Finding Sanctuary is one of four regional projects which together make up the Marine Conservation Zone (MCZ) Project. The four regional MCZ projects cover the south-west (Finding Sanctuary), Irish Sea (Irish Sea Conservation Zones), North Sea (Net Gain) and south-east (Balanced Seas). These regional MCZ projects will work with sea users and interest groups to identify MCZs and provide recommendations for sites within their regions to Government. The MCZ project has been established by Defra, Natural England and the Joint Nature Conservation Committee to identify and recommend MCZs to Government.
MCZs together with other types of Marine Protected Area (MPA) will make up an ecologically coherent network of MPAs. This means the UK MPA network will be a collection of areas that work together to provide more benefits than an individual area could on its own. Find out more about the UK MPA network.
Defra has set up a Science Advisory Panel, an independent body comprised of expert marine scientists, which will support the four regional projects in the MCZ selection process by offering objective scientific assessment of site proposals, and independent advice to Ministers.
