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 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 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.

Suggested Letter

Dear [MP Name],

Amendment 3 to Report Stage of Marine and Coastal Access Bill

I am asking for your support for Amendment 3 tabled by Katy Clark MP to the Report Stage of the Marine and Coastal Access Bill on Monday 26th October in the House of Commons. Amendment 3 relates to Clause 117 of the Bill, and reads:

Clause 117 : Grounds for the designation of MCZs (Amendment in bold)

(1) The appropriate authority may make an order under section 116 if it thinks that it is desirable to do so for the purpose of conserving -

(a) marine flora and fauna;
(b) marine habitats or types of marine habitat;
(c) features of geological or geomorphological interest;
(d) the marine ecosystem as a whole.

This amendment is concerned with placing highly protected marine reserves on the face of the Act. The protection of “the marine ecosystem as a whole” is the agreed definition of a highly protected marine reserve. The Government and the front bench of other parties have declared their commitment to highly protected marine reserves, but do not want a duty in law placed upon them to create such reserves. This amendment respects that declaration. Instead, it simply establishes a power to create highly protected reserves, without any duty to do so being placed on the Secretary of State.

Highly protected marine reserves are a key tool in the rebuilding of fish stocks and the repair of seriously damaged marine ecosystems. This amendment ensures that this tool will exist in law. It can only be used by the Secretary of State to protect fish stocks within the 6 nautical mile limit, but its existence in UK law will enable the Government to persuade the EU that a reform of the Common Fisheries Policy should embrace a similar power to protect our fish stocks from 6 nautical miles out to 200 nautical miles. This is a first step to secure this important change to the CFP.

As I say, Amendment 3 only creates a power and not a duty on the Secretary of State. So, may I ask you to consider placing your name to Amendment 3 on the Order Paper for Report Stage on 26th October, and that you will be in the House on that day to vote for Amendment 3.

Yours sincerely,

The Background

Our earlier advice to you about writing to your MP to ask him/her to support the amendment of Clause 123 of the Marine Bill no longer applies. The members of the Wildlife and Countryside Link with whom we were in partnership on this amendment now no longer want to push the amendment to Clause 123 to the vote. Thus, highly protected marine reserves will not be placed on the face of the Bill or become a legal entity by this means. MARINET is therefore withdrawing from the Clause 123 amendment.

The good news, we have managed to table an entirely new amendment which will be a Voting Amendment i.e. the wording will be on the fact of the Act and will have legal force. This is an amendment to Clause 117. It is being tabled by Katy Clark MP, and full details are in the attached letter we want you to send to your MP.

This amendment, known as Amendment 3 on the House of Commons Order Paper for the Report Stage of the Bill, will be debated and voted upon on Monday, 26th October.

As you will appreciate, this is only 7 days away. We therefore need you to act immediately in sending your letter to your MP asking him/her to vote for Amendment 3 on Monday 26th October.

Your need to act now is made more urgent by the fact that there is a Postal Strike on Thursday 22nd / Friday 23rd October. Your letter must arrive with your MP by Friday 23rd October. Therefore the options for you to get your message to your MP are:

1. Send your letter first class by the last post on Tuesday 20th October to guarantee postal delivery. The postal address of the House of Commons is Westminster, London SW1A 0AA.
2. Send you letter in an email to your MP, explaining that you are doing so because of the postal strike. The email address of most MPs is their surname followed the initial of their first christian name. Thus if your MP’s name is John Brown, his email address is brownj@parliament.uk Nearly all MPs use this address system, but the odd one does not. If you find your email is returned undelivered, visit http://www.parliament.uk/mpslordsandoffices/mps_and_lords/alms.cfm where you will be able to obtain the email address (Click on the first letter of the MP’s surname on the key facility, and then scroll across to the right to visit the foot of the page of their parliamentary biographical details, or visit their website). Any difficulty, contact me.
3. You can visit your MP in your consituency this weekend (Friday/Saturday). Telephone your MP’s constituency office to find out whether this is possible.

The key thing is that you get your letter to your MP by this weekend (Friday), as the vote is on the Monday.

The letter you send will need you to enter your address, the date, the name of the MP and your signature. All else is covered. The letter is attached, see document titled K Clark amendment supporters letter to MP 18 Oct 09.doc

We can win this vote on Amendment 3 to Clause 117. We – that is you, collectively – are now in control of the amendment of the Marine Bill to get it to include highly protected marine reserves as a legal entity. The other marine NGOs are no longer interested. It is therefore down to us. Katy Clark MP, our amendmend sponsor, will be contacting the MPs who signed EDM 337 and have thus called for highly protected marine reserves (225 MPs) and if you, all of you, can contact your MP and get them to vote on Monday 26th then we will have a majority.

