Clause 129
Marine and Coastal Access Bill [Lords]
9:00 am
Huw Irranca-Davies (Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Marine and Natural Environment), Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs; Ogmore, Labour)
I shall both disappoint and reassure my hon. Friend. He shows the importance of getting the area—the scope—of the MCZ right, based on the best scientific evidence. Clause 129 sets out the byelaw provisions for the protection of MCZs—for example, to restrict the movement of animals and vessels, to restrict speed and to restrict the anchoring of vessels in an MCZ. There may also be byelaws to restrict the killing or taking of animals and plants in the zone. However, that is within the zone. It is important to get the zone and the network of zones right, so that movement, whether migration of species in the marine environment or the movement of birdlife, can be taken into account. This is a question of designating the geographic limits not only of the individual zone, but of other zones that relate to it. That is where the network becomes important.
As I said, I have to disappoint my hon. Friend in some ways, as we cannot take account of things outside the zone. This clause has to do with the byelaws that apply within a zone. That is where the importance of getting the zone right comes into play. The hope is that if the zones are set up in the right way, they will take account of the factors to which he referred, to the satisfaction of the CCW and others.