The Lundy Marine Conservation Zone 

2010

• Provisions to establish Marine Conservation Zones (MCZs) were included within the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009, which covered nearshore waters off the English and Welsh coasts.
• The MCZ designation replaced Lundy’s designation as a Marine Nature Reserve in January 2010. This was long before the announcement of the first tranche of MCZ designations in nearshore waters off the English and Welsh coasts on 21^st November 2013, which included the Lundy MCZ.
• The Lundy MCZ shares the same borders as the Marine Nature Reserve and the Special Area of Conservation, the inner border being the Mean High Water Mark (Ordinary Spring Tides).
• Total area of the MCZ (the MNR & SAC) is 31 km². Approximately 4% of this is intertidal area.
• The sole ‘protected feature’ listed in the designation for the Lundy MCZ is the spiny lobster Palinurus elephas. When announced, the fact there was just one species surprised a number of conservationists as there are several other species that could have be included as ‘protected species’.
• The conservation objective for the ‘protected feature’ is, if already in a favourable condition, to remain in such condition; or if not in a favourable condition, be brought into such condition and remain in such condition.
• Between 2013 and 2019, the UK Government designated a total of 91 Marine Conservation Zones in addition to the existing network of SACs and SPAs in English inshore and offshore waters. As a result, the network of 'Marine Protected Areas' off the English coast at the end of 2024 covered 92,000 km² or almost 40% of England's territorial seas.

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