The Department may by order designate any area of sea falling within the Northern Ireland inshore region as a marine conservation zone (an “MCZ”).

For the purposes of this Part “the Northern Ireland inshore region” and “the sea” do not include any waters upstream of the fresh-water limit of estuarial waters.

In this Part “estuarial waters” means any waters within the limits of transitional waters, within the meaning of the Water Framework Directive (that is to say, Directive 2000/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2000 establishing a framework for Community action in the field of water policy).

The reference in subsection (1) to an area of sea includes a reference to any island in the sea, whether or not any part of it lies above mean high water spring tide.

The Department may not designate any area of sea under this section without the agreement of the Secretary of State.