 web.jpg "Common heart urchin (Credit Paul Naylor)")
Common heart urchin (Credit Paul Naylor)
Vulnerable to disturbance, tube worms, slender sea pens, heart urchins, mud shrimp and the Dublin Bay prawn all live with the seabed sediments.
South Rigg contains the only known breeding population of ocean quahog clams in the Irish Sea.
Located between the Isle of Mann and Northern Ireland, South Rigg is extremely important due to the presence of the Irish Sea Mounds. These rocky outcrops on the sea floor provide a solid base for creatures to settle. There is a myriad of species that call this area home including anemones, brittlestars, sea firs and sea mats, tube worms, slender sea pens, heart urchins, mud shrimps and Dublin Bay prawns.
Did you know ocean quahogs live for up to 400 years and are used in scientific studies on climate change. They are also an important food source for cod.
This recommended Marine Conservation Zone is ON HOLD at the moment as Defra has indicated that there is not enough evidence to support designation.
We need you to urge Defra to use this data as soon as possible and to consider this site as an urgent and high priority for designation in the next tranche:
Defra has indicated that, although there is enough evidence to support designation of the site for the sea pen and ocean quahog, additional evidence is required for the remaining features put forward by stakeholders. The site is particularly important due to the presence of the ocean quahog, which is not protected anywhere else in the Irish Sea.
Natural England and the Joint Nature Conservation Committee have also identified this site as being at risk of damage and degradation, in particular to the mud habitats found within the site. Defra commissioned additional survey work in this site in 2012 and this data has not been used in this consultation.
We need you to urge Defra to use this data as soon as possible and to consider this site as an urgent and high priority for designation in the future. The site should be protected from further damage and degradation in the meantime.
Other nearby MCZs
Location map
South Rigg recommended MCZ is located in the map below.
Contains UKHO Law of the Sea data. Crown copyright and database right and contains Ordnance Survey Data Crown copyright and database 2012
Downloads
| Filename | File size |
|---|---|
| South Rigg.pdf | 303.83 KB |