YORKSHIRE Wildlife Trust is asking people to support the protection of local coastal habitats by becoming a friend of marine conservation zones.

Runswick Bay, Holderness Inshore and Compass Rose on the Yorkshire coast are under consultation to become marine conservation zones.

Runswick Bay, to the northwest of Whitby, is home to kelps and red seaweeds providing refuge for marine animals including crabs, anemones and starfish. Deeper areas provide spawning and nursery grounds for fish including herring, sprat, cod and plaice.

Located 30km off the Yorkshire coast, Compass Rose is a deep area of sea and provides spawning and nursery grounds for fish species such as plaice, herring, lemon sole, sandeel and sprat. The area is also of huge importance to whales and dolphins.

Rob Stoneman, Yorkshire Wildlife Trust’s chief executive, said: “An ocean rich in wildlife, teeming with fish, regal with great whales, resplendent with sharks and porpoises, is an ocean that can sustain all of us.

“Overfishing is madness — for it kills its own industry. We need to designate and protect now.”

Visit ywt.org.uk for more details about becoming a friend.