title: Diverging strategies to planning an ecologically coherent network of MPAs in the North Sea: the roles of advocacy, evidence and pragmatism in the face of uncertainty.
abstract: The North Sea is one of the most economically important seas in the world due to productive fisheries, extensive oil and gas fields, busy shipping routes, marine renewable energy development and recreational activity. Unsurprisingly, therefore, the use of marine protected areas (here defined widely to include fisheries closed areas and no-take marine reserves) in its management has generated considerable controversy-particularly with regards to the design of a regional ecologically coherent MPA network to meet international obligations. Drawing on three MPA processes currently occurring in the UK North Sea, we examine the real-world problems that make the designation of MPA networks challenging. The political problems include: disagreement among (and within) sectors over policy objectives and priorities, common access to fisheries resources at the EU level increasing the scale at which decisions have to be made and lack of an integrated strategy for implementing protected areas in the North Sea. The scientific problems include the patchy knowledge of benthic assemblages, limited knowledge of fishing gear-habitat interactions, and the increased risk of unforeseen externalities if human activity (predominantly fishing) is displaced from newly protected sites. Diverging stakeholder attitudes to these problems means that there is no consensus on what ecological coherence actually means. Ultimately, we caution against 'quick-fix' solutions that are based on advocacy and targets, as they create confusion and undermine trust in the planning process. We argue for a more pragmatic approach to marine protection that embraces the complexity of the social and political arena in which decisions are made.
authors.affiliation: Seafish Industry Authority, Grimsby, United Kingdom; School of Marine Science and Technology, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom. Electronic address: alex.caveen@seafish.co.uk.
authors.forename: Alex J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Caveen
authors.affiliation: School of Marine Science and Technology, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Clare
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Fitzsimmons
authors.affiliation: Law School, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Margherita
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pieraccini
authors.affiliation: Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, Bedfordshire, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Euan
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Dunn
authors.affiliation: School of Marine Science and Technology, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Christopher J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Sweeting
authors.affiliation: Centre for Environmental and Marine Sciences, University of Hull, Scarborough, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Magnus L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.affiliation: School of Environmental Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Helen
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Bloomfield
authors.affiliation: School of Marine Science and Technology, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Estelle V
authors.initials: EV
authors.lastname: Jones
authors.affiliation: School of Marine Science and Technology, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Paula
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Lightfoot
authors.affiliation: School of Geography Politics and Sociology, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Tim S
authors.initials: TS
authors.lastname: Gray
authors.affiliation: School of Marine Science and Technology, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Selina M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Stead
authors.affiliation: School of Marine Science and Technology, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Nicholas V C
authors.initials: NV
authors.lastname: Polunin
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources; D005062:European Union; D005398:Fisheries; D033161:Government Regulation; D009659:North Sea; D011640:Public Policy; D035501:Uncertainty
keywords: Consultation; Habitat; MCZ; Natura 2000; Network; North Sea; Planning