Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Marine and Coastal Partnership

Cornwall’s seas are in trouble. While 34% of our inshore sea has Marine Protected Area (MPA) designation, Cornwall Wildlife Trust’s 2020 State of Nature report found the network to be largely ineffective, with only 7% actively protected. Other threats include intensive fishing, sewage and agricultural pollution, inappropriate development and climate change, which damage marine habitats, reduce species abundance and diversity, and increase sea levels and temperatures.

The Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Marine and Coastal Partnership aims to establish seascape marine rewilding through a collaborative approach. The Partnership aims to work in collaboration, sharing information and developing visionary approaches. The partnership consists of representatives from developers, fisheries, statutory bodies, local government, environmental non-government organisations, harbour authorities, tourism businesses, and communities.

Community-led partnerships will also be established, where community-members, local business representatives, fishers, environmental groups, and others come together to identify threats to and opportunities for the local marine and coastal environment, with their collective voice informing work by and decisions within the strategic partnership.

KICK-STARTING REWILDING

The strategy for the project will be co-designed with local communities, however it will likely include habitat restoration to return missing habitats and species, including kelp and seagrass, alongside removing damaging activities and pressure to protect existing habitats (such as maerl beds). It aims to scale up existing marine restoration projects to include the whole of the Cornwall coastline, up to 12 nautical miles out to sea.