marine conservation zones....and a little help if you have the time

Regular readers will know that my daughter is studying wildlife conservation at university here in the UK and she's in her second year. One of her small research assignments is to create a questionnaire on an environmental/wildlife issue of her choice and she's chosen to do it on marine conservation zones. Readers will know that I have expressed my own personal views about MCZ's in posts early last year (which elicited some interesting comments for and against from bloggers on both sides of the arguments). Anyway, the UK government is looking to set up 27 MCZ's around our inshore waters and consultation with interested stakeholders is about to begin. My daughter is interested in 'how informed or aware of the proposed MCZ's are the British public?'

If you live in the UK and read this blog; and if you can spare three minutes to visit this website below to complete her questionnaire, my daughter would be exceedingly grateful. I don't think it is breaking any blogging rules. She is aiming to get a random sample size of 50 people. Her questionnaire/survey is here and  it is completely anonymous.

http://www.kwiksurveys.com/?s=OCMIKO_b344c7e3

I am still reading up on the proposed MCZ's and will when I have digested the various proposals try and give a summary about their location, structure and the proposed consultation mechanism here on the blog. At the moment my daughter and I can see arguments both for and against them. I expected her to be very pro conservation but actually she is closer to my stance than I realised. My current stance without too much reading is that I welcome anything that helps conserve or develop our declining inshore marine biodiversity AS LONG AS  it does not lead to increasing economic hardship for those who depend on the sea for a living. If the latter group of people were able to gain from the establishment of MCZ's then all the better.
That is my initial viewpoint. I'm sure it will become better informed as I read more about the proposals, consultation process and the pro's and con's of the MCZ's.

Anyway, if you could help my daughter complete her questionnaire, both of us would be very grateful to you. In the meantime a happy new year to you and I hope you had a good Christmas and new year festivities.

Steve

PS a head's up - plans for the new year - or perhaps new year's resolutions
1. get out sailing at least once per month
2. when the lighter longer evenings arrive - go sailing in the evening (heresy! I'm a teacher - we work every evening....what am I saying?)
3. fix that spare wheel to the trailer
4. make and fix an outboard bracket onto the trailer
5. sort out those lazy jacks once and for all
6. re varnish the mast
7. touch up dents and dings
8. sail up the dart or sail down the dart from Totnes; overnight in the estuary and sail back up again
9. take Dad sail camping up the Tamar for a couple of days
10. tow the boat down to Falmouth and sail a few days around the various rivers in the area
11. actually join the dinghy cruising association on one of their jaunts
12. think about whether Arwen is 'good enough' to enter the 'watercraft amateur boat building awards' at Beale park because for the first time ever, half term falls on the four days of the festival...........may be this is overambitious here.........the standards at Beale are SO HIGH!!
13. do a longer coastal expedition - Plymouth - Salcombe - Dartmouth - Torquay....sounds an interesting adventure!
14. stop being lazy and learn to sail onto and off a mooring properly without using the outboard!!
15. build a new set of oars for Arwen