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The Irish Sea Pilot: Developing Marine Nature Conservation Objectives for the Irish Sea 2004

Abstract

The purpose of the Irish Sea Pilot was to help develop a strategy for marine nature conservation that could be applied to all UK waters and, with international collaboration, the adjacent waters of the North-East Atlantic. The work fulfils a commitment made by the UK Government in May 2002, at the launch of Safeguarding our Seas, and was funded primarily by Defra with contributions from other partners.

This report proposes a framework and process for developing objectives for use at the Whole Sea, Regional Sea and other scales. The key elements of this framework and the principles which should be considered in its development are described. These have been applied to identify an illustrative suite of conservation or 'ecological' objectives for the Irish Sea. These objectives include what previously may have been thought of as broader ecological or environmental objectives, for example in relation to water quality. This is because conservation has shifted away from the more 'traditional' focus on rare and threatened interests, to encompass all ecological components of the ecosystem, including more commonly occurring features, and the functional processes that support them. The conclusions of the Pilot emphasise the important and urgent need to manage and deliver this shift in approach.

Resource type Publication

Topic category Oceans

Reference date 2004·04·01

Citation
Lumb, C.M., Fowler, S.L., Atkins, S.M., Gilliland, P.M. & Vincent, M.A. 2004. The Irish Sea Pilot: Developing Marine Nature Conservation Objectives for the Irish Sea. JNCC Report No. 350, JNCC, Peterborough, ISSN 0963-8091.

Lineage
The purpose of the Irish Sea Pilot was to help develop a strategy for marine nature conservation that could be applied to all UK waters and, with international collaboration, the adjacent waters of the North-East Atlantic.

Responsible organisation
Communications, JNCC publisher

Limitations on public access No limitations

Use constraints Available under the Open Government Licence 3.0

Metadata date 2020·07·21

Metadata point of contact
Communications, JNCC

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