LAW drafting work to implement another fishing-free zone in the Island’s waters is among the progress highlighted by a newly released government report.
Published this week, the Marine Spatial Plan Annual Progress Report 2025 provides a breakdown of the objectives being achieved as part of a strategy for protecting and sustainably managing Jersey’s marine environment.
It has been over a year since the Marine Spatial Plan was adopted, with 57 priorities now active – representing around 63% of the agreed actions.
Key achievements so far have included an expansion of the Island’s network of Marine Protected Areas, with 21.7% of Jersey’s territorial waters protected from dredging and trawling as of last month. That figure had previously stood at 6.5%.
In 2022, States Members backed proposals from then-Environment Minister John Young to introduce a no-take zone at Portelet Bay.
The MSP notes that this designation is the “highest possible level of protection, where all fishing and the removal of any aquatic resources (defined as any living creature, plant or seaweed) are forbidden”.
One of the priorities listed in the plan is for a new no-take zone to be designated at Les Sauvages, “with the boundary determined following a review of the evidence against agreed criteria”.
The report released this week marked this as “in progress”, a status category assigned to priorities where work is under way with “clear evidence of advancement”.
“An updated baseline survey is planned for 2026. Legislative drafting is also scheduled for 2026 to support designation,” it stated.
Under the MSP, the no-take zone at Portelet Bay will continue to be monitored, including assessment of damage to the seabed from “current anchoring practices”.
Other areas noted by the MSP progress report include the completion of an inshore netting review and implementation of revised technical and spatial regulations, as well as the publication of management plans for Jersey’s four designated Ramsar sites.
