DEFRA announces protection for Lyme Bay Reefs - one of the UK’s top marine wildlife sites

June 2008. One of the finest marine wildlife sites in the UK's is to be protected from damaging scallop-dredging, thanks to the introduction of a new 60sq mile exclusion zone in Lyme Bay - the first of its kind on this scale in the UK - announced by Defra.

Paul Gompertz, Devon Wildlife Trust's director, said: "This is one small step for marine but one giant leap for marine-kind. It finally acknowledges that our seas need vital life-support systems like Lyme Bay reefs. It's taken 18 years, hundreds of thousands of fundraised pounds, the energy and dedication of many people - and a host of setbacks and heartache along the way. But it has all been worth it - to see a new day dawn for the future of marine conservation in this country. The Government is to be congratulated on a bold step. Now we need to see the exclusions enforced."

The Wildlife Trusts have been campaigning for a 60sq mile exclusion zone around Lyme Bay reefs, since concern was highlighted, in the early 1990s, by divers who observed damage to some areas. Survey work by Devon and Dorset Wildlife Trusts has shown that scallop-dredging is damaging the reefs and that time is running out for their preservation.

300 species
Lyme Bay is home to around 300 recorded species of plants and animals, including dense populations of the nationally protected pink seafan and the extremely rare sunset coral. As well as a haven for sponges, starfish and coral, the reefs also support a range of seafood animals, including crab, lobster and scallops.

Public consultation
Last year Defra ran a public consultation to decide the future of Lyme Bay's vulnerable marine habitats and wildlife - nearly three-quarters (73%) of respondents responded in favour of a 60sq mile exclusion zone in Lyme Bay. A joint campaign between Devon Wildlife Trust, Dorset Wildlife Trust and The Wildlife Trusts also collected over 7,500 signatures through a postcard campaign and a further 3,000 people supported an online petition calling for protection of the full area of reefs from damaging scallop-dredging.

Simon Cripps, chief executive for Dorset Wildlife Trust, said: "This decision represents a landmark for both wildlife protection and sustainable fishing, showing that there is potential for conservation and fishing interests to work together in the future."

Last year Devon Wildlife Trust published a report - ‘Lyme Bay Reefs - A 16 year search for sustainability' summarising 16 years of studying the Lyme Bay reefs to assess their nature conservation value and investigate the impact of human activities - especially scallop-dredging.

The report concludes that:
• The threat from scallop-dredging will, if left unchecked, lead to wholesale destruction of nationally important seabed communities in Lyme Bay.
• A total ban on scallop-dredging on Lyme Bay reefs is the only effective way to protect rare and protected species.
• Scallop-dredging is less economically valuable to Lyme Bay reefs than sustainable activities such as diving, potting and angling.

During the 1990s, Devon Wildlife Trust worked with local fishermen and, in 2001, negotiated a voluntary agreement to stop scallop-dredging in two parts of the Bay. This agreement broke down in 2006, demonstrating the need for a statutory approach. Natural England, with the backing of The Wildlife Trusts, subsequently called upon Defra to introduce an Order to stop the damaging activity. Currently a 12sq mile voluntary exclusion zone is all that exists, allowing damaging dredging to continue over most of the reef system.
Reef destroyed

The Exeters Reef at the mouth of the Exe estuary in Lyme Bay is an example of what can happen without protection - here years of dredging have transformed a complex marine landscape into a featureless plain.

An independent economic report by Homarus Ltd published in May 2007 has shown that lobster and crab potting, sea angling and recreational diving on the Lyme Bay reefs already generate more than twice the income gained from scallop-dredging.

Joan Edwards, The Wildlife Trusts' head of marine policy, said: "We welcome this decision. In developing its Marine Bill, the Government has repeatedly emphasised the importance of sound science in decision-making for the marine environment. Lyme Bay reefs is one of the best-studied areas of seabed off the entire UK coast, and the scientific and economic data have pointed very clearly to one sustainable option: closure of the reefs to scallop-dredging."