The Darwin Mounds, Scotland's ancient coral reefs, will finally receive protected status according to environment minister Elliot Morley. Conservation groups including the Marine Conservation Society and the WWF have fought an 18 month long battle to force government ministers to honour an election pledge to protect this unique part of Scotland's natural heritage.
The reefs, discovered in 1998, provide a nursery for many species of fish and as such should be important to the stricken Scottish fishing industry and conservationists alike. Despite this researchers have already detected damage from deep sea trawl nets. The reefs will be protected under the European Union habitats directive once the paperwork has been completed and approved by the British government in Westminster. In the meantime Elliot Morley has asked the European Commission to invoke it's emergency powers and close the area to trawlers within the next few weeks.
Conservationists say the announcement is 'fantastic news' and hope that by using the EC's emergency powers further destruction of the reefs will be avoided.
Posted 7/07/03