Skomer Marine Conservation Zone

Last updated February 22, 2019

A live individual of the nudibranch Greilada elegans on a bryozoan in Skomer Marine Nature Reserve, Wales, UK Greele01.jpg — A live individual of the nudibranch *Greilada elegans* on a bryozoan in Skomer Marine Nature Reserve, Wales, UK

Skomer Marine Conservation Zone is an underwater marine nature reserve located off the coast of Pembrokeshire in Wales. The nature reserve completely surrounds the islands of Skomer and Middleholm, and encompasses the mainland coastline around the end of the Marloes peninsula, including the small bay of Martin's Haven.

Marine nature reserve (MNR) is a conservation designation officially awarded by a government to a marine reserve of national significance.

Pembrokeshire is a county in the southwest of Wales. It is bordered by Carmarthenshire to the east, Ceredigion to the northeast, and the sea everywhere else.

Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in 2011 of 3,063,456 and has a total area of 20,779 km² (8,023 sq mi). Wales has over 1,680 miles (2,700 km) of coastline and is largely mountainous, with its higher peaks in the north and central areas, including Snowdon, its highest summit. The country lies within the north temperate zone and has a changeable, maritime climate.

The sea bed and rocky shelves of the island are teeming with life. Common eelgrass, Zostera marina , one of the very few plants that flower underwater, grows on beds of sand and gravel in sheltered waters and its long, grass-like leaves form underwater lawns that provide food and shelter for other plants and animals. Species of lobsters, crabs and other crustaceans abound, and grey seals give birth on the coast in October and November.

Zostera is a small genus of widely distributed seagrasses, commonly called marine eelgrass or simply eelgrass. The genus Zostera contains 15 species.

The grey seal is found on both shores of the North Atlantic Ocean. It is a large seal of the family Phocidae which are commonly referred to as "true seals" or "earless seals". It is the only species classified in the genus Halichoerus. Its name is spelled gray seal in the US; it is also known as Atlantic seal and the horsehead seal.

History

Although the island of Skomer had long been a protected area, the Marine Nature Reserve was not established until 1990.^[1] It was one of only three Marine Nature Reserves in United Kingdom.^[2] Since the introduction of Marine Conservation Zones in 2013, there has been a larger network of marine reserves in the UK. Skomer itself was reclassified as a Marine Conservation Zone in December 2014.^[2]

The United Kingdom, officially the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland but more commonly known as the UK or Britain, is a sovereign country lying off the north-western coast of the European mainland. The United Kingdom includes the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands. Northern Ireland is the only part of the United Kingdom that shares a land border with another sovereign state‍—‌the Republic of Ireland. Apart from this land border, the United Kingdom is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, with the North Sea to the east, the English Channel to the south and the Celtic Sea to the south-west, giving it the 12th-longest coastline in the world. The Irish Sea lies between Great Britain and Ireland. With an area of 242,500 square kilometres (93,600 sq mi), the United Kingdom is the 78th-largest sovereign state in the world. It is also the 22nd-most populous country, with an estimated 66.0 million inhabitants in 2017.

A Marine Conservation Zone (MCZ) is a type of marine nature reserve in UK waters. They are established under the Marine and Coastal Access Act (2009) and are areas designated with the aim to protect nationally important, rare or threatened habitats and species. Approximately 20% of UK waters now have some protection although some conservation, fisherman and wildlife groups are concerned that there are no management plans for each zone.

Related protected area

In 2004 Pembrokeshire Marine SAC was designated. The SAC is much larger than the nature reserve at 132,174 ha.^[3]

A Special Area of Conservation (SAC) is defined in the European Union's Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC), also known as the Directive on the Conservation of Natural Habitats and of Wild Fauna and Flora. They are to protect the 220 habitats and approximately 1000 species listed in annex I and II of the directive which are considered to be of European interest following criteria given in the directive. They must be chosen from the Sites of Community Importance by the State Members and designated SAC by an act assuring the conservation measures of the natural habitat.

Related Research Articles

Bristol Channel major inlet in the island of Great Britain

The Bristol Channel is a major inlet in the island of Great Britain, separating South Wales from Devon and Somerset in South West England. It extends from the lower estuary of the River Severn to the North Atlantic Ocean. It takes its name from the English city of Bristol, and is over 30 miles (50 km) wide at its western limit.

Pembrokeshire Coast National Park is a national park along the Pembrokeshire coast in west Wales.

Skokholm or Skokholm Island is an island 2.5 miles (4.0 km) off the coast of south west Pembrokeshire in Wales, lying south of the neighbouring island of Skomer, in the community of Marloes and St Brides. The whole island is a Site of Special Scientific Interest as is Skomer. The surrounding waters are a marine reserve and all are part of the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park.

Skomer or Skomer Island is an island off the coast of Pembrokeshire, in the community of Marloes and St Brides in west Wales. It is well known for its wildlife: around half the world's population of Manx shearwaters nest on the island, the Atlantic puffin colony is the largest in southern Britain, and the Skomer vole is unique to the island. Skomer is a national nature reserve, a Site of Special Scientific Interest and a Special Protection Area. It is surrounded by a marine nature reserve and is managed by the Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales.

