The estuaries, both of which border Wales and England, have rich natural habitats for marine and terrestrial life.
There are extensive numbers of migratory fish and, in the inter-tidal zones, migratory water birds feeding on rich sources of invertebrates like worms and shellfish.
“This is good news for the biodiversity of Wales,” Dr David Parker, Director of Science for the Countryside Council for Wales. “The designation of these SACs is the culmination of a long consultation process which began on the Severn in 1995.”
The designations bring the number of marine SACs in Wales to seven, out of a total of 92.
The Severn Estuary is one of the largest estuaries in Europe. The SAC covers nearly 74,000 hectacres, about the size of Anglesey. Two thirds of the SAC is under water, one third intertidal.
The Dee Estuary is Britain’s sixth largest estuary at 14,000 hectacres, roughly the area of Cardiff. More than 90 per cent of the estuary dries out at low water springs.
Under SAC status, the Severn and Dee estuaries will not be no-go areas but subject to controlled management of commercial and recreational activities.
Both of the estuaries have enjoyed previous protection as two of 146 sites designated by the British Government under a global treaty, the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance.
Under UK Government and Welsh Assembly Government policy, such sites are treated in the same way as EU-designated protected areas.
In practice, therefore, the new SAC designations will not affect significantly the way in which the Severn and Dee are already managed.
What the SAC designations will do, however, is to improve the areas’ legal protections, with greater powers to prosecute those who flout management guidelines.
Related link
MCS campaigns as Marine Bill goes through
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