Country information
Basic facts on marine waters
- Territorial sea (12 nm zone): km²
- Exclusive Economic Zone: km²
National practices
National projects
- SIMCelt – Supporting Implementation of MSP in the Celtic Seas
- TPEA – Transboundary Planning in the European Atlantic
- ALICE – Improving the Management of Atlantic Landscapes
- COMPASS – Collaborative Oceanography and Monitoring for Protected Areas and Species
- SWELL – Shared Waters Enhancement & Loughs Legacy
- MOSES – Maritime, Ocean Sector and Ecosystem Sustainability
- MARPAMM – Marine Protected Area Management and Monitoring
- SIMAtlantic – Supporting the Implementation of Maritime Spatial Planning in the Atlantic
Overview of MSP related maritime uses
Current main uses:
| Offshore renewable energy | Shipping |
| Ports | Nature conservation |
| Fisheries | Aquaculture |
| Military | Scientific research |
| Coastal protection | Cables and pipelines |
| Underwater cultural heritage | Tourism and leisure |
Which marine spatial plans exist?
Name of the plan |
Marine Plan for Northern Ireland |
|---|---|
Scale of the plan |
Sub-national |
Pre-planning |
Status: Completed |
Analysis for planning |
Status: Completed |
Development of the management plan |
Status: Underway |
Completion of the management plan |
Status: Underway |
Approval of the management plan |
Status: N/A |
Implementation of the management plan |
Status: N/A |
Revision of the management plan |
Status: N/A |
National authority in charge of MSP |
Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) |
Financing |
Northern Ireland Executive |
Time required to complete the plans |
No timescale for completion in UK or NI legislation. Directive 2014/89/EU on Maritime Spatial Planning states that plans should be established at the latest by 31 March 2021; however this may now be impacted by conflicting pressures, e.g., Brexit, COVID-19 |
Drivers of MSP |
Marine and Coastal Access Act (MCAA) 2009; Marine Act (Northern Ireland) 2013; Directive 2014/89/EU on Maritime Spatial Planning |
Stakeholder participation |
All stakeholder engagement has taken place in line with the Statement of Public Participation and its earlier publications
Stakeholder engagement took place at the initiation, evidence gathering and preparation stages to inform the development of the Draft Marine Plan. Those involved included key sectors / industry groups, environmental NGOs, local councils, local interest groups, the public, statutory partners and other government bodies and bordering administrations. Methods used include meetings, discussions, workshops, newsletters, email, website and other public and school events During the public consultation period on the Draft Marine Plan, over 70 organizations and individuals completed submissions either online, by email or submitted in writing Submissions were received from a broad range of stakeholders, including members of the public, coastal community groups, environmental NGOs, sports bodies, stakeholder representative bodies, fisheries organizations, energy providers, local authorities, and public sector bodies |
Sectors included in planning |
Aquaculture; carbon capture and storage; commercial fishing; defense and national security; dredging; energy; heritage assets; marine aggregates; natural heritage; ports, harbors and shipping; telecommunications cabling; tourism and recreation |
Relation to coastal management |
DAERA has a team within the same Division as the Marine Plan Team dealing with coastal management (Marine Conservation and Reporting Team) |
Relation to marine protected area management |
DAERA has a team within the same Division as the Marine Plan Team dealing with marine protected area management (Marine Conservation and Reporting Team) |
Plan approval |
The final draft of the Marine Plan will have to be approved by the Northern Ireland Executive and the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs |
Legal status of the plan |
The Marine Plan for Northern Ireland is draft but is a material consideration in decision making, e.g., in planning applications |
Plan revision |
The Marine and Coastal Access Act (MCAA) and the Marine Act require the Marine Plan to be reviewed at three-yearly intervals, at which time DAERA will decide whether or not to amend or replace the Marine Plan
In addition, the MCAA and the Marine Act require DAERA to lay six-yearly reports in the Assembly, the first of these, six years after their dates of passing. The reports will describe any intention to amend any of the existing Marine Plans or any intention to prepare and adopt any further Marine Plans. These reports have been consolidated, and a single report was laid in the Assembly in November 2015. This will have the additional advantage of consolidating the otherwise two six-yearly dates for subsequent reports up to January 2030 Whilst the legislation prescribes review dates, the Marine Plan is intended to be an iterative process, with matters continually being kept under review Whilst DAERA is responsible for preparing the Marine Plan, the public authorities with responsibilities in the marine area are involved in implementing the policies and helping to achieve the objectives contained within it, through a wide range of decision-making processes During the lifetime of the Marine Plan, the Marine Plan Authority is required to keep under review matters which may affect the Marine Plan’s content or effectiveness |
Performance monitoring and evaluation |
Monitoring of the Marine Plan will provide valuable information for the required reporting and review, and consists of two elements: _Monitoring how well the content of the Marine Plan has been taken forward through decision making processes; and _Monitoring the effects and effectiveness of the policies within the Marine Plan, in securing objectivesWork to establish a monitoring and evaluation mechanism for the Plan is currently ongoing |
Legal framework
Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009:
- Provides for a statement of policy in the UK marine area, its preparation, review, amendment and withdrawal
- Identifies the component regions within the UK marine area and provides for the creation of marine plans, their amendment, withdrawal and duty to keep relevant matters under review
- Provides for the delegation of functions relating to marine plans, decisions affected by the marine policy statement or marine plan, monitoring and reporting
Marine Act (Northern Ireland) 2013:
- Defines the geographical area to which the Act applies
- Provides for the creation of marine plans in the Northern Ireland inshore region and sets out basic requirements as to their content and the way in which they are to be prepared; it also provides for their amendment, withdrawal and duty to keep relevant matters under review
- Makes provision about the effect which marine plans will have on certain decisions by public authorities, and the monitoring of and reporting on marine plans
Contact
Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs
Mr. Marcus McAuley – Head of Marine Plan Team
Klondyke Building
Cromac Avenue
Belfast, Northern Ireland