Marine protection plan unveiled

Seven areas, which total 10,000sq km of sea, have been earmarked as sites for the UK's first offshore Special Areas of Conservation according to the news source. They include habitats of important sea life, such as sandbanks, sand volcanoes and cold water coral reefs, found in the seas surrounding the UK. Currently, only coastal and inshore areas are protected. The government says areas rich in wildlife further out to sea face a different kind of threat. Jonathan Shaw, the minister for marine, landscape and rural affairs, said: "The UK has one of the richest marine environments in the world. "We want to bring conservation standards at sea up to the level of those that we have on land, to give greater protection to sea life. The projected conservation areas include the Darwin Mounds, an exceptional cold water coral reef to the north-west of Scotland, and the Scanner and Braemar Pockmarks in the North Sea. Around 380 organisations will be contacted for their views on these proposals, but comments from any interested parties are welcome.