Friday 22 July 2005

The Lundy No-Take Zone (NTZ) - an area to the east of Lundy Island, 12 miles off the North Devon coast - was set up in 2003 to enhance conservation of marine wildlife. It is the first time in the UK that an area has been designated where the removal of any living creature, including lobsters, crabs, scallops and fish, has been permanently banned by law.

The marine environment around Lundy is internationally important and supports many rare species.

Chris Davis, English Nature Maritime Conservation Officer, said: "For the second year now the results look very promising. This adds to our knowledge of what no-take zones in the UK can achieve. It's very exciting for us because, although we will have to wait several years to see the whole picture, the results so far have exceeded expectations."

The monitoring programme's lead scientist, Dr Miles Hoskin, said: "Our results show a very clear signal that lobsters in the NTZ are recovering from the effects of fishing. After only 18 months we found three times more lobsters of landable size in the NTZ compared to fished areas. This difference was highly significant. At the time, some argued that this was just a flash in the pan - but we found the same result again this year, which strongly suggests that this is not the case."

Research collaborator Professor Ross Coleman added: "We're also monitoring sponges and soft corals that may have been indirectly affected by fishing but more patience will be required to see how they respond".

Around the world, NTZs have resulted in more natural marine habitats and have bolstered the breeding stocks of commercially valuable species. Despite accumulating evidence of the benefits of NTZs, only a tiny percentage of the world's seas are protected in this way.

Working alongside English Nature, WWF-UK advocates that the Government's new Marine Bill should provide for a nationwide network of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs).

"Marine Protected Areas are a key part of the toolkit for managing fisheries and the wider marine environment," said Sylvette Peplowski, Marine Projects Officer for WWF-UK, "and the Lundy No-Take Zone provides a vital case-study of the potential benefits"

Ben Bradshaw, Marine and Fisheries Minister, said: "The Lundy Island No-Take Zone has been a resounding success. The number and size of crab and lobster both inside and, more importantly, outside the closed area has grown significantly.
"My view has always been that closed areas can play an important part in the future of our marine environment management. We shall continue to explore the environment and fish stock benefits of creating a network of similar areas."