THE Marine Protection Area Coalition (MPAC) has had its first meeting of the year with DEFRA, MMO, IFCAs and the statutory nature conservation bodies. MPAC took the opportunity to present an alternative approach to marine conservation zones to the one currently being pursued by the UK government.

Instead of what they see as a "faux-stakeholder" approach for marine conservation zones, the Coalition proposed that those affected must be at the centre of an authentic dialogue. The aim must be to achieve conservation objectives without displacing fishing vessels from their customary fishing grounds.

Although the four MCZ regional projects have produced some useful recommendations, MPAC maintain that the current process has four main flaws:

•A rushed process leading to poor decisions

• Weak evidence for decisions on site designation and management measures

•Weak coverage of fishing interests representation from those groups potentially affected

• Failure to address the consequences of displacement of fishing activity

According to the Coalition, to persist with this approach through to management measures within designated sites would inevitably end up with an adversarial trial of strength. By contrast, the policy suggested by the Coalition offers a consensus-based approach with negotiated and agreed outcomes. The key, the MPAC believe, is the close direct involvement of those affected in discussions over site and feature boundaries and appropriate management measures within the sites.

MPAC chairman Dr Stephen Lockwood, said after the meeting: "Whilst, there was some anxiety on the government side about unravelling some of the work on site designation, there did seem to be an appreciation that MPAC’s alternative has obvious merits. There was a commitment to provide a formal response to our ideas and we will discuss that response at our next meeting. We are hopeful that this represents the first step in a process that leads to a genuinely inclusive and participative approach to marine protected areas. We recognise that there is less flexibility in the European Natura sites but our approach has validity here too.

"The weaknesses in the evidence base for SAC and MCZ designation is now well recognised and our approach offers a way in which these uncertainties can be addressed.”