Sunday, July 15, 2007

WWF film calls for Marine Act

STAKEHOLDERS including a sea angler from Hartlepool and an oyster fisherman from Essex have added their voice to 'A Fair Share of the Sea', a new film produced by WWF as the latest step in its Marine Act Campaign.

In a series of interviews, WWF talked to a diverse group of people living and working on the coastlines around the UK to gauge their views on the challenges facing the marine environment. Each has differing viewpoints based on their own personal experiences, but the one thing they all share in common is a dependence upon UK seas, and a passion for protecting the environment that they depend upon - whether that be for renewable energy, tourism, or fishing.
The problems facing our marine environment are highly visible to each of those interviewed. According to recreational sea angler David Moreton from Hartlepool: “The fish are sadly all gone and the fishing is not a patch on what it used to be.”

In Scotland, the Firth of Forth, home to one of the UK’s largest grey seal breeding populations and tens of thousands of nesting seabirds, is under threat from ship to ship oil transfers, according to WWF.

Tom Brock, CEO of the Scottish Seabird Centre is concerned: “This proposal to transfer huge amounts of oil in the Firth of Forth with no real benefit to the local economy but a huge threat to our wildlife and our tourism industry is just remarkable. It highlights the fact that there are gaps in the current legislation.”

According to WWF, this is a particularly crucial time to look to UK seas, as they are facing the global environmental challenge of climate change as well as the continuing pressures of human activities. It says the UK has the best wind, tidal and wave energy resources in Europe.

"We urgently need a proper planning system to ensure we get the right renewable energy technology in the right place and protect biodiversity from the effects of climate change," a statement issued today said.

"Currently, there is a complicated mish-mash of laws that fail to manage the growing pressures of man's activities in UK seas. A new Marine Act would update the management of our activities at sea and protect the marine ecosystem."

In June 2007, WWF submitted its response to the Government’s consultation on the Marine Bill. This urged the Government to introduce a Marine Bill in the next Queen’s Speech. WWF says Gordon Brown now has a "once-in-a-lifetime" opportunity to provide legislation for the UK’s vast area of sea, which, it claims, is currently lacking any proper protection

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