London: Proposals for the closure of the Fal and Helford Special Area of Conservation (SAC) in Cornwall to bottom trawling, have been published today by Defra. Fisheries Minister Jonathan Shaw took the decision to protect the SAC against the damaging effects of scallop dredging.
Defra is inviting views on the consequences of the intended closure of the SAC to scallop dredging and other bottom trawling, through the consultation process.
Cornwall Sea Fisheries Committee and Defra have also planned to establish the SAC as an Experimental Marine Protected Area to better manage scallop stocks within the SAC and to investigate whether there may be benefits to scallop populations and fisheries outside the SAC.
Defra says that the Fal and Helford SAC is designated to protect important marine habitats which are: maerl beds; eelgrass beds; sandbanks; large shallow inlets and bays; reefs, and estuaries.
The beds of maerl in the Fal estuary are the largest in England and Wales and offer shelter to a large number of species of plants and and animals.
Underwater meadows of eelgrass, Britain's only flowering marine plant, provide shelter for crabs, anemones, young fish and seahorses. However the beds of eal grass damage easily and take years to recover leaving bare patches.
Scallop dredging in the SAC "does not take full account of the conservation value of the damage it causes to those features", according to the Department.
There is already a Voluntary Agreement between fishermen and the Cornwall Sea Fisheries Committee but Defra's scientific advisers do not consider that this is sufficient to ensure habitats are not damaged.
A baseline survey of scallop stocks is being carried out by the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science, funded by the Defra.
Defra and Sea Fisheries Committees are required to protect SACs under European Union and domestic law.
Responsibility for monitoring the SAC lies with Natural England and other relevant authorities such as the Cornwall Sea Fisheries Committee.
Further information
The consultation ends 18th April 2008.
Further information can be found at http://www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/consult/fal-helford/ or e-mail mailto:patrick.cotter@defra.gsi.gov.uk