Natural England

Less than 1% of the population can name a feature of a landscape under English seas, according to research by Natural England, even though there is incredibly dramatic topography out there. People know and love the North York Moors, but they have almost no idea of what amazing features exist under the seas near to them.

Only 11.3% of people living in Yorkshire and the Humber believe that the sea has “a variety of landscapes, some of which are unique to our region”, according to Natural England’s report. A further low percentage, only 9%, were convinced that this region has “a rich mix of undersea landscapes including plants, animals and features special to this region”. But there is so much more to discover.

“There is an incredible variety of landscapes and marine life in Yorkshire and the Humber” said Natural England’s Regional Director, Peter Nottage. “Our undersea environment has dramatic landscapes with valleys, hills, plains and cliffs and is a source of intrigue and fascination. There are all these great places under the waves. For example, Flamborough Head’s chalk and limestone reefs extend up to 6km out to sea. There are rich communities of seaweeds and invertebrate animals, many of which have not been recorded from other chalk shores in Britain. This is the biggest underwater chalk reef in Europe.”

Natural England has designed a series of maps which show the beauty and variety of England’s undersea landscapes. A national map will be published this week in BBC WILDLIFE MAGAZINE (October edition, out 25 Sept). It will accompany an article called ‘Discover England’s super seas’ written by Tooni Mahto, one of the presenters of BBC2’s forthcoming series, OCEANS. Natural England has also created five regional maps, including one for Yorkshire and the Humber, showing the diversity of animals and plants that live in our seas in more detail - a diversity among the highest in Europe.

The maps form part of Natural England’s undersea landscapes campaign which, throughout the summer, has been encouraging people to find out more about the richness of their local marine habitats and wildlife by attending free marine-themed events at Flamborough Head and Sheffield. Children made undersea landscapes in a shoebox, fish kites, lobster and wolf fish door guards and marine murals. Visitors who lived in the centre of the country said it was really refreshing to learn about the sea. An 81-year lady who watched her gaggle of grandchildren take part in a workshop and get immersed into the sand, cardboard, paint and glitter said: " I have learnt more about the seas where I live in the past 45 minutes than I have in my entire life; and I was born here".

Peter Nottage continued: “It has been fantastic to see people enjoying this fun way of exploring of what exists under the sea. You see their faces light up and they want to learn more.”

Natural England intends to run more marine-themed events throughout the country in 2009. To find out more about Natural England’s marine campaign and to download all the regional maps, visit: www.naturalengland.org.uk/campaigns/marine

Notes to editors

1. Maps: a PDF of the Yorkshire and Humber map

2. The research was carried out through Campaign Strategy Ltd. Visit www.campaignstrategy.org or see the full report

3. The UK is committed to delivering a network of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) around its coastline by 2012. These MPAs will give various degrees of protection to undersea landscapes and marine life. Natural England will be a key delivery body for these MPAs. The process of identifying possible MPA sites and designating them in English Territorial waters will involve consulting with stakeholders and will also benefit greatly from public support.