25th September, 2008
MCS Media Statement
Government toughens some measures in the Marine Bill in line with Joint Committee report
Government today published their response to the House of Lords and House of Commons Joint Committee report on the draft Marine Bill.
The Marine Conservation Society called for the Government to toughen up the Marine Bill in line with the recommendations in the report of the Joint Committee.
Melissa Moore, Senior Policy Officer said “While we strongly welcome the Government’s continuing commitment to a Marine Bill, and the wide-ranging scope of the draft Bill we believe it needed toughening up in line with the Joint Committee’s recommendations if it is to leave a lasting legacy for nature conservation.”
MCS was asking for Government’s response to the committee report to adopt 8 essential measures related to setting up a well-managed comprehensive network of Marine Conservation Zones (MCZs). Without these and other improvements MCS were concerned the measures proposed in the draft bill wouldn’t be strong enough to actually deliver our international commitments of a network of Marine Conservation Zones (MCZ's).
Dr Jean-Luc Solandt, MCS MPA specialist said “we’re delighted that the government will be duty-bound to set up a network of MCZs which will include Highly Protected Marine Reserves, but we are worried that managing damaging activities in those sites may yet prove to be challenging.”
The Bill proposes an ambitious new approach to managing the marine environment which will include a new marine planning system, marine conservation zones, inshore fisheries reform, streamlining of licensing, establishment of a marine agency and coastal access provisions.
Melissa added “The draft Marine Bill has been strengthened, as a result of government accepting many of our and the Joint Committees proposals.”
Joint Committee recommendations, and government response:
1. “We believe that the provisions in the Bill regarding Marine Conservation Zones should be strengthened and recommend a duty on the Secretary of State to designate a network of MCZs including some Highly Protected Marine Reserves.”
When questioned on this issue by the Joint Committee, the Secretary of State said he was “fine with duties as long as they are for a clear purpose” (see point 118 in the Joint Committee report)
Has government accepted this recommendation? Yes. MCS welcomes this decision, as it will guide the current government, and any future governments to pass through a comprehensive MPA network, thereby achieving our national, European and international commitments to establishing MPA networks by 2012, and Good Ecological Status by 2020. We consider this to be an essential measure.
2. “We recommend the Bill confer a duty on a lead agency to enforce Marine Conservation Zones and that the Government should set out, in the Bill or in guidance, what arrangements will be necessary for the lead body to work co-operatively with others.”
Has government accepted this recommendation? No. As such there will be no single organization accountable for the enforcement of laws in MCZs. This will potentially lead to confusion as to which public body should take the lead when enforcing the law. Government is considering a single body to collate all public records of evidence of offenses against the conservation objectives of each MCZ.
3. “We recommend that the new Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authorities be required to work collaboratively to an agreed set of minimum standards, and given a duty to further conservation of coastal and marine fauna and flora—and that they must be adequately funded for this work.”
Has government accepted this recommendation? No. Government simply responded by saying the main duty of the IFCAs to manage the exploitation of sea fisheries resources in order to realize the economic and social benefits of the resource in a way that is sustainable, which will involve balancing social, economic and environmental considerations. MCS believes will lead to past lapses with regard to the control of damaging fishing activities inside and outside Marine Conservation Zones as has been the case in Special Areas of Conservation (European Marine Sites) in the past, leading to protection after the damage is done, if at all.
In addition to the above three duties MCS believes the following important recommendations made by the Joint Committee in relation to nature conservation should also be adopted by Government
4. “We recommend that the Bill sets out the need to establish Highly Protected Marine Reserves”
Has government accepted this recommendation? Yes, but the proportion of sea designated in these sites hasn’t been given due to uncertainty over the area necessary to achieve a coherent MPA network. Therefore only very few sites could be set up. The RCEP recommended in 2004 that 30% of the seas should be in no-take marine reserves.
5. “We recommend that clear, comprehensive objectives for MCZs should be included in the Bill and that it should also include specific mention of the need for MCZs to contribute to an ecologically coherent representative network of Marine Protected Areas, with one objective being recovery and restoration.”
Has government accepted this recommendation? In part. By saying there will be statutory reporting on the objectives of the MPA network and its progress every six years. But government setting an objective for the whole network rather than for individual sites will require a huge amount of excellent data. It is much easier to report on individual site objectives, rather than the entire network functioning adequately. We require objectives for both. Also, it is essential that the objectives of many sites are set up for recovery, as many habitats have already been degraded, but can recover if released from damaging activities that currently take place on our seabed.
6. “We recommend that the Bill should include a timetable for designation of the MCZ network”.
