EXPERTS are calling into question promises to protect the seas after the Government admitted it will fail to meet an international commitment to Marine Protected Areas by 2012.

The concerns follow a statement by Environment Minister Richard Benyon outlining a delay to the public consultation and designation of Marine Conservation Zones (MCZ) around the English coast because of a lack of comprehensive scientific evidence from the regional projects involved in the process.

The Marine Conservation Society said the delay in designation of a network of MCZs in England until 2013 will be hugely disappointing to the million people involved in the three-year process, which has cost more than £8m.

MCS senior biodiversity policy officer, Dr Jean-Luc Solandt said that a further delay in the protection of the North Eastern seas could have devastating results on sites of special interest, such as the rich seas around the Farne Islands off Northumberland.

MCS received more than half a million messages of support for marine reserves during 2009.

Dr Solandt said: “We petitioned throughout the process that areas of obvious intrinsic nature conservation interest such as the inner Farne Islands should be made a highly-protected Marine Conservation zone, but these sites were thrown out.”

The RSPB in the region said the Government’s lack of an adequate plan for designating marine protected areas in English waters to meet the international 2012 deadlines had become apparent.

Helen Quayle, the RSPB’s marine conservation officer for the North East, Yorkshire and the Humber, said: “Two years ago, we were delighted that the importance of marine conservation was finally recognised with the introduction of the UK Marine & Coastal Access Act.