MPA Assessments
NIFCA have a responsibility under MaCAA (2009) and through DEFRA’s Revised Approach to MPA management (more information on this is available on Defra’s website) to ensure the conservation objectives of each MPA within the NIFCA district are met or furthered. NIFCA achieve this by monitoring and assessing each fishing activity in each MPA in the district.
This work assesses the impacts of each fishing activity on each individual feature in MPAs (features can include both habitats and species). While this work is ongoing, NIFCA have completed a number of these assessments to date with support from Natural England. After an MPA assessment is completed, to continue the monitoring in MPAs process, NIFCA complete annual Monitoring and Control Plans at the end of the research year.
This process has led to the creation of two Northumberland IFCA byelaws:
- Prohibition of the use of Mobile Fishing Gear within the English section of the Berwickshire and North Northumberland Coast Special Area of Conservation (SAC)
- Seagrass Protection Byelaw within the English section of the Berwickshire and North Northumberland Coast Special Area of Conservation (SAC)
And to the modification of the Trawling permit byelaw to restrict mobile gear in Coquet to St Mary’s MCZ.