Background information and geography
The Isles of Scilly are an archipelago situated approximately 28 miles off the south west coast of Cornwall, renowned for their pristine marine environment and diverse fauna. There are 11 MCZs in the Isles of Scilly, covering an area of approximately 30km2 in total.
Lower Ridge to Innisvouls MCZ is situated in the Eastern Isles, towards the north east of the main Scilly archipelago. The MCZ encompasses a number of the Eastern Isles, before stretching south west through Crow Sound towards St Mary's. The seafloor is a mixture of subtidal sediment and rocky reefs, which support diverse sponge and anthozoan communities, including jewel anemones (Corynactis viridis) and plumose anemones (Metridium senile) (Irving and Northern, 2012). The MCZ has dense kelp forests, tide swept channels and seagrass beds, all of which have distinctive communities (Lieberknecht et al., 2011) (Irving and Northern, 2012). UK Priority species found at the site include; pink sea fans (Eunicella verrucosa), sea fan anemone (Amphianthus dohrnii), sunset cup coral (Leptopsammia pruvoti) and spiny lobster (Palinurus elephas) (Lieberknecht et al., 2011).
Lower Ridge to Innisvouls MCZ overlaps with the Isles of Scilly Special Area of Conservation (SAC). The SAC is designated to protect the archipelago’s intertidal mudflats and sandflats, sandbanks, rocky reefs, shore dock (Rumex rupestris) and grey seals (Halichoerus grypus). The MCZ adds to this by protecting specific intertidal rock habitats and spiny lobster.
Site maps
Use the
MAGIC website to see site maps, including habitats, species and other marine designations.
These maps are based on best available evidence, there are some caveats associated with the maps on MAGIC.
The dynamic nature of habitat features and supporting habitats for mobile species is illustrated where data is available, as new evidence becomes available these maps will be updated with our current knowledge of their known extent.
Conservation objectives
The site’s conservation objectives apply to the Marine Conservation Zone and the individual habitats and species for which the site has been designated.
The conservation objective of each of the zones is that the protected habitats and species:
- Are maintained in favourable condition
- Are brought into favourable condition if they are not already in favourable condition
For each protected habitat favourable conditions means that within a zone:
- Its extent is stable or increasing
- Its structure and functions, its quality, and the composition of its characteristic biological communities (including diversity and abundance of species forming part of, or inhabiting the habitat) are sufficient to ensure that its condition remains healthy and does not deteriorate.
Any temporary deterioration in condition is to be disregarded if the habitat is sufficiently healthy and resilient to enable its recovery.
For each species of marine fauna, favourable condition means that a population within a zone is supported in numbers which enable it to thrive, by maintaining:
- The quality and quantity of its habitat
- The number, age and sex ratio of its population
Any temporary reduction in number of a species is to be disregarded if the population is sufficiently thriving and resilient to enable its recovery.
Any alteration to a feature brought about entirely by natural processes is to be disregarded when determining whether a protected feature is in favourable condition.
This should be read in conjunction with the accompanying supplementary advice section, which provides more detailed advice and information to help achieve the objectives set out above.
Designated features:
- Moderate energy intertidal rock
- Spiny lobster (Palinurus elephas)
Advice on Operations
See the
advice on operations for this site to view information on the sensitivity of features in this site to the pressures exerted by different activities.
Last updated: 13th September 2019
Advice on Seasonality
See the
advice on seasonality for this site, to view the months in which each mobile feature occurs in this site.
Last updated: 20th March 2017
Feature Condition
In 2016, Natural England trialled and rolled out a new Marine Protected Area (MPA) condition assessment methodology that provides robust results and information on the condition of marine features designated within MPAs in England. With guidance from National teams and using all available evidence and condition monitoring data, Area Teams conduct these assessments following a standardised approach that assesses if the feature and sub feature conservation targets set for each MPA have been met.
To date, condition assessments have been completed for a number of features in a range of marine Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) by the National and Area Teams. Further marine habitat features in SACs and other MPAs will continue to be assessed in the future. The new method can now also be applied to complete habitat and species condition assessments for other MPAs in England, whilst still meeting the different processes in place to report on the results of condition of features in Marine Conservation Zones (MCZs) and Special Protection Areas (SPAs). Different processes are currently in place to decide and report on the condition of non-marine habitat and species features of SACs.
The main part of the assessment process is directly undertaken and stored here on Natural England’s Designated Sites View. The details for the most recent assessments of this site can be found
here.
Management measures
If you are carrying out an environmental assessment, planning an operation or assessing an operation or proposal, it is important to consult with the following organisations where applicable. To find out if any management measures, byelaws or other restrictions apply to your activity see the
management measure page or you can use the following links for more information.
The Marine Management Organisation license, regulate and plan marine activities in the seas around England and Wales so that they’re carried out in a sustainable way.
Environment Agency are responsible for regulating major industry and waste, water quality and resources, fisheries, inland river, estuary and harbour navigations, conservation and ecology.
Offshore Petroleum Regulator for the Environment and Decommissioning (OPRED) regulates oil and gas, CCS and gas storage activities in the marine environment.
Further information
For further information relating to this designated site you can refer to the following resources:
Site specific information:
Other information:
For further information about this site contact: Natural England enquiries Telephone: 0300 060 3900. Email:
enquiries@naturalengland.org.uk