If you have friends or family members who can contact another MP, in a neighbouring consituency or elsewhere, please send them the attached MARINET letter and get them to send it to their MP. The vote of every MP will count on 26th October.

So, here we are. Crunch-day is approaching. The campaign has swung this way and that, and many obstacles have been thrown in our path. But, if we can win the vote on Monday 26th, then we have won.

Therefore, apologies for this late twist in events, but everything is down to you now. Please send that letter.

Our sincerest thanks from the Campaign Team, and get in touch with me if you need anything.

Regards,
Stephen Eades
stephen.eades@marinereserves.org.uk

Fish report hits bottom note

Marine Reserves Leaflet - Sept 2009

We have created a new leaflet calling on people to contact their MP, urging them to support the soon-to-be-tabled MARINET amendment to the Marine and Coastal Access Bill. This amendment will establish a requirement within the bill to create an ecologically coherent network of Highly Protected Marine Reserves (or Highly Protected “Marine Conservation Zones”, to use the Government terminology).

Click on the picture of the leaflet to the right to access the PDF version and please print as many of these leaflets as you require for distribution. If you prefer, email bill.rigby@marinereserves.org.uk to request copies. The leaflets will also be available at the MARINET stall at the Friends of the Earth conference this weekend, so if you will be there, please come to the stall to collect your copies of the leaflet.

Dr Emma Sheehan talks to John Craven

Last Sunday’s episode of Countryfile, available now on BBC iPlayer, ran a ten-minute feature on the proposals in the Marine Bill for Marine Conservation Zones (MCZs). The segment starts at 21 minutes in to the programme.

John talks to Nicola Saunders, head warden of the Lundy No Take Zone, Melissa Moore of the Marine Conservation Society, Dr Emma Sheehan of the University of Plymouth and scallop fisherman Paul Wayson.

The scale of the problem that MCZs have to tackle was illustrated in Emma Sheehan’s answer to the question “So how long do you reckon it will take before the seabed makes a complete recovery?”

She said: “We don’t know what a complete recovery is because I don’t think we’ve got anywhere close to the UK that isn’t impacted by man so I’ve no idea of what a complete recovery even looks like.”

His speech, delivered on 16 July 2009, can be seen in full at
http://www.ambafrance-uk.org/President-Sarkozy-on-France-s.html
The whole speech is of great interest to marine conservation campaigners, but the key extract says
“France’s maritime policy – Speech by Nicolas Sarkozy, President of the Republic
Le Havre, 16 July 2009
FRENCH MARITIME AREA/FISHERY RESERVES/MARINE DIVERSITY
“I want to take up the compromise which emerged from the Grenelle Maritime Forum. France today protects less than 1% of her maritime area. By 2012 I’m determined that 10% of it will be protected, and, by 2020, 20% of the 11 million km² of sea under France’s sovereignty will have to be included. And I expect half this area to consist of fishery reserves and boxes, to be designated with the assistance of fishermen, scientists and local stakeholders. It’s here that marine biodiversity will be preserved. It’s here that we will be able to recover the resources which will in future enable fishing to go on for ever in our country.
“So, in 2020, the network of maritime areas will protect over 2 million km² of oceans and seas under French sovereignty. This network will extend both the length of the coasts of metropolitan France, particularly in the Mediterranean, and of Overseas France: from the French West Indies to New Caledonia and Polynesia. This maritime network will complement the green and blue belts created by the Grenelle Environment Forum on land, without forgetting the “navy blue belt” so dear to Isabelle Autissier [French round-the-world sailor]. What we’re going to do in pursuit of this goal of maritime protection, no other State in the world has ever done. The example France is going to set will pave the way for an unprecedented effort to preserve the oceans, recover fish stocks and safeguard all those who depend every day on the fertility of the seas for their livelihood.
PRECAUTIONARY PRINCIPLE/“SEA ORBITER”
“During the Grenelle Maritime Forum, requests were made every day for moratoria, in the name of the precautionary principle. Admittedly, we still know too little and are too ill-informed about the life concealed beneath the world’s oceans. It’s also true that evidence of an exhaustion of the natural marine reserves is piling up. Finally, it’s true that threats to the existence of some species like bluefin tuna can no longer be ignored. In this instance, the precautionary principle dictates that we very swiftly beef up our scientific knowledge of the sea bed, exploration of the marine worlds, stocks assessment and understanding of the ecosystems. The precautionary principle dictates too that we substantially increase our scientific expertise on the state of natural marine resources. We will, I most solemnly pledge here, commit the necessary funding. I am keen to see our country return to a great oceanographic policy, drawing, of course, on the network of French expertise in the marine sciences, without ever neglecting such new initiatives as, for example, the building of the “Sea Orbiter” international [floating] oceanic station.”

