Metro, Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Help decide which coastal areas need to be Marine Conservation Zones

By Fred Attewill

SAILORS, surfers, scuba divers – in fact anyone who loves the sea – your country needs you. If you know your coastline like the back of your hand then you can help decide which areas need special protection.

Between now and September 30, Natural England wants sea lovers to upload details of underwater species, habitats and landscapes to hep it decide which areas will be covered by Marine Conservation Zones. Information from Metro readers will be ‘critical’ in boosting scientific knowledge, said Michelle Hawkins from Natural England.

‘It’s really important they go to www.mczmapping.org and share any information,’ she added.

Recreational and commercial needs will be taken into consideration before zones get marked in 2012, the agency stressed. The only existing zone has covered parts of Lundy Island off north Devon since 2003.

Five years on, lobsters are growing up to seven times bigger than they used to.

Lundy’s second annual underwater photography competition, the ‘Splash-In’, took place last month and produced some spectacular shots of marine life and habitats.

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.

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

The Big Issue in the North published in its edition at the end of July an article about the troubled state of UK seas and the need for the UK Marine Bill to seriously address these matters. This article can be found on the Marinet website.
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