Petition Fish!

[HowardPark]

The UK’s sea life needs your help. Our seas are home to an extraordinary range of wildlife, from dolphins and sharks to colourful corals. But this fragile environment has been damaged by decades of use and abuse. Less than 0.001% of our sea area is fully protected from fishing, dredging and all damaging activities. Out of sight and out of mind, our marine environment is suffering from serious neglect.

In 2005 - after years of lobbying by The Wildlife Trusts and others - the UK Government finally promised a Marine Bill to provide better protection for our seas and sea life. We’re still waiting for it.

BUT...in July 2007, new Prime Minister Gordon Brown failed to include the Marine Bill in his list of priorities for the coming year.

Now we want the Government to renew their commitment to our seas by including the Marine Bill in the Queen’s Speech in November.

We mustn’t let the Marine Bill drift away. It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity to save our seas.

Visit The Wildlife Trusts' Petition Fish to sign our petition and tell the Government you want a Marine Bill now!

Thanks for your support

Howard

[Kayleigh]

The RSPB: Safeguard our sea life

I started this thread a while back it looks like more organisations are joining in. As I have signed this one I don't think it would count if I signed another, for the same cause.

[Chiltern Chris]

I did an assessment of the Marine White Paper (well the Chilterns will make a nice little sub-tropical seaside resort with global warming and sea level rise) – no I did it for work really.

Although it would allow the designation of statutory marine nature reserves i.e. the equivalent of terrestrial SSSIs, any proposed marine reserves will have to pass an economic test before the designation is accepted. This doesn’t happen (officially) on land where a SSSI is based purely on its scientific value. So a proposed marine reserve may be turned down if fishermen or the aggregates companies say that they want to use the area for economic gain regardless of its ecological value. This aspect of the Marine Bill must be changed in line with the terrestrial methodology.

It also creates a Marine Management Organisation (MMO), which in theory is a good thing. However, it means that all activities that need a ‘marine’ license would be licensed by the MMO rather than by the present licensing authorities e.g. Environment Agency. The main problem is that the MMO will, by law be development plan lead i.e. just like Local Planning Authorities operate now and we all know how successful that model is at protecting the environment. Further, the present proposed staffing of the MMO which will be in the region of 300 licensing staff which includes hardly any ecologists - an interesting state of affairs for an environmental management organisation. Therefore, the people assessing the environmental impact of a licence may have little idea of the ecological consequences of their decisions – again, just like the planning authorities.

So, I agree with the ethos behind a Marine Act but the present proposal may make some things worse, particularly along the foreshore where the Environment Agency will lose all of its environmental protection powers which will be subsumed into the MMO.

I’ve signed the fish as we need a decent Marine Act however, I think the Marine Bill in its present form is not yet the answer to UK Marine conservation but a small step in the right direction with some ecological dangers in the small print.

Chris

[Dogghound]

Yep signed it, i love marine habitats and wildlife

[naturelover]

hiya i signed, it might help.

[jnewberry123]

all signed hope it works lol julie

[HowardPark]

Thanks everyone for replying and signing Petition Fish - the petitions will be 'shoaling' on Westminster next Wednesday, 10 October and I will keep you updated on what transpires. By the way did you hear the news this week about Lundy's lobsters which have expanded from from the No Take Zone into the surrounding waters? Encouraging news that demonstrates the potential contribution that highly protected marine reserves like Lundy could make to marine wildlife & habitats.

[flowerofedin]

Just signed it

Annabel

[HowardPark]

Thanks again everyone for signing the petition - today is the final day for signing and the complete petition is being taken to 10 Downing Street this Wednesday 17 October.

The Wildlife Trusts held a Petition Fish reception in the House of Commons last Wednesday which was attended by over 70 MPs who were greeted by shoals of 'Petition Fish' with tens of thousands of signed scales from around the UK. Quite a bit of media coverage was obtained but given the problems facing Mr Brown, it will be a challenge to keep this on his radar!

[HowardPark]

In the end The Wildlife Trusts around the UK collected over 170,000 signitures and the call for a Marine Bill is attracting widespread cross-party support with 117 MPs signing the Early Day Motion (EDM 1833) calling for its introduction in the Queen’s Speech.