Holy Island fishing under threat from marine protection area

There has been fishing around Holy island, or Lindisfarne, for thousands of years

Proposals to ban fishing off the north Northumberland coast would devastate a local community, it has been warned.

Holy Island's fishermen and residents said the plans would halt a thousands-of-years-old local industry.

Northumberland county councillor Colin Hardy said designating the surrounding waters as a highly protected marine area (HPMA) would be a "major problem".

The government said looking at socio-economic impact was a "key part" of its assessment of the sites.

But Lindisfarne was a "highly biodiverse" area, home to 40 threatened or important species, a spokesman for the Department of Food, Environment and Rural Affairs (Defra) said.

'Holy Island will die'

HPMAs would see commercial and recreational fishing banned, along with dredging, construction, and anchoring, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

In a statement, opponents of the plans said the designation was "both misguided and inequitable".

They said the situation should not be viewed as "fishing against environment" as local fishermen had always worked in a small-scale and sustainable way "to protect the resource on which they and their families depend".

Mr Hardy, a Conservative councillor, said Holy Island risked losing families and turning into a museum.

"The last person across the causeway at night would turn the light out," he said.

"Holy Island will die."

Holy Island has a long tradition of crab and lobster fishing

Defra said a consultation would allow people to share their views and provide evidence of the potential impact of proposed pilot sites.

HPMAs would "protect the marine environment and help a wide range of valuable habitats and species to fully recover", a spokesman said.

But Mr Hardy said an online meeting scheduled by Defra for 24 August had been poorly advertised and many residents, and the county council, had been unaware it was taking place.

"I think Defra have looked at it as a soft target - not a lot of people and not a lot of complaints," he said.

Other areas identified as potential HPMAs include Allonby Bay in the Irish Sea, Dolphin Head in the Eastern Channel, and Inner Silver Pit South and north east of Farnes Deep, both in the North Sea.