LONDON, May 31 (Xinhua) -- An area eight times the size of Greater London was Friday declared as the biggest ever expansion to England's marine protection areas.
Environment Secretary Michael Gove has created 41 new "Blue Belt" Marine Conservation Zones.
Stretching from Cornwall to Northumberland, the new protections safeguard 12,000 square kilometers of marine habitat.
With 50 zones already designated in 2013 and 2016, Britain now has 355 Marine Protected Areas of different types, spanning 220,000 square kilometers, nearly twice the size of England.
Rare stalked jellyfish, short-snouted seahorses and blue mussel beds are among the species and habitats that will benefit from the latest protections.
Gove said: "The UK is already leading the rest of the world by protecting over 30 percent of our ocean.
"Establishing this latest round of Marine Conservation Zones in this Year of Green Action is another big step in the right direction, extending our blue belt to safeguard precious and diverse sea life for future generations to come."
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said the latest round of protections follow an extensive consultation, including with local fishermen and marine conservation experts.
There was overwhelming support for the proposals, with over 48,000 responses submitted by members of the public, said Defra which has now designated all 41 of the proposed sites and expanded protections at 12 existing sites.
Tony Juniper, chair of Natural England, said: "These new protections are based on advice from our world-leading marine scientists and we believe will go a long way toward safeguarding over a million hectares of England's ocean and coastal environment, and the many species which rely upon it.
"Today marks a major step forward for the conservation of our precious marine environment, but there is still much to be done, including putting in place more of the good practices that we know are needed to secure the long-term health of our seas and their wildlife."
The British government has called for 30 percent of the world's ocean to be protected by 2030 and has co-chaired the creation of the Commonwealth Clean Ocean Alliance.
The government plans to publish an international strategy later this year setting out further action to conserve and sustainably use the ocean.
