English - Caribbean Environment Programme

Threats, status and relative importance of the area (coastal Wales)Specific information on the impacts of human activities on harbour porpoises in this region is lacking,but Section 5.2 and Annex III provide a general assessment. Threats are likely to include acousticand physical disturbance and habitat degradation from vessel traffic and coastal development.Impacts are likely to be high in this region 659 , increasing the need to provide adequate protectionto identified areas of critical habitat. There have been no documented declines in conservationstatus for harbour porpoises. Within Europe, the UK's waters are of particular importance to harbourporpoises and long-term evidence shows that this area is one of the most important in the UK.This, combined with the potential threat level, increases the importance of identified critical habitat.Other areasOther areas assessed for harbour porpoises that received a score of less than four include eastof Northumberland, east Yorkshire, the western English Channel, the central Irish Sea and theGower peninsula.659Halpern et al, 200881