Up to 127 areas in England are being considered as Marine Conservation Zones (MCZ), and sea users and other marine interest groups will make the choices, according to a report from Natural England. An article in the Guardian states the sites will range in size and level of protection, but all together will encompass an area about twice the size of Wales.
The article states that, "The zones range from a giant 5,800 sq km (2,240 sq mile) patch on the edge of British territorial waters in the western Channel to a minute 0.09 sq km speck of rock off Dorset, from the sea floor below some of the busiest shipping lanes in the world in the Channel to the muddy waters off the northern Irish coast where Dublin Bay prawn thrives."
