1 1.10 Application of estuarine and coastal classifications in marine ...

including important shipping channels, restricted military zones and exclusive uses (e.g., wind
farms) and nature conservation areas (Natura 2000 sites, national parks, seal sanctuaries etc.).
Potential sites for future fish farms, offshore wind-farms and nature conservation areas were
selected using the decision support tool Marxan and incorporated into the zoning plan. The
selected sites were complementary to the already designated Natura 2000 SACs (“locked in”
planning units), and together formed a representative sample of all the marine landscape types
and important habitats. Sites that were found unsuitable for MPA designation, such as areas with
a high level of threat or several conflicting interests, were avoided when equal conservation
values could be found elsewhere. Combining classified maps with a decision support tool such as
Marxan in the selection of candidate sites for conservation will increase the likelihood that the
selected sites fulfill the whole range of predefined ecological and socio-economic targets in the
most suitable locations while simultaneously securing a spatially efficient design of the network
(Ekebom et al. 2008). The original zoning map was improved by including some of the Marxan
suggestions to the map, leading to a more efficient and consistent zoning scheme (Figure 11). As
a result, some targeted management zone areas were expanded by including new “selected
planning unit” sites. Also, a potential fish spawning area, initially defined as a targeted
management zone, was relocated to an area which also was selected as a potential candidate for
protection by Marxan.
1.10.4.2 Multiple-Use Zoning in the Irish Sea, UK
In 1999, the Irish Sea Pilot was initiated to examine the feasibility of beginning
systematic and coordinated marine spatial planning in the UK. The Irish Sea was selected as an
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