine life. This new designation will ban all damaging activities within their boundaries. By safeguarding all wildlife and habitats, HPMAs will give nature the best chance to recover, benefitting not only each place but large parts of the sea around them.

After so many years of effort we are finally seeing a move towards full protection of some of our richest marine habitats. We should be proud of the Trust’s contribution to achieving this.
Paul Learoyd
Chief Executive, Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust
Dogfish In Sea Weed

Lesser spotted catshark - Alexander Mustard/2020VISION

Along with Wildlife Trusts from around England, Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust submitted recommended sites to Defra which we believe have the most to gain from HPMA designation and will act as star examples of the benefits HPMA designation can bring. We’re delighted to hear that Inner Silver Pit has been chosen to progress to the next stage of the process, going forward for public consultation as part of five sites shortlisted from around England.

Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust Head of Conservation, Tammy Smalley says:
“Having been born on the Lincolnshire coast, it is personally great to see The North Sea getting recognised as a special habitat that needs to be protected in the current consultation on Highly Protected Marine Areas (HPMAs). Our seas have the potential to be some of the most wildlife-rich on Earth. From the smallest sea stars to marine mammals like minke whales and harbour porpoise. Having HPMA status is another big step in ensuring our seas are able to properly recover. Seeing Silver Pit on the list is personally and ecologically a delight! We will be responding and supporting the process, and want you all to too.”

Dr Lissa Batey, head of marine conservation at The Wildlife Trusts, says:
“The Wildlife Trusts put forward a list of special places at sea that we believe have the most to gain from becoming HPMAs – we want these to act as star examples of the benefits that banning damaging activities can bring. We’re thrilled that places like Allonby Bay and Inner Silver Pit have been selected for socio-economic review, as part of five shortlisted sites.

“It’s vital that large ocean wildlife hotspots should have a chance to thrive once more. The knock-on benefits for reviving the surrounding seabed and the species that depend on it are immense. These areas will offer a lifeline to fish, seabirds, dolphins and sharks – the future health of our seas will come to depend on these amazing places.”

Following the announcement, there will be a 12 week consultation on the proposed locations, here.

The designation of HPMAs will act as a mechanism for marine recovery and should contribute to the Government’s commitment to protect 30% of our seas by 2030. HPMAs will also act as a natural solution to help store carbon and tackle climate change, as well as generating benefits through tourism, recreation and marine education.

Editor's notes

In order for HPMAs to be effective, The Wildlife Trusts are calling for: 

  • HPMAs to follow a whole-site approach, protecting all the wildlife and habitats within their boundaries with effective management measures 
  • HPMAs should be sufficient in size and number, with 30% of our seas designated as HPMAs by 2030, and well monitored to understand what happens when damaging activities are removed and how our seas can recover 
  • This will help us determine appropriate management measures for the rest of the Marine Protected Area network 
  • HPMAs must provide a higher level of protection than other types of protected area, allowing marine areas to return to as natural a state as possible, with more wildlife 

The Benyon Review

In June 2019, the Secretary of State announced a review to examine whether and how the strongest protections for areas of sea, known as Highly Protected Marine Areas (HPMAs), could be introduced. The review was led by Richard Benyon MP and considered the waters for which the Secretary of State has responsibility: the English inshore and offshore and Northern Ireland offshore zones. The Review concluded that HPMAs are an essential part of the UK Marine Protected Area network for protection and recovery of the marine environment. The Wildlife Trusts backed the Review’s recommendations.

Pilot HPMA Selection Process

In June 2021, the government responded to the Benyon review and committed to designate pilot HPMAs in English waters in 2022. Following this, JNCC published the ecological principles and criteria used to identify potential HPMAs and third parties were invited to propose sites, submitting evidence of their ecological merit. The Wildlife Trusts submitted sites as part of this process.

A shortlist of five proposed locations around England were published on 6th July 2022. Following this announcement, a consultation on the proposed HPMAs is open until 28th September 2022 and additional evidence will be gathered before Ministers decide which sites, and their respective boundaries to designate. For details of the consultation, please see here. For details of the HPMA designation process, please see here.

Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust
Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust has worked for over 70 years protecting wildlife and wild places, and educating, influencing and empowering people to take action for wildlife. We manage almost 100 of the best sites for wildlife in Lincolnshire, North Lincolnshire and North-East Lincolnshire. With the support of our members, we are helping to secure the future of many important habitats and species, making Lincolnshire wilder and ensuring that nature is part of everyone’s lives.

We are one of 46 locally based Wildlife Trusts with more than 870,000 members and 38,000 volunteers. No matter where you are in Britain, there is a Wildlife Trust. Visit lincstrust.org.uk

The Wildlife Trusts
The Wildlife Trusts believe that people need nature and it needs us. We are here to make the world wilder and to make nature part of everyone’s lives. We are a grassroots movement of 46 charities with more than 850,000 members and 38,000 volunteers. No matter where you are in Britain, there is a Wildlife Trust inspiring people and saving, protecting and standing up for the natural world. With the support of our members, we care for and restore special places for nature on land and run marine conservation projects and collect vital data on the state of our seas. Every Wildlife Trust works within its local community to inspire people to create a wilder future – from advising thousands of landowners on how to manage their land to benefit wildlife, to connecting hundreds of thousands of school children with nature every year. Visit wildlifetrusts.org

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