A Nature Conservation MPA Designation Order was signed on 13 December 2022 and a Marine Conservation Order (MCO) has been signed & laid in parliament on 15 December 2022. Both will come into effect on 09 February 2023 giving permanent designation and protection for Red Rocks and Longay MPA.
LINK members welcome the permanent designation of the Red Rock and Longay Bay MPA.
Once widespread across the northern North Sea, Flapper skate are listed as critically endangered under the IUCN Red List and require urgent action to ensure the recovery of populations. Designating Red Rocks and Longay as a permanent MPA would provide much-needed protection for an important life-history stage of the critically endangered flapper skate.
However, we remain concerned that management of individual MPAs is considered in isolation and in the absence of a wider nature-friendly, spatial approach to marine and fisheries management.
Read the full brief: LINK Parliamentary Briefing_Saving flapper skate