• Fish stocks have collapsed and valuable resources been depleted.
• The UK seas cover 3 times that of our land area but only one thousandth of one per cent is highly protected.
• Over ²/₃rds of the UK’s commercial fish populations are seriously over fished and face commercial extinction.
• The UK has a vast diversity of marine species many of which are being irreparably damaged by human impacts.
• A recent report by the American Association for the Advancement of Science into the state of the world’s oceans shows the North Sea is one of the most seriously affected areas in the world.
• The World Parks Congress and the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution call for 30% of the UK seas to be highly protected marine reserves.

So what’s the answer?