UK Government Adds New Marine Protected Areas Nearly 8x the Size of Greater London

The UK government has added 12,000 square kilometers (approximately 4,633 square miles) to England’s "blue belt" of protected marine areas, meaning the UK now protects a swath of its ocean nearly twice the size of England itself, The Guardian reported Friday . The 41 new Marine Conservation Zones were created by Environment Secretary Michael Gove Friday and cover an area off the coast of England that is nearly eight times the size of greater London, according to a government press release . "The UK is already leading the rest of the world by protecting over 30 percent of our ocean — but we know there is more to do. Establishing this latest round of Marine Conservation Zones in this Year of Green Action is another big step in the right direction, extending our blue belt to safeguard precious and diverse sea life for future generations to come," Gove said. We’ve introduced 41 new #MarineConservationZones 🌊 to protect #marinelife. They cover 12,000 square km – an area al… https://t.co/Ps5Cce7Zpi — Defra UK (@DefraGovUK) 1559278276.0 The new zones range from the waters around the Isles of Scilly in the south to the Northumberland coast in the north, The Independent reported . […]

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