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19 May 2009
Boost for marine wildlife protection
Director of the local Wildlife Trust, Nick Hammond, and Trustee, Pat Doody, were among 300 wildlife conservation delegates who lobbied their MPs for greater protection of marine wildlife on Wednesday 13 May.
They were concerned that the future of the UK’s impressive marine wildlife - including bottle-nosed dolphins, seahorses and corals - will remain under threat if the Government’s Marine and Coastal Access Bill isn’t strengthened.
Poor drafting of the 1981 Wildlife & Countryside Act has resulted in just three marine reserves being designated under this legislation in nearly 30 years.
Nick Hammond is convinced that this Bill must impose duties on Government. “The voluntary bodies want to see three important changes before it becomes law,” he said:
- The inclusion of a clear duty to designate Marine Conservation Zones (MCZs) for the protection of the full range of marine wildlife or habitats.
- Amendment of the Bill to ensure that individual MCZs contribute to an ecologically coherent network of marine protected areas, which must also include some ‘highly protected’ sites.
- The removal of the clause that states socio-economic factors (such as fishing) can be taken into account when deciding whether or not to designate an MCZ.
The organisations that were represented by the delegates included The Wildlife Trusts, RSPB, the Marine Conservation Society and WWF.
For more details please visit The Wildlife Trusts website.