The statutory Marine Nature Reserve 

1986-2010

• Following calls from marine scientists and conservationists throughout the 1970s for greater protection of the marine environment, provisions were included in the Wildlife and Countryside Act, 1981 (Sections 36 and 37) which allowed for statutory Marine Nature Reserves (MNRs) to be established in England, Wales and Scotland.
• A public meeting was held at Braunton Community College of all interested parties on 5^th February 1982 on the proposal for Lundy to become a statutory MNR. The meeting was addressed by representatives of the Nature Conservancy Council (NCC), the Devon Sea Fisheries Committee, commercial fishermen, recreational divers, marine conservationists and the National Trust.
• The NCC were tasked with selecting candidate MNR sites and then consulting all interested parties about them. They appointed two Marine Liaison Officers in 1983, one for Lundy and one for the Isles of Scilly, to assess local opinions. There were numerous objections to the proposals from the Isles of Scilly islanders which were considered insurmountable. Concerns about the Lundy proposals were successfully resolved, resulting in Lundy being the only site put forward to become a MNR in English waters. It was widely acknowledged that the provisions set out in the Act of 1981 were weak, as all interested parties had either to support the proposals or, at the very least, not object to them (Hiscock & Irving, 2012).
• Another meeting of interested parties was hosted by the Nature Conservancy Council in February 1985 in Bideford. It was decided that an advisory group be set up which was initially known as the Lundy Marine Consultation Group.
• The Lundy MNR was declared on 21^st November 1986, with the Minister for the Environment, William Waldegrave, visiting the island on the same day.

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