In 1973, the waters around Lundy became Britain's first voluntary marine nature reserve. By then, diving marine biologists were convinced that here was a special place, worthy of recognition and protection. A Code of Conduct was introduced and an agreement reached with commercial fishermen that trawling and dredging would be banned within the reserve boundary. After the Wildlife & Countryside Act (1981) was passed, Lundy was proposed as a statutory Marine Nature Reserve (MNR), and, after much consultation, this eventually happened in November 1986.
The Nature Conservancy Council (later English Nature) appointed a marine Warden, and provided funding to continue various monitoring studies. A Management Group and an Advisory Group were established, and a Management Plan was formally adopted in 1994. A Zoning Scheme for the MNR was produced in 1995, which summarised the byelaws and other regulations affecting the various users of the Reserve. Improvements to the interpretation of the reserve have included the production of various leaflets, a video and a snorkelling trail. Ten years further on, Lundy remains England's only statutory MNR. It has now been provisionally recognised at a European level as a candidate Special Area of Conservation.