Ten marine species need protection - council

Cornwall Council has issued a list of marine species that it believes should be prioritised for protection and recovery

Ten marine species have been deemed "most in need" of protection in Cornwall's waters.

Cornwall Council has created a list of marine plants, animals, and habitats that it believes need protection and recovery.

The list is seals, seagrass, maerl, kelp reef, native oyster, whales and dolphins, mussels, sharks and rays, tuna and cod, and seaworms.

Councillor Martyn Alvey, cabinet member for environment and climate change, said the list was a "crucial step" towards developing an evidence-based plan to protect and restore nature in local waters.

Cornwall Council said seagrasses were deemed the third most valuable ecosystem in the world because they clean water and remove carbon dioxide

The list is part of the authority’s work to produce a Marine Nature Recovery Framework, due to be completed next year, and is part of its ambitions for 30% of land, rivers and seas to be well-managed by 2030 to combat climate change.

Its work is being supported by the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Marine and Coastal Partnership.

Identifying those species that need protecting will "enable us to take an integrated approach around the coastal boundaries of Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly", Mr Alvey said.

The species all play different roles - kelp, for example, provides food and shelter for other marine life, while seagrasses are deemed the third most valuable ecosystem in the world because they clean water and remove carbon dioxide, support biodiversity and commercial fisheries, the council said.