Marine Bill: better protected seas
To help protect our marine environment, Defra last month published the draft Marine Bill: one set of regulations to cover everything from coastal access to fishing rights.
Marine activities contribute substantially to the UK economy as well as to our quality of life. Yet only one area of the UK’s coastline, Lundy Island, has been granted full environmental protection. With no clear legislation in place, the remaining waters, whether deep sea lochs, rocky coasts or muddy estuaries, remain vulnerable to haphazard development. At present there are separate laws, policed by separate organisations, for oil and gas extraction, building a new wind farm or developing a fishery. In the midst of all this paperwork, who is looking out for vulnerable habitats such as seagrass beds or for species such as skate?
The new draft Marine Bill does just that. The first step towards a coordinated UK marine law, it will create a single authority for planning, licensing and enforcement in our seas.
Launching the draft bill, Environment Secretary Hilary Benn said:
“Our seas are already showing the effects of climate change and with increasing use of the sea by many competing interests we must make sure that the marine environment can cope with changing conditions. We have a duty to look after our seas for future generations.
"Our proposals will raise protection and management of our seas to a new level, halting the decline in biodiversity to create clean, healthy, safe, productive and biologically diverse oceans and seas.”
During a three-month period of public consultation last summer the Marine Bill White Paper received broad support. It has been welcomed by campaign groups, such as the World Wildlife Fund, who called it “a key step towards achieving a robust Marine Act”.
Diana Linskey, Deputy Director Marine Environment at Defra, is confident that the draft bill will help better manage the UK’s marine resources:
“This is an important gap in our regulatory armour which needs plugging. Decisions about developments in our seas are made on a case-by-case basis. We need to be looking ahead more strategically, especially for areas that are coming under increased pressure from competing interests.
“Along with a new marine planning system and marine conservation powers, this Bill includes coastal access provisions. The coast, is after all, the way most of the us experience the marine environment. But our marine industries are also vital to us. Sea-derived sand and gravel are being used to build the Olympic Village, for example. And the role of ports and shipping is very important and looks set to become more so, given the worries over air miles and carbon footprints.”
So what has been proposed? Firstly, a new Marine Management Organisation (MMO) will take forward a new system of marine planning, that will enable us to consider all of our needs and uses in the marine environment, and involve the public in deciding how they should be managed. The MMO will also act as a “one-stop shop”, making it faster to process licences for projects from small jetties to large wind farms, while reducing the number of licences required.
Alongside the MMO, the 12 Sea Fisheries Committees (SFCs) that regulate inshore fishing activities will be modernised and given greater powers for enforcement, as well as more clearly defined duties.
Parts of the sea bed will also be protected, not only for conservation but to preserve key spawning grounds.
Biodiversity
Our seas are home to a huge variety of animals and plants, ranging from whales and dolphins to sponges and sea anemones