Identifying and predicting significant Eunicella verrucosa communities in Jersey through Citizen Science data gathering methodology.

Jersey passed its much anticipated, revised Wildlife Law in 2021. This law replaced the Conservation of Wildlife (Jersey) Law 2000 and is the Islands primary legislation to enact the requirements of the international biodiversity agreements and treaties to which Jersey is a party (States of Jersey, 2021). In Jersey, overshadowed by Brexit and the dispute of territorial fishing rights, following the UK Trade and Economic Cooperation Agreement, (TECA) (States of Jersey, 2020) the inclusion of Eunicella verrucosa as a protected species, within the schedules of the 2021 Wildlife Law, raised no evident concern and the published regulations made no reference to any associated protection proposals that mirrored the UK legislation. (HM Government, 2014; States of Jersey, 2021; Pikesley, 2016). E.verrucosa was recognised within the law as vulnerable however, without any formal protection, these important communities are threatened due to the recent increased potting effort required to harvest crustaceans of high commercial value that occupy the same sites. (States of Jersey, 2021)