| Title: | The deliberate disturbance of marine European Protected Species - Guidance for English and Welsh territorial waters and the UK offshore marine area |
| Organisation: | JNCC |
| Issued: | Tue 18 March 2008 |
| Deadline: | 04 June 2008 |
| Status: | CLOSED Consultation is closed for comments |
| Synopsis: | Amendments to the Habitats Regulations for England and Wales and the new Offshore Marine Regulations came into force on 21 August 2007. Both Regulations revised the definition of disturbance of European Protected Species (EPS). These are species listed on the Annex IV to the Habitats Directive and include all species of cetaceans and turtles occurring in European waters and the Atlantic sturgeon.
It is now an offence to deliberately disturb wild animals of EPS in such a way as to be likely significantly to affect:
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The JNCC (with input from Natural England and Countryside Council for Wales) is required to provide advice on interpreting regulation 39(1)(b) from the point of view of nature conservation, by drafting guidance for those carrying out activities in the marine environment, to help determine when an offence might be committed, how it can be avoided and, if appropriate, when a wildlife licence might be required.
The Guidance is divided into sections. The first few sections introduce the offence; provide some of the background to JNCC’s advice on the interpretation of the law and present guidance on how to assess the likelihood of disturbing marine EPS. The next sections focus on species- and activity- specific guidance. Guidance is provided per species on what would constitute a “significant group” and what species would be most sensitive to the effects of disturbance on their local distribution and abundance, in UK waters. The activities section provides information on known impacts, highlights active areas of research and makes links to existing good practice guidelines currently in practice (or under development) in UK waters. Good practice guidelines on seismic surveys, pile driving and explosive use are included as annexes.
The IEMA are not planning on providing a response to this consultation. If any Member wishes to provide a response, please follow the instructions on the website below:
http://www.jncc.gov.uk/page-4227 |