SOS for Northern Ireland's Seas!
There has never been a more important time for NI seas. We need your help for action to protect the rich marine wildlife around our coast!
For far too long our seas have been out of sight and out of mind. There is an urgent need for the reform of the management of our seas and coast, to safeguard the future of the diverse marine wildlife and the local communities that depend on the natural resources for their livelihoods.
To secure a sustainable long-term future for the marine environment and the people that depend on it we are calling for Northern Ireland to deliver the overarching policies of the UK Marine Bill and put in place the necessary legislation that will secure the environmental foundation for Northern Ireland’s seas and for all who depend on them.
In particular, the Ulster Wildlife Trust is calling for:
- Better protection for marine habitats and wildlife, including nationally important marine species, through the creation and implementation of robust effective marine legislation for Northern Ireland that delivers the overarching policies of the UK Marine Bill and ensures a sustainable future for Northern Ireland’s seas.
- The creation of an ecological network of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) (called Marine Conservation Zones under the Marine Bill) with a core of Highly Protected Marine Reserves (HPMRs) to fulfil our MPA targets and to aid in halting biodiversity loss, increasing recovery and resilience and aiding in the adaptation of the effects of climate change.
- The implementation of an integrated all-encompassing Marine Spatial Plan for Northern Ireland that is based on an environmental foundation and regional seas management to ensure long-term sustainability.This means holistic, cross boundary and all-encompassing while having clear set areas for different users.
- A Northern Ireland Marine Management Organisation (NIMMO) accountable to the Northern Ireland Assembly with responsibility for overseeing enforcement, marine planning and streamlined marine licensing. This body MUST have an understanding and appreciation of the importance of marine biodiversity to the long-term sustainability of our seas in its decision making process.
- Streamlined marine licensing that takes as its objective to “regulate activities to protect the environment and the interests of other users of the sea”.
- Better management and enforcement of marine fisheries through the ecosystem approach and the implementation of the recommendations of the Review of Inshore Fisheries and a clear coherent vision for inshore waters in Northern Ireland (out to 12nm) for the next 15 to 20 years, which would be the basis for a national strategy.
As part of these calls it is essential that Northern Ireland effectively meets its targets to implement a network of Marine Protected Areas by 2010 and 2012 under OSPAR, the World Summit on Sustainable Development and the Convention on Biological Diversity. In order for this network to fulfil its function effectively it is necessary that there is a core of Highly Protected Marine Reserves, which are areas that are fully protected from all damaging activities such as fishing and dredging.
To read more about our Marine Reserves campaign and to download the report ‘Marine Reserves in Northern Ireland: the way forward’ please click here.
What you can do for your seas: We need supporters to write to their MPs, MLAs and the Minister for the Environment urging for Northern Ireland to put in place all the necessary legislation, delivering the overarching policy objectives of the UK Marine Bill and calling for all the points above without delay if the future for Northern Ireland’s seas is to be truly sustainable.
Please include the points above in your letter or download a template letter here. You can find contact information for your MP and MLA at www.writetothem.com
For more information on what is happening at a UK level click here.
Seas of Plenty
As part of the Wildlife Trusts' ongoing Marine BIll campaign, the Ulster Wildlife Trust is highlighting the massive loss of marine megafauna from our seas. Common skate (measuring up to 3 metres/9 ft across), now critically endangered in the Irish Sea, were once as widespread as their name suggests. Historic records suggest that even basking sharks, seen around the Northern Irish coastline, may have declined by as much as 95%[i], as hunting, fishing and other activities have taken their toll.
For more information, please download the Wildilfe Trusts' Seas of Plenty leaflet which sets out to show just how much our marine environment has changed - for the worse - in a short period of time. The new campaign leaflet also shows how vital it is that the UK Marine Bill (published in draft on 3 April) and legislation developed in Northern Ireland provides robust new laws for marine conservation – including the creation of highly protected marine reserves – if our seas are ever again to be a stronghold for the giants of the seas.
The leaflet was produced with the help of Dr Callum Roberts, professor of marine conservation at the University of York and author of 'Marine Reserves in Northern Ireland: the way forward' .
[i] Figure from research undertaken by Professor Callum Roberts researching changes in the abundance of marine wildlife using historical sources, fisheries statistics, reviews and other sources of information. This research was funded by Natural England.
