MORE than 2,500 children have called on the Government to grant Marine Conservation Zone status to Runswick Bay, near Whitby.

The children from across Yorkshire have sent David Cameron starfish pledges detailing their favourite thing about the sea as part of a public consultation on 23 additional zones, which is due to close on April 24.

Yorkshire Wildlife Trust has been encouraging people to show their support for Runswick Bay, which has a highly productive seabed.

The area is recommended for seven of the 12 different sea floor habitats found there, including rock, sediment and gravel.

Its shallow rocky areas are dominated by kelps and red seaweeds and the deeper areas are encrusted with sponges, sea squirts, sea urchins and starfish.

Runswick Bay also provides spawning and nursery grounds for many fish, including herring, sprat, cod, whiting and plaice, while harbour porpoises are regularly recorded there alongside foraging seabirds, such as kittiwakes.

The trust's Living Seas Centre manager Anthony Hurd said: “Our seas are absolutely vital to our quality of life, providing us with food, energy, even the air we breathe.

"Yorkshire’s coast and beyond is home to many wonderful marine habitats like those found at Runswick Bay and Holderness Inshore, but they need better protection."