Monday 26 October saw the last debate on the Marine Bill – and the last action (after eleven months of debate in both Houses), at 10 pm, was a division of the House on Amendment 3, proposed by Katy Clark.

The vote was lost (For 158  Against 246, Majority 88)

There were various amendments introduced by the government, and not voted on.  So there will be a little time before we see the complete picture.  This will be dealt with in a later post.

Hansard of 27 October 2009 records the following:

Nick Herbert (Con)I am disappointed that, as a consequence of lack of time at the end of the debate, there was not more opportunity yesterday to discuss all the concerns about MCZs, particularly the amendment proposed by the hon. Member for North Ayrshire and Arran (Ms Clark).

The Minister advanced technical arguments why a power could not be given to the Secretary of State to designate a marine conservation zone for the protection of a whole ecosystem, but as Friends of the Earth said, that power could have been used to restrain damaging activities where a whole ecosystem could be put under threat. Given that the amendment created only a power, not a duty, I hope the Government noted the force of the argument.

Mr. Gummer(Con): Is it not disappointing that on two occasions, once today and once yesterday, when the Government have done so much on the Bill, they failed to understand that giving a commitment such as protecting an ecosystem is crucial for people outside to believe that we understand how all this works? To deny that is to say something very old-fashioned—that we can pick bits out and defend those, without understanding that the ecosystem as a whole is what we ought to be concerned to preserve.

Nick Herbert: I agree with my right hon. Friend. It was a shame that there were, apparently, reasons, I believe they were largely technical, why the amendment could not be accepted. It created a power for the Secretary of State to have regard to the issues of a whole ecosystem. It is true that rather too much of the work of nature conservation is process-driven, so we have to remember that creating a marine conservation zone is not an end in itself. We should be focused on outcomes and should, therefore, be looking for tangible results from the designation of those protected areas.

The Tories supported the MARINET amendment.  It is clear from this that we may have lost the vote – but did not lose the argument.

The new role of the Campaign will be addressed in a later post.

The End of the Line

If you missed “The End of the Line” on More4 yesterday, there’s good
news. It’s available on 4oD for 30 days at:

http://www.channel4.com/programmes/the-end-of-the-line/4od#3006316

What Greenpeace say about it:

Missed it in cinemas? Here’s your chance to see the film that changed the way people think about what’s on their dinner plate. It’s a compelling story, brilliantly told, and you need to see it if you haven’t already.

Please email your MP to ask them to vote to strengthen the Marine Bill. This is our last chance to get protection for the marine ecosystem as a whole into the Bill.

Please act now. Parliament is voting on this issue on Monday 26th October.

How to email your MP

1. Go to Friends of the Earth’s “Contact your MP” page and enter your postcode: http://www.foe.co.uk/community/resource/contact_mp.html
2. Choose “Email this MP”
3. Paste in the text under the “Suggested Letter” heading, remembering to add your MP’s name at the top and your own name at the bottom.

You can also visit your MP in your constituency this weekend (Friday/Saturday). Telephone your MP’s constituency office to find out whether this is possible.
Read the rest of this entry »

Marine Reserves campaign team member, Malcolm Hunter, draws our attention to the most recent post on Richard Black’s blog on the BBC website.  It not only highlights the damage being done to deep water fish stocks and ecosystems, by unsustainable fishing, it also shows the UN in a pretty poor
light too:

Fish report hits bottom note