Porcupine Newsletter Number 25, Winter 2008/09.

JNCC will continue to lead in the identification ofSACs and SPAs in UK offshore waters; and last yearconsulted on their first seven proposals for SpecialAreas of Conservation. These seven SAC sites wererecommended for their Annex I habitats on thebasis of the selection criteria contained within theHabitats Directive Annex III, and EC Guidance onimplementation of the Natura 2000 network in themarine environment. Both Braemar Pockmarks andScanner Pockmarks were selected for the presenceof submarine structures made by leaking gases. HaigFras, Stanton Banks, Darwin Mounds and WyvilleThomson Ridge were selected for the presenceof Annex I reefs. North Norfolk Sandbanks andSaturn Reef were selected for the presence of bothsandbanks and reefs (Figure 2).ReferencesDefra & the Welsh Assembly Government (2008)Draft guidance on selection and designation ofMarine Conservation Zones. Available from: http://www.defra.gov.uk/marine/biodiversity/marine-bill/guidance.htmDefra (2008) Marine and Coastal Access Bill. Availablefrom: http://services.parliament.uk/bills/2008-09/marineandcoastalaccess.htmlScottish Government (2008) Sustainable SeasFor All: a consultation on Scotland’s first marinebill. Available from: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/Doc/231463/0063135.pdfAbstracts of papers presented atthe conference but not submittedfor publicationThe BAP spots of WalesAethne CookCCW, Pembroke Dock, Pembrokea.cooke@ccw.gov.ukFigure 2 - proposed offshore SACsFollowing the responses received through thepublic consultation five of these sites were formallysubmitted by the UK Government to the EuropeanCommission in September 2008 (Braemar Pockmarks,Scanner Pockmarks, Haig Fras, Stanton Banks andDarwin Mounds). These are the first UK offshore areasto go through the process, and they will link up withan international network of protected areas in thewaters of other countries in the European Union.JNCC are hoping to start the next round of offshoreSAC consultations, which will lead to the secondphase of offshore SACs, in early 2009. It is likely thatat least 6 and possibly up to 13 further SACs willneed to be identified to fully represent the differentAnnex I habitat types in the UK offshore marinearea. The aim is to complete the UK contributionto the network of sites by 2010, as required by theEuropean Commission.Further information on marine protected areas aroundthe UK and the various initiatives can be found at:www.jncc.gov.uk/marineprotectedsitesA UK Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP) was published in1995 as one of the UK’s responses to the Conventionon Biological Diversity which was signed in 1992 bythe UK and other participating countries in Rio deJaneiro. A number of marine habitats and specieswere identified in 1999 for priority conservationaction in the UK through the BAP process. Followingan extensive revision of the UK BAP list of habitatsand species in 2007, the number of marine prioritieson the UK BAP list now stands at 24 habitats and88 species. The list of marine priorities identified atthe UK level has been used to establish a revisedWelsh BAP list, with the addition of a few ‘extras’to better reflect the habitats and species in need ofconservation action in Wales.As well as the primary objective of better management,the revision of marine BAP priorities brings with itthe added need for information on distribution andtrends for the habitats and species identified. TheBAP process, considered as a voluntary conservationmeasure, now has statutory underpinning throughthe Natural Environment and Rural Communities(NERC) Act 2006, which imparts a ‘biodiversity duty’to all public bodies (in England and Wales).PMNHS Newsletter No.25 Winter 2008/0925