Marine protected areas Stage 3 Consultation
Source: gov.uk (2025-09-30)

MMO is proposing management measures for fishing in 42 marine protected areas (MPAs) in English waters.

Stage 3 Marine Protected Areas Formal Consultation Closed

We’d like to thank everyone who took part in our Stage 3 marine protected areas (MPA) consultation.

This has been the most extensive and complex MPA consultation we’ve undertaken to date - launched on 9 June, running a total of sixteen weeks and seeking views on four proposed regional byelaws aimed at protecting sensitive habitats and species across 42 of England’s MPAs.

We appreciate all the feedback that we received through our online survey, virtual meetings and during our in-person events held around the coast during the consultation. We can confirm a record number of responses have been received.

MMO will now conduct a thorough review to ensure that all views and additional evidence is carefully considered before any decisions are made regarding future management measures. A summary of the consultation responses will also be published online once our review process has been completed.

We will continue to provide updates as soon as they are available and advise you on our next steps.

Stage 3 Overview

MMO is responsible for assessing and managing the impacts of fishing in offshore English MPAs (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/marine-protected-areas-mpas). Stage 3 aims to protect all designated seabed features in MPAs not already covered in Stages 1 and 2. The features include important habitats and species, essential for healthy and functional marine ecosystems.

We are now asking your views on our proposed fisheries management measures and any additional evidence to help shape our assessments. More detailed information can be found within our Stage 3 Consultation Document. (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/stage-3-consultation-document)

The proposed fisheries management measures are based on draft fisheries assessments which conclude that these measures are necessary to ensure, beyond reasonable scientific doubt, that the conservation objectives of these MPAs can be achieved.

These measures include:
- prohibitions of fishing using bottom towed gear in specified areas in 31 MPAs;
- prohibition of fishing using bottom towed gears and prohibitions on fishing using static gears (traps and/or bottom set nets and lines) in specified areas in four MPAs;
- prohibition of fishing using traps in a specified area of one MPA;
- prohibition of fishing using bottom towed gear and prohibition of the removal of spiny lobster, also known as crawfish (Palinurus elephas) in a specified area of one MPA;
- minor changes to existing bottom towed gear prohibitions in 5 MPAs to reflect the most up to date approach, habitat location and depth information.
These management measures will be delivered through the creation of four proposed byelaws, each covering a different region. These byelaws will also incorporate all previous MMO MPA measures, replacing all prior MMO MPA byelaws, providing a single point of reference for all MMO MPA fisheries measures.

The four proposed byelaws are:
- The North Sea Marine Protected Areas Fishing Gear Byelaw 2024 (covering ICES areas 4b and 4c) (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-north-sea-marine-protected-areas-fishing-gear-byelaw-2024)
- The Eastern Channel Marine Protected Areas Fishing Gear Byelaw 2024 (covering ICES area 7d) (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-eastern-channel-marine-protected-areas-fishing-gear-byelaw-2024)
- The Western Channel and Southwest Marine Protected Areas Fishing Gear Byelaw 2024 (covering ICES areas 7e, 7f, 7g, 7h and 7j) (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-western-channel-and-southwest-marine-protected-areas-fishing-gear-byelaw-2024)
- The Irish Sea Marine Protected Areas Fishing Gear Byelaw 2024 (covering ICES area 7a) (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-irish-sea-marine-protected-areas-fishing-gear-byelaw-2024)
The proposed measures include prohibitions on fishing using bottom towed gears in approximately 30,000 km2, on fishing using traps of approximately 860 km2, and on fishing using bottom set nets and lines in approximately 300 km2.

The social and economic impacts of the proposed measures are displayed in the draft de minimis assessment (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/stage-3-impacts-evidence). The annual cost to UK businesses is estimated to be £530,000.

The total benefit over the 20-year appraisal period, accounting for total net costs to UK businesses and public bodies of £7.8 million, and the benefits from enhanced environmental protection, including enhanced fish populations, nutrient cycling and climate regulation is estimated to be approximately £3.1 billion.

MMOs has carried out site level assessments of the impacts of fishing gear on protected features in the 43 Stage 3 MPAs and published our method document explaining our assessment process. (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/stage-3-site-assessments)

These impacts assessments follow our Stage 3 MPAs Call for evidence (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/stage-3-mpas-call-for-evidence) held in 2023.