Today the Marine Conservation Society (MCS), the UK charity dedicated to protecting our seas, shores and wildlife, welcomed the announcement by Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment Richard Lochhead that a ‘No-Take’ zone is to be established in Lamlash Bay, Isle of Arran.

The local Community of Arran Seabed Trust (COAST) worked tirelessly to make this news come about. To help underpin their successful proposal, COAST divers sought Seasearch training from MCS Scotland to enable them to describe the important seabeds, including maerl, found in Lamlash Bay.

Calum Duncan, MCS Scottish Conservation Manager and Seasearch Scotland co-ordinator said “We welcome the Cabinet Secretary’s decision which vindicates all the hard advocacy work by COAST over the years. COAST are also to be commended for putting their MCS Seasearch training into action to help map the marine life in Lamlash Bay. Since MCS training, they have surveyed over 80 sites in Lamlash Bay, Whiting Bay and the Isle of Pladda, in the process becoming the local experts for their patch.”

“Seasearch evidence gathered by COAST divers helped provide the underpinning evidence for their proposals for Lamlash Bay. It also ensured that a sewage outfall was re-routed to avoid discharging on a fragile bed of maerl, one of the healthiest in the Clyde, and.”

To properly protect all of Scotland’s seas, MCS in Scotland is also a core member of the Scottish Environment LINK campaign for a Scottish Marine Bill that has the marine environment at heart.

Calum Duncan continued “To help protect, restore and enhance Scotland’s seas, a Scottish Marine Bill must deliver a comprehensive network of nationally important marine protected areas  throughout Scottish seas, as part of a wider approach to marine nature conservation, and be integrated with a UK Marine Bill. There is still time to respond to the Scottish Government’s consultation to show support for more marine protected areas.”
www.savescottishseas.org

MCS look forward to providing continued support for COAST and other communities interested in their local seabed and wanting to help protect it. MCS fully supports the development of further community driven marine protected areas, and is currently seeking information from the general public to develop further sites for marine protected area status. This is being facilitated by the Marine Conservation Society's Your Seas, Your Voice online questionnaire. http://www.mcsuk.org/mcsaction/marine_protected_areas/your+seas,+your+voice

Editors Notes:

The Marine Conservation Society (MCS) is the UK charity dedicated to protecting our seas, shores and wildlife. Since its formation in 1983, MCS has become a recognised authority on marine and coastal conservation and is regularly consulted by the UK Government and Scottish Government for its views on a range of marine issues. MCS provides information and guidance on many aspects of marine conservation and produces the annual Good Beach Guide (www.goodbeachguide.co.uk) and Good Fish Guide (www.fishonline.org), as well as promoting public participation in volunteer projects and surveys such as Beachwatch, Adopt-a-Beach and Basking Shark Watch. See www.mcsuk.org for more information.

Scottish and UK Marine Bills
MCS Scotland, through Scottish Environment LINK, has successfully lobbied for a Scottish Government commitment to a Scottish Marine Bill to deliver improved marine protection in Scottish waters. This must have the marine environment at heart and be developed in parallel with a UK Marine Bill. Contact Calum Duncan, MCS Scottish Conservation Manager on 0131 226 6360, email scotland@mcsuk.org or visit the LINK Scottish Marine Bill website www.savescottishseas.org.

Seasearch is a volunteer underwater survey project for recreational divers in the UK to record observations of marine habitats and the life they support. The information gathered is used to increase our knowledge of life beneath the sea and contribute towards its conservation.  Divers can participate in three different levels of recording depending on their knowledge and experience. Seasearch courses are being developed to provide training in marine habitat and species identification and survey methods. Seasearch is co-ordinated nationally by a Steering Group led by the Marine Conservation Society. The Seasearch website contains more information about the programme, including dates of courses and events: www.seasearch.org.uk.

Maerl
Maerl is a collective term for several species of calcified red seaweed. It grows as unattached nodules on the seabed and, under favourable conditions, can form extensive beds. Maerl is slow-growing, but over long periods its dead skeleton can accumulate into deep deposits (an important habitat in its own right), overlain by a thin layer of pink, living maerl, a rich but fragile habitat associated with over 600 species of seaweed, fish, mollusc, worm and crustacean. Maerl is very slow growing and is particularly sensitive to physical disturbance from a range of human activities, including coastal structures, discharge of effluent, dumping, direct extraction, aquaculture, mooring and mobile-gear fishing.