THE TWO BAYS VOLUNTARY MARINE CONSERVATION AREA

Regeneration efforts in the bays will aim to boost fish and crustacean stocks in order to support the livelihoods of the small boats out of Padstow, Port Isaac and Port Gaverne.

Conservation Zones, No Take Zones and Regeneration Projects have proved highly successful in increasing stocks very quickly in other areas of the country.

We are fortunate to have representatives of the local fishing community on our steering group.

‘Blue Health’ is increasingly being recognised as a key to improved

wellbeing, with researchers discovering that spending time by the sea rejuvenates body and mind, leading to reductions in feelings of stress and anxiety.

The VMCA will have a focus on reintroducing the marine environment to those who have become disconnected with it, and those in most need of its restorative benefits.

Unusually for a marine conservation project, our VMCA will include the land! With the support of North Cornwall National Trust, our landward border will encompass the South West Coast path and other NT land along the coast. This will help us to link the land and sea, and to support National Trust rangers in their work to improve biodiversity and coastal habitats.

We also have support from Cornwall National Landscapes which oversees our Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

VMCA volunteers and visitors will have the opportunity to contribute to multiple citizen science projects. We will carry out wildlife and habitat surveys, including monitoring seals, guillemots, razorbills, peregrines, owls, coughs, oystercatchers, dolphins, porpoises, minke and humpback whales, our small group of breeding puffins, and all our other wildlife neighbours. Our findings can then be fed into the Cornwall Coastal Data Hub, and support data collected on all species by the Seal Research Trust.

We are very keen to partner with one of our excellent South West universities. Plymouth, Exeter and Falmouth all have multiple research programmes currently running, or in the pipeline, with a focus on health and wellbeing, coastal environments, conservation, biodiversity and marine and coastal wildlife. The Two Bays VMCA would be an excellent subject for these research projects, as our area has never been studied in this way, and there is such scope for improvement here. A baseline study would be the first step towards understanding what we need to focus on in our efforts.

The Two Bays VMCA is a community project. We will have no 'staff'. This is a project run by the community, for the community.

Our workforce will be made up of volunteers from our steering group and from wider membership.

As the project gets going, we will be reaching out for support from anyone who can spare some time to get out onto the cliffs, out to sea, down to the beach, or to just sit and welcome guests to our Marine Centre (the venue for this is currently top secret!).

Stand by for more info.