New figures, released by nature experts on World Oceans Day reveal that people across the country want more and stronger Government action to restore our ocean.
This year’s World Oceans Day theme is ‘safeguarding our ocean, its ecosystems and biodiversity’. This research suggests that the public aren’t convinced that we’re achieving these goals in our seas.
A ban on bottom trawling in four MPAs (including Dogger Bank) also comes into effect next week (13 June), and the Government is calling for evidence to extend the ban to a further thirteen MPAs. Wildlife and Countryside Link, Marine Conservation Society, Surfers Against Sewage, RSPB and The Wildlife Trusts are calling for the bottom trawling ban to be extended to all of the 40 English offshore Marine Protected Areas as quickly as possible – echoing the clear appetite of the British public for stronger protections for ocean wildlife from damaging practices like this.
Dr Richard Benwell, CEO of Wildlife and Countryside Link, said: “One hundred years of industrial fishing have been hugely harmful for our marine environment, thinning out fisheries and leaving great scars in the seabed. The theme of this World Oceans Day is revitalisation. To bring life back to the ocean, we need to stop damaging fishing activities in important marine reserves – the “national parks” of our seas. The Government has made an important promise to protect 30% of the sea for wildlife, and we welcome the first four bans on bottom trawling, but the vast majority of the sea remains exposed to further damage. Today’s findings make it clear that there is great public support to put a stop to a century of harm and finally enable our seas to recover.”
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Posted On: 08/06/2022