Andrew Rosindell has been Member of Parliament for Romford since 2001.
David Attenborough’s latest documentary, Ocean, lays bare the destruction that bottom trawling, the practice of dragging fishing nets along the seabed, can wreak on marine ecosystems. It evokes a visceral reaction amongst the public, many of whom simply will not understand why this is allowed to happen in so-called marine protected areas (MPAs), especially those for which the UK has responsibility.
Off the back of this documentary, the Environment Secretary Steve Reed is right to announce a new consultation into banning bottom trawling in offshore MPAs around the UK’s coastline at this week’s UN Oceans Conference.
However, while the government’s latest proposal to ban bottom trawling in England’s offshore MPAs is welcome, it comes amidst a sea of failure from Labour in protecting marine habitats. As so often with this government, ministers’ unquestionable ability to issue a press release to coincide with a major conference does little to obscure the lack of genuine concern for the natural world that lies underneath.
As a proud island nation, we have a unique bond with the ocean.
From the days when Britannia ruled the waves to Attenborough films showing us the wonders of the deep, we have forged a spiritual connection with precious species of fish, whales, seabirds, and much more. With global temperatures seemingly on the rise, the ocean’s role in absorbing up to 30 percent of carbon dioxide emissions is more vital now more than ever.
Although, it’s about even more than that. Around the world, a billion people depend on fish as their main source of protein, and 200 million rely on it in some way for their livelihoods. In some of the most unstable parts of the world, overexploitation of fisheries has devastating economic consequences.
Closer to home, our domestic fishing industry has been decimated by years of overfishing by huge EU vessels. Where stocks are allowed to recover, the fishing sector benefits too. With ocean-based industries generating $2.5 trillion annually, to protect marine life is to protect the marine economy too.
Conservatives understand this, which is why the party’s fourteen years in government saw a swathe of marine protection measures enacted. From taking back control of our fishing waters from Brussels (an achievement now being squandered by Labour) to banning sand eel fishing in the North Sea to protect the seabird populations that rely on this food source, it is Conservatives who have ruled the waves on ocean conservation.
Most notable of all was the creation of the Blue Belt, a network of marine reserves around the UK’s overseas territories, covering a total area of ocean the size of India. From Pitcairn in the Pacific to Tristan da Cunha in the Atlantic, and South Georgia in the Southern Ocean to Chagos in the Indian, the UK has protected millions of square kilometres.
The contrast with our new government is striking. Labour may now be saying the right thing on bottom trawling, but this does little to make up for a string of poor policy decisions.
The decision to surrender Chagos to Mauritius is a disaster for all sorts of reasons, but neglected amongst them is what it could mean for marine protections around this biodiversity hotspot. The UK is giving away control of the world’s largest fully protected marine area to an ally of China – whose vast fishing fleet has a notorious record of overfishing – with no guarantees that the MPA that will be put in its place will be at the same level or properly enforced.
Furthermore, the government is now dragging its heels at ratifying the so-called High Seas Treaty, which would enable the creation of protected zones in areas of the ocean outside of national borders – an integral step towards protecting 30 per cent of the ocean by 2030. The last government signed the treaty, but our successors have not prioritised laying the necessary legislation. Ministers should put forward a bill now so we can begin the urgent work of safeguarding more of the marine environment.
Like a great fishing net sweeping across the ocean floor, the government’s approach to the natural world may catch the odd worthwhile policy, but this should not let ministers off the hook for the wider damage that they are causing. For the sake of the environment and the people who rely on it, it’s time to treat the ocean as the precious resource that it is.
Britain must take the lead.
The post Andrew Rosindell: When it comes to marine protection, Labour’s lost at sea appeared first on Conservative Home.
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Author: Andrew Rosindell MP
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