European Ocean Biodiversity Information System

"The Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009 allows for the creation of Marine Conservation Zones (MCZs). MCZs protect a range of nationally important marine wildlife, habitats, geology and geomorphology, and can be designated anywhere in English and Welsh territorial and UK offshore waters. Lundy Island, a former Marine Nature Reserve in the Bristol Channel became the UK's first MCZ in January 2010. More information on Marine Conservation Zones is available on Defra's website. Cefas, executive agency of Defra acting on behalf of the UK Government, has been tasked with delivering a programme of data collection to support implementation of Marine Conservation Zones (MCZs) within the UK Continental Shelf. Verification, baseline setting and monitoring surveys have been carried out by Cefas and contractors to obtain data from seabed survey work, including acoustics, video, sediment sampling, to provide data and habitat maps to increase the quality and amount of evidence available. "