Government scales back plan for highly protected marine areas in England

Campaigners 'disappointed' that three sites banning fishing will now be created rather than the five originally proposedThree highly protected marine areas (HPMAs) will be created in England to ban fishing, the government said, in a scaled-back plan to introduce a new generation of marine nature reserves to rewild the sea.Five sites, including the coast of Lindisfarne in Northumberland, were originally proposed by the government to receive the highest level of marine protection, but two were dropped after concerns over socioeconomic impacts, including the cost to fishers. Continue reading...