The Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009 created a new type of Marine Protected Area (MPA), called a Marine Conservation Zone (MCZ). Together with other types of existing MPAs in England, MCZs will help to deliver the Government's aim for an 'ecologically coherent network of well managed Marine Protected Areas'.
The Joint Nature Conservation Committee and Natural England have established four MCZ regional projects to help take forward the identification of MCZs. We want to actively engage stakeholders whom have an interest in the marine environment and live and work in and around the sea to ensure any areas selected for MCZs are widely supported. This will also help to ensure that they will achieve the network goals that will be established.
This interactive map will allow people to input information on how and where they use the marine environment for a number of activities, such as diving and sea angling, at a regional level, so it's vital that we get your input into the process, and we thank you for your participation in this process.