THREE areas off the coast of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight are set to get national protection for the special wildlife they support – the first of their kind in the region – after campaigning by wildlife trusts and their supporters.

The three new marine conservation zones are The Needles, Offshore Overfalls and Utopia and include chalk reefs, rocky sponge gardens and submerged river valleys.

They are also home to internationally important seagrass beds, British populations of which were found to be in a “perilous state” according to research published last week.

Other wildlife these habitats support include the tope shark, undulate rays and reef communities of corals, sponges and anemones.

Tim Ferrero, head of marine conservation at Hampshire & Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust, said: “This is a landmark moment for our area, with our first marine conservation zones.

“However, this is just the first step in the process, the hard work begins here.

“We all need to work together to develop robust management plans for these sites and ways of using our seas so that wildlife can recover from damaging activity.

“These sites are important parts of a developing network of marine-protected areas around the UK and take us a small but significant step toward what our ocean wildlife really needs – an international network of protected areas.”hampshire, conswer