Working Groups hold first planning meetings

The Inshore and Offshore Working Groups have recently held their first planning meetings and reports of the meeting are now available.

The Inshore and Offshore Working Groups are a subset of the Steering Group and they are tasked with carrying out the detailed planning work on behalf of the wider Steering Group. The Steering Group will continue to meet every 3-4 months to review the progress of the Working Groups.

The Working Groups are currently considering potential building blocks for Marine Conservation Zones. These building blocks were identified by the Finding Sanctuary team, following a request from the Steering Group. The team identified the building blocks by looking at the ecological data for the region, considering the outputs from the local groups, and taking into account the economic data, such as licensed areas for renewables and commercial fishing activity. The building blocks provide the Working Groups with a starting point – they can select, remove, move and add building blocks and then assess how different options meet the ecological targets (the Ecological Network Guidance).

At the Steering Group meeting on the 9th June, the Working Groups will present their work to the wider Steering Group, who will have the opportunity to input into it. The outputs from the Working Group’s work so far, along with the additional comments and feedback from the Steering Group will make up the first progress report, which will be given to the Science Advisory Panel in June 2010.

The reports of the working groups are avaible to download from our Resources page under the relevant Group heading.