Has government accepted this recommendation? In part. The bill will confer a duty on the Secretary of State to produce a report for government by 2012, and every 6 years thereafter to let parliament know how the network is developing. MCS feel that this gap in reporting is too far apart, and should be reduced to every 3 years.
7. “We recommend that where there is limited knowledge some locations may need to be designated on a precautionary basis, for example to avoid the potential for environmental damage or to support an effective MPA network under a scenario of climate change.
Has government accepted this recommendation? Yes. The joint committee recommended that there is enough scientific information to act to set up a network, and that where gaps in information exist, the regional MPA designation projects should use reasonable application of the precautionary principle to set up sites. This is particularly relevant for rare or threatened species or habitats.
8. “We recommend a general offense of damaging or destroying a feature for which an MCZ has been designated.
Has government accepted this recommendation? Yes. Government has included this in order to prevent deliberate acts of damage to the designated features of an MCZ.
ENDS
For more information and photographs please contact:
Dr Jean-Luc Solandt, MCS Biodiversity Policy Officer, 01989 566017
Richard Harrington, MCS Communications Manager: 01989 566017
Melissa Moore, Senior Policy Officer 07793 118 386
MCS, Unit 3, Wolf Business Park, Alton Road, Ross-on-Wye HR9 5NB Tel: 01989 566017 www.mcsuk.org
Editors notes
1. The Marine Conservation Society (MCS) is the UK charity dedicated to the protection of our seas, shores and wildlife. MCS campaigns for clean seas and beaches, sustainable fisheries, protection of marine life and their habitats, and the sensitive use of our marine resources for future generations. Through education, community involvement and collaboration, MCS raises awareness of the many threats that face our seas and promotes individual, industry and government action to protect the marine environment. MCS provides information and guidance on many aspects of marine conservation and produces the annual Good Beach Guide (www.goodbeachguide.co.uk), the Good Fish Guide and www.fishonline.org on sustainable seafood, as well as promoting public participation in volunteer projects and surveys such as Beachwatch, Adopt-a-Beach and Basking Shark Watch. See www.mcsuk.org.
2. The Marine Reserves Now campaign has collected over 100,000 signatures from the general public over 12 months between March 8th 2007 and March 22nd 2008. www.marinereservesnow.org.uk.
4. A survey carried out by the University of York in 2005 sent to 2,000 British citizens revealed that over 95% of respondents believed that over 20% of the seas should be in Highly Protected Marine Reserves. The actual figure of current HPMR in the UK stands at less than 0.002%.
5. The effectiveness of international marine reserves has been highlighted in a report by the Partnership for Interdisciplinary Studies of Coastal Oceans (2007). This consortium of 23 international marine scientists compiled a report which outlined the results from 124 research studies on the effects of marine reserves. PISCO (2007). The Science of Marine Reserves (2nd Edition, International version). www.piscoweb.org
6. UK behind rest of the world in designating Highly Protected Marine Reserves 33% of the Australian Great Barrier Reef has been designated as a Highly Protected Marine Reserves; New Zealand has 32 marine reserves; the USA in 2006 designated the largest Marine Reserve in the world covering an area of over 341,362km2; the Philippines has local laws requiring each community (equivalent to each English parish) to set up Marine Reserves. With so much international action and political commitment to use this effective tool to preserve ecosystems, the UK only has one tiny highly protected marine reserve – an area just 3.3km2 off Lundy Island in the Bristol Channel, representing a meagre 0.00195% of our inshore waters. Many international and UK marine scientists recommend that 30% of our seas should be protected from any extraction or damaging activites to ensure sustainable use of limited resources [Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution, (2004) Turning the Tide: Addressing the impact of fisheries on the marine environment.]
7. It is anticipated that the full Marine Bill will be in this years Queen’s Speech and put to parliament soon after or in early 2009. The Marine Bill will set out Government’s proposals for measures to better protect our marine wildlife and habitats and ensure the sustainable management of our seas and resources. MCS together with many other UK NGOs successfully lobbied Government and secured commitment to introduce a Marine Bill. The Marine Bill will be a once in a lifetime opportunity to improve the conservation and management of our seas.
8. Devolution
The Scottish Government published a consultation in Summer 2008 on the Scottish Marine Bill. Similar legislative measures are needed in Northern Ireland while Wales has signed up to most of the UK Marine Bill. For more information on the work in Scotland contact Calum Duncan, MCS Scottish Conservation Manager on 0131 226 6360 or email Scotland@mcsuk.org
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Click here for link to the Joint Committee report on the bill
Click here for the Defra press release and response to the committee report
