Government urged to 'act now' on marine protection

Shoals of public support for marine protection put Government commitment in the shallows. At 12 noon today four leading nature conservation charities will stand shoulder to shoulder to present pledges to Downing Street calling for an ecologically coherent network of Marine Protected Areas. More than 350,000 people signed pledges - often in creative ways, at aquaria and seaside events where they made sand and willow sculptures or created silver-scaled marine creatures. Take a look at the booklet that accompanies this release and see images attached. Locally, Devon Wildlife Trust mobilised its army of volunteers to gather more than 5,000 signatures for the petition at events, at meetings and at its visitor centres across the county. Each one of the signatures adds supports to the call for urgent action to better protect the UK's seas.

The charities are extremely concerned that:

• While there is huge public support for greater protection of our seas using Marine Protected Areas, there has been little evidence that the Government will do this on a meaningful scale for English waters or with any sense of urgency. 
• Following a two and half year public consultation process involving one million stakeholders across England the Government is currently only suggesting an initial tranche of 31 Marine Conservation Zones. The charities and Government's own advisors agree that a full, ecologically coherent network is absolutely vital to ensure the future of our seas. There is uncertainty over how committed the Government is to progressing future tranches of Marine Conservation Zones. All four charities are calling on the Government to commit to a specified timetable designating an entire network. 
• A whole swathe of important marine wildlife is not being considered by the Government. Marine Protected 

Areas are needed for mobile species - such as whales, dolphins, basking sharks and seabirds - in order to create a network that is truly ecologically coherent. The joint petition comes in the wake of the recently published nature "State report put together by scientists working side-by-side with 25 wildlife organisations. They compiled a stock-take of our native species - the first of its kind in the UK - and revealed that 60% of the species studied have declined over recent decades. More than one in ten of all the species assessed are under threat of disappearing from our shores altogether. Protection of our remaining natural heritage is critical. In April, the House of Commons' Science and Technology Committee on Marine Science concluded its report saying: "We were pleased to hear that the Minister is keen to move the Marine Conservation Zone process forward, but we have not seen this intention translated into action. The Minister should not let his priorities be set by fear of judicial review. Further delay to the process perpetuates the uncertainty that has already been damaging to the Marine Conservation Zone project. We recommend that Government set out a clear timetable for designation of this tranche and future tranches of Marine Conservation Zones, with a clear commitment to an end date by which the ecologically coherent network of marine protected areas, as the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009 requires, will be established." Devon Wildlife Trust's Senior Marine Advocacy Officer, Richard White, added his support to the call for action: "Devon's waters are home to a stunning range of marine wildlife, from the humble shore crab to the mighty basking shark. But the picture we see today is a faded one. We know that historically our shores and waters teemed with a greater abundance and a greater variety of life. It is vital that Government acts quickly to put in place a full network of protection around our waters so that we can halt declines and stat to rebuild what we have lost."

The four leading nature conservation charities calling for the urgent designation Marine Protected Areas are:

• Marine Conservation Society - http://www.mcsuk.org/
• Royal Society for the Protection of Birds - http://www.rspb.org.uk/marine
• The Wildlife Trusts - http://www.wildlifetrusts.org
• WWF -  http://www.wwf.org.uk/> .

The House of Commons' Science and Technology Committee report on Marine Science - http://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/science-and-technology-committee/news/marine-science-report; published its report in April 2013.