Open consultation Consultation on the development of fisheries management measures for Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in the Northern Ireland offshore region.

Summary

The Department is consulting on the proposed development of fisheries management measures for Marine Protected Areas in the Northern Ireland offshore region.

Documents

• Cover Letter Adobe PDF (256 KB)
• Consultation on the Development of Fisheries Management Measures in Offshore Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) Adobe PDF (2 MB)
• Habitats Regulations Assessment Adobe PDF (2 MB)
• Marine Conservation Zone Assessment Adobe PDF (1 MB)
• MarESA Vulnerability Assessment Adobe PDF (461 KB)
• Regulatory Impact Assessment Adobe PDF (275 KB)
• Rural Needs Impact Assessment Adobe PDF (414 KB)
• Equality and Human Rights Screening Adobe PDF (762 KB)

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Consultation description

The department is consulting on the introduction of fisheries management measures for the following MPAs:

• Pisces Reef Complex Special Area of Conservation;
• South Rigg Marine Conservation Zone; and
• Queenie Corner Marine Conservation Zone.

The relevant information required to respond to the consultation questions is contained within the consultation document.

You may also wish to consider the following information sources:

1. The Habitat Regulations Assessment; 
2. The Marine Conservation Zone Assessment; and
3. The Marine Evidence Sensitivity Assessment (MarESA) Report.

The Department welcomes your views on the introduction of fisheries management measures to safeguard features within Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) within the Northern Ireland offshore region. There is no requirement to provide comments on all of the proposals - you may wish only to provide comments on sites of particular interest to you.

The proposed fisheries management measures have been subject to an Equality and Human Rights Impact Screening exercise, Regulatory Impact Assessment and a Rural Needs Impact Assessment. Your feedback is also welcome on these assessments. 

Please ensure that your comments reach us by the closing date stated, as we are unable to accept late submissions.

In an effort to reduce the environmental impact of the production of consultation papers, the Department is encouraging stakeholders to respond using the online response function.

If you prefer, comments on the proposed fisheries management measures can also be made by email or post. If required, a limited number of hard copies (typescript) of the the consultation response form are available - please contact us by email to MarineConservation@daera-ni.gov.uk or by telephone (028 9056 9269) to discuss your requirements.