Abstract
The aim of this project was to inform work underway to develop a regulatory impact assessment for the Marine Bill, and was not intended to specify exact localities to be considered for MPA nor a preferred network configuration. As part of the Bill, Defra are considering the inclusion of a mechanism to allow for the legal designation of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), but which special, vulnerable or representative areas can be given a greater level of protection. The aim of this work is to develop and map a range of potential MPA networks for UK waters to meet the UK's marine biodiversity conservation commitments under the OSPAR Convention. A series of network scenarios (covering the UK Continental Shelf Area) using the site-selection algorithm MARXAN were developed as part of the project to assess changes to the network configuration with variations in the design criteria used
United Kingdom