Lyme Bay-a case study: measuring recovery of benthic species, assessing potential spill-over effects and socio-economic changes

Lyme Bay, located off the south west coast of England is home to some of the UK‟s most important reef habitat and is considered to be both nationally and internationally important in ecological and conservation terms. It is also an important area for commercial fishing and has a substantial number of recreational users. In July 2008 the UK Government (Defra) acted on guidance from Natural England that advised the closure of a 60 nm2 area of Lyme Bay to bottom towed fishing gear. This closure took the form of a Statutory Instrument and had the primary aim of allowing the recovery of benthic biodiversity. The reefs have now also been put forward by Natural England as part of the Lyme Bay and Torbay candidate Special Area of Conservation (cSAC). Following the closure, the Marine Institute, University of Plymouth was awarded the contract for a three year project funded by Defra and Natural England that aims to assess both the ecological and socio-economic implications of the closure. The project partners are the Marine Biological Association of the UK, Plymouth Marine Laboratory Limited, and Marine Bio-images