Parliamentary Under-Secretary at DEFRA, Huw Irranca-Davies MP, today met a select group of marine professionals and activists, including seven MARINET campaign team members and supporters at The Deep in Hull to discuss the Marine and Coastal Access Bill, which is currently before Parliament.

He outlined DEFRA’s view of the bill and fielded a wide range of questions, which he declared “was good practice for future encounters with Parliamentarians.”

A full transcription of the meeting is now available.

Quentin Given, Sue Penny and Fran Acheson meet David Lammy MP

Members of the Tottenham & Wood Green Friends of the Earth local group visited their MP, David Lammy yesterday to lobby for 30% of UK seas to be made Highly Protected Marine Reserves.

Mr Lammy was presented with some mounted chocolate fish to commemorate the occasion.

“The government has made a good step forward with the Marine and Coastal Access Bill,” said Quentin Given, of Tottenham Friends of the Earth, “But we want it to take a further step and create a network of safe havens for endangered fish species all around our coasts.”

David Lammy said, “People in Tottenham take this issue seriously. Many come from countries with important marine reserves and even though we live in an urban community, the health of our seas connects us across continents. I look forward to taking this issue to Energy and Climate Change Secretary Ed Milliband.”

We hope this experience is repeated hundreds of times up and down the country as local groups press home the issue with their MPs.

An Early Day Motion – EDM 337 – has been tabled this week calling on the Government to include Marine Reserves in the Marine Bill, as recommended by the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution (RCEP) in their 2004 report. The RCEP’s recommendation formed the basis of our Marine Reserves campaign. Already, 19 MPs have signed the EDM, which is an encouraging start.
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