Lyme Bay

Lyme Bay is an open stretch of southerly facing coastline in the western English Channel straddling the East Devon and West Dorset border. The bay is 2460 km2 and encompasses the area from Portland Bill in the east (2°27'12W, 0°30'49N) to Start Point in the west (3°38'21W, 50°13'16N), reaching depths of over 50 m. A diverse range of habitats is found within the bay, ranging from rocky reefs, muddy soft substrata supporting isolated sea grass beds in the west and areas of sand, gravel and cobble substrata.

Lyme Bay map with major ports and closed area

The submarine rocky reefs are remnants from a prehistoric coastline and provide a foundation for a rich and diverse marine habitat. They are defined under the Habitats Directive Annex 1 as ‘habitats where animal and plant communities develop on rock or stable boulders and cobbles’, and include examples of species that are nationally rare (Sunset Coral Leptopsammia pruvoti), ecologically important (Ross Coral Pentapora foliacea) and at the extreme edge of their eastern range (the Pink Sea Fan Eunicella verrucosa). The mudstone reefs of the bay are particularly vulnerable to structural damage and can be broken up by fishing gear, which affects the species living on and around the seabed.

Lyme bay has supported a commercially important fishing industry for many years, with boats working both mobile gear such as bottom trawls and scallop dredges and static gear such as pots and nets. Recreational use of the bay is also high and increased following the designation of the Jurassic Coast as a World Heritage Site in 2001. The area is popular with recreational scuba divers due to the beauty of its rocky reefs and the abundance of wrecks within the bay which also attract sea anglers.

Details of the Closure

The official designation of the closed area is a Statutory Instrument (SI) which is termed 'The Lyme Bay Designated Area (Fishing Restrictions) Order 2008' . This order prohibits the use of mobile bottom gears such as dredging for shellfish and demersal trawling within the closed area of Lyme Bay and came into force on 11th July 2008