Number of England's marine conservation zones nearly doubles

But leading marine conservationist warns that MCZs are 'paper parks' and will offer wildlife no real protection from destructive dredging and trawling

Seahorses, stalked jellyfish, dolphins and seagrass meadows are among the marine wildlife gaining better protection with the announcement of 23 new marine conservation zones (MCZ) by the government on Sunday.

However, a leading expert criticised the MCZs as useless "paper parks" that offer no real protection from the dredging and trawling that has devastated large areas of England's seas for decades.