Feb. 28 (UPI) -- Government leaders in Britain announced Tuesday that they will provide the highest levels of protection for three marine areas in English waters, as conservationists called the scaled-back plan "disappointing."
The three Highly Protected Marine Areas, which are part of Britain's Environmental Improvement Plan, will ban fishing and dredging as early as July to increase "marine biodiversity and support climate-resilient ecosystems to thrive."
"Not only will the first of these Highly Protected Marine Areas protect important species and habitats, they will propel the U.K. forward in our mission to protect at least 30% of the global ocean by 2030," Marine Minister Lord Benyon said in a statement.
The three designated areas are Allonby Bay in the Irish Sea, Dolphin Head in the Eastern Channel and North East of Farnes Deep in the Northern North Sea.
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According to the British government, Allonby Bay contains "blue carbon" habitats, which capture and store carbon. The area is also a spawning habitat for cod, sole and herring. The bay's honeycomb reefs and blue mussel beds protect the coast from erosion and purify the water.
Dolphin Head was designated a Highly Protected Marine Area because it has been degraded by human activity, according to the government, which hopes to restore cod, herring, plaice and ross worm reefs.
North East of Farnes Deep made the list due to its high levels of biodiversity, which include birds, marine mammals and fish. It also includes spawning habitats for angler fish, surmullet, whiting and haddock.
"The long term sustainability of our ocean and its ability to provide the essential ecosystem services that will help us meet the challenge of climate change, protect food security and sustain the coastal and marine economy is in part dependent on having the right protections in place," Natural England Chair Tony Juniper said in a statement Tuesday.
In the United States, researchers have pinpointed areas of the ocean where strong protections would offer the greatest ecological benefits.
In a 2021 study, scientists said marine protections in specific areas, such as the Antarctica, would preserve 80% of the habitats for endangered marine species and boost commercial fish stocks by several million tons. Scientists say the solution is to put the strongest protections in those areas with diverse habitat and species, which are threatened by human activity.
While the British's government settled on three protected areas, it had considered five. Two sites -- Lindisfarne and Inner Silver Pit South -- were not designated, drawing criticism from conservationists who called the commitments "disappointing."
"We are disappointed that the government has only committed to three highly protected marine areas," said Lissa Batey, head of marine conservation at The Wildlife Trusts. "While three is better than none, the scale of the nature and climate crises means we need to protect much larger areas against the most damaging activities."
"It's taken three years and eight months to get here from the Benyon report recommendation," said Callum Roberts, a marine conservationist at the University of Exeter.
"At this rate, we'll get to 30% effective protection in 260 years," Roberts added. "That isn't a timescale that inspires confidence, and nor is it a sensible time over which to build ecosystem resilience to climate change."
