Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA)

Lead Contact Details

Name: Marine and Coastguard Agency
Email: infoline@mcga.gov.uk
Tel: 0203 817 2000

Status

Executive Agency of the UK Government

Geography Area Covered

UK Territorial Waters

Membership Details

The partnership governance groups this organisation is represented on are:

• Management Partnership

Marine Protected Areas

The MCA operates, or has management which influence, on the following inshore marine protected areas between Fast Castle Head and the River Tyne:

• Berwickshire and North Northumberland Coast SAC
• St Abbs Head to Fast Castle SPA
• Tweed Estuary SAC
• Northumbria Coast SPA
• Lindisfarne SPA
• Farne Islands SPA
• Coquet Island SPA
• Northumberland Marine SPA
• Aln Estuary Marine Conservation Zone (MCZ)
• Coquet to St Mary’s MCZ
• Berwick to St Mary’s MCZ

Responsibilites

Management Actions

The MCA has the following management measures in place to ensure its functions and regulatory powers are carried out in a manner that achieves the conservation objectives for the inshore marine protected areas in which it operates:

1. Consider the sensitivities of marine protected areas in all relevant oil and pollution response plans
2. Ensure local oil and chemical spill response plans have taken the advice of nature conservation stakeholders into account
3. Ensure harbours within Berwickshire and Northumberland are adequately prepared and trained to respond to incidents
4. Ensure vessels are disposing of waste in a manner which complies with the requirements of the MARPOL Convention

Data, Information and Mapping

The MCA  holds the following data that could be of interest to other partners who are responsible for managing marine areas:

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