Establishing an Ecologically Coherent Network of Marine Protected Areas in English Waters: What Does the Designation of Marine Conservation Zones under the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009 Add to the Picture?

Establishing marine protected areas (MPAs) is a key conservation strategy to safeguard marine biodiversity from anthropogenic pressures. Designing MPAs is, however, not a simple task due to the complexity and fluidity of marine social-ecological environments. How best can we plan MPAs in such environments with no well-defined social and natural boundaries and in a way that is procedurally just? This article attempts to consider these issues, focusing on the ongoing UK legal efforts in establishing an ecologically coherent network of MPAs under section 123 of the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009. The network is to be made up of European marine sites, Ramsar sites, the marine component of Sites of Special Scientific Interest and marine conservation zones (MCZs), a new type of MPA established under section 116 of the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009. The designation criteria of MCZs are considered in detail and compared with those of other marine protected sites to understand what MCZs are adding to existing MPAs designated under European and international law. The article also grounds the legal discussion by critically considering the ongoing implementation of the MCZs' designation.