Pembrokeshire Assembly Members Angela Burns and Paul Davies attended the cross party meeting on Highly Protected Marine Conservation Zones and received a keynote presentation from the Welsh Fisherman's Association regarding the impact any designated zone may have upon the livelihood of local fishermen.

Three areas have been selected to consider as a HPMCZ's in Pembrokeshire, namely Dale, Skomer and South West Of Strumble Head.

Angela Burns said "There is always a balance to be struck in an area such as Pembrokeshire where we are all part of a living and constantly evolving landscape. For many years people have commercially fished and swum in our seas, taken boats to look at the scenery and gone puffin watching, played on the sands and made castles. And the seas have remained healthy and diverse. I would not wish to see this balance upset simply because the Welsh Government is intent on gold plating what is a quite anodyne EU Directive"

Paul Davies said "I was delighted to attend the Welsh Fishermen's Association's presentation recently, where they produced their own vision. I share a number of their concerns about the implications of the proposed Highly Protected Marine Conservation Zones on all three of the possible sites in Pembrokeshire. Whilst I accept that we must consider our natural environment, we must give full consideration to those that earn their livelihoods from these waters. I will be feeding into the Welsh Government consultation before its deadline at the end of this month; and I would encourage anybody who is affected by this issue to do so as well."