The Living Seas report by the Wildlife Trusts is also cited in the Big Issue article. This report states that basking sharks have declined by 95% and the once ubiquitous common skate is on the verge of extinction. The report also observes that dolphins, whales and seals have all suffered in recent years and that fish stocks have collapsed. “The marine environment — our life support system — is on its knees” the Wildlife Trusts report states.

Abigail Herron, a member of MARINET and Manchester FOE, is a diver and has first-hand experience of how marine wildlife has declined near Anglesey. “The waters around Anglesey” she says “are very rich in biodiversity and you used to find a lot of dogfish there, but you just don’t see them anymore.”

MARINET believes that the only way to reverse this decline in marine biodiversity, which is not just due to over-fishing but also pollution, development and, increasingly, climate change is to establish a widespread and extensive network of marine reserves throughout UK seas out 200 nautical miles where all damaging human activities are forbidden. This way the marine ecosystem as a whole can be protected, and be allowed to heal and recover. MARINET is proposing an amendment to the Report Stage of the Marine Bill in the House of Commons which will allow for precisely this. The amendment will mean that marine reserves can be created not just to protect habitats, species and geomorphological features (as the current draft of the Marine Bill proposes), but that marine reserves can also be created in areas to protect “the marine ecosystem as a whole”. This is the key phrase and concept that will ensure that the UK Marine Bill can deliver on its political promises. At present, this phrase and concept is absent from the legislation.

The Marine and Coastal Access Bill has completed its Committee Stage in the House of Commons. The final steps, the Report Stage and Third Reading will be in October. It will then become law.

So, where are we now?

In our view, Government has frustrated the very reasonable and responsible ambitions of those moving the amendments. Our concerns are that Government has refused to include ‘on the face of the Bill’

• highly protected marine reserves
• scientific criteria as the primary means for identifying and designating marine conservation zones (MCZs)
• establishing conservation zones covering a sufficient area of the sea to enable economic and social uses of the seas to be environmentally sustainable.

These sticking points confirm some of the more depressing conclusions we have drawn from the experience so far, namely that in government there is

• a failure to appreciate the seriousness of the problem
• an overwhelming desire not to prejudice short term financial and other vested interests, and
• a general lack of vision as to what is possible in terms of ecosystem restoration in UK territorial waters

However, we can offer two cheers as they have accepted that the network of MCZs should

• be set up in an initial form by 2012, and
• be ecologically coherent

We are promoting an amendment at the Report stage. This is intended to remedy some of the problems caused by the omissions. As things stand, a marine conservation zone is little more than a museum whose job is to exhibit interesting habitats or species. We want it to be clear that the role of MCZs can also be an engine of ecosystem recovery. The lack of this expectation in the new law will, in our view, lead to a continuance of the collapse of fish stocks and the ecosystem which supports them.

What has happened to the Early Day Motion 337?

The EDM has been asking for a “widespread network of highly protected marine reserves throughout all UK seas … in order to rebuild UK commercial fish stocks and to halt the serious damage being caused to marine ecosystems”. It has been signed by a total of 225 MPs. Due to resignations and MPs taking up cabinet positions, the official total now stands at 219 MPs – making it 11th most popular out of 2109 EDMs tabled during the last parliamentary session. This massive cross-party support has been ignored by government. But it does show that our amendment will be well supported when it is proposed in October.

So, what are the next steps?

1. We have the agreement of a Labour MP to table an amendment at the Report Stage of the Bill.
2. We are in consultation with front bench representatives of the opposition parties on the wording of the amendment.
3. We are in discussion with other conservation NGOs to seek their cooperation and campaigning support
4. The Campaign Team will write to each of the EDM signatories, explaining the position, and seeking their support when the amendment is tabled.
5. We will ask all local groups and campaign supporters served by MPs who have already signed to also write to their MP, asking for their support of the Amendment.

The next month or so is a crucial period.  There is still time and opportunity to make this improvement to the Bill. The Marine Reserves web site (www.marinereserves.org.uk) will keep you posted on progress and include copies of draft letters and suggestions for individual action.

Please contact me directly for information or advice on 07785 572713 or bill.rigby@marinereserves.org.uk

With all best wishes,

Bill Rigby
Marine Reserves Campaign Team Leader