Grassholm or Grassholm Island is a small uninhabited island situated 13 kilometres (8 mi) off the southwestern Pembrokeshire coast in Wales, lying west of Skomer, in the community of Marloes and St Brides. It is the westernmost point in Wales other than the isolated rocks on which the Smalls Lighthouse stands. Grassholm is known for its huge colony of northern gannets; the island has been owned since 1947 by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, and is one of its oldest reserves. It reaches 42 metres (138 ft).

Gateholm or Gateholm Island is a small tidal island off the south west coast of Pembrokeshire, in the community of Marloes and St Brides, in the south west side of Wales, in the west of the UK, and about 8 miles (13km) west of the port of Milford Haven. It is known for its Romano-British remains.

Ramsey Island is an island about 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) off St David's Head in Pembrokeshire on the northern side of St Brides Bay, in southwest Wales. It is 259 hectares in area. Ramsey means Hrafn's island.

St Brides Bay is a bay in western Pembrokeshire, West Wales.

Marloes is a village and parish in Pembrokeshire, West Wales, on the Marloes Peninsula 7 miles (11 km) west of the port of Milford Haven and forms the westernmost tip of the southern shore of St Brides Bay. It is within part of the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park. The parish has 6 miles (10 km) of mainland coastline accessible throughout by the Pembrokeshire Coast Path and, together with St Brides, constitutes the community of Marloes and St Brides.

The Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales is a Wildlife Trust in south and west Wales, one of 46 such Trusts in the United Kingdom.

Ronald Lockley Welsh naturalist and author

Ronald Mathias Lockley was a Welsh ornithologist and naturalist. He wrote over fifty books on natural history, including a major study of shearwaters, and many articles. He is perhaps best known for his book The Private Life of the Rabbit.

Jack Sound is a treacherous body of water about 800 metres (2,600 ft) wide between the island of Skomer and the Pembrokeshire mainland that contains numerous reefs and a tidal race of up to 6 knots.

Martin’s Haven is a small bay in Pembrokeshire, Wales, UK. It is located on the Dale Peninsula, with views across St Bride's Bay towards St David's. Its tiny pebble and shingle beach has a stone slipway which acts as an embarkation point for the ferry which visits the nearby island of Skomer, a national nature reserve, during summer. Martin’s Haven lies within the Skomer Marine Conservation Zone and is popular for scuba diving. Grey seals can be seen basking on the rocks. The land is owned by the National Trust.

South Walney is one of two nature reserves on Walney Island, England. The nature reserve has an area of 130 ha. It has been managed by the Cumbria Wildlife Trust since 1963. The reserve is notable for:

The Sea Empress oil spill occurred at the entrance to the Milford Haven Waterway in Pembrokeshire, Wales on 15 February 1996. The Sea Empress was en route to the Texaco oil refinery near Pembroke when she became grounded on mid-channel rocks at St. Ann's Head. Over the course of a week, she spilt 72,000 tons of crude oil into the sea. The spill occurred within the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park – one of Europe's most important and sensitive wildlife and marine conservation areas. It was Britain's third largest oil spillage and the twelfth largest in the world at the time.

Many parts of Wales are protected areas, according to a number of designations. They include three national parks, and five Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Cardigan Bay Special Area of Conservation (SAC), in Cardigan Bay, West Wales, UK, has been designated under European Union law to protect a variety of important species and habitats.

Tŷ Canol Woods are an ancient woodland in the Tŷ Canol National Nature Reserve which lies south of the village of Felindre Farchog, Pembrokeshire, Wales, between the Preseli Mountains and the north Pembrokeshire coast. The site is designated as an SSSI, NNR and SAC.

References

↑ "Skomer Marine Nature Reserve". 2014. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
1 2 "Skomer Designated Wales' First Marine Conservation Zone" (Press release). Marine Conservation Society. December 2014. Retrieved 11 April 2015.
↑ BirdLife International (2015). Important Bird Areas factsheet: Skokholm and Skomer. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 11/04/2015

External links

Photos of Skomer Marine Nature Reserve and surrounding area on geograph
"Skomer MNR report". Countryside Council for Wales . Retrieved 2009-05-29.

The Countryside Council for Wales, a Welsh Government Sponsored Body, was, until 31 March 2013, the wildlife conservation, landscape and countryside access authority for Wales. It was merged with Forestry Commission Wales, and Environment Agency Wales to form Natural Resources Wales, a single body managing Wales's environment and natural resources, on 1 April 2013.

Coordinates: 51°43′55″N5°16′34″W / 51.732°N 5.276°W / 51.732; -5.276

Geographic coordinate system Coordinate system

A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are often chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position and two or three of the numbers represent a horizontal position; alternatively, a geographic position may be expressed in a combined three-dimensional Cartesian vector. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation. To specify a location on a plane requires a map projection.

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[CCW-1] "Skomer Marine Nature Reserve". 2014. Retrieved 9 April 2015.

[mcsuk-2] 1 2 "Skomer Designated Wales' First Marine Conservation Zone" (Press release). Marine Conservation Society. December 2014. Retrieved 11 April 2015.

[3] BirdLife International (2015). Important Bird Areas factsheet: Skokholm and Skomer. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 11/04/2015