Division 4.1.2 Option 2: Voluntary agreement

This option would involve the development of voluntary codes of practice to protect features. MMO has considered this option in light of Better Regulation Principles, which require that new regulation is introduced only as a last resort, and Defra’s revised approach, under which there is an expectation that management measures will need to be regulatory in nature to ensure adequate protection is achieved. Defra’s revised approach also requires measures to be implemented to address high risk (red) interactions between designated features and fishing gears by the end of December 2013. MMO considers that due to the need to protect features quickly, and the risk that even low levels of interaction could lead to deterioration of the feature, voluntary measures are not appropriate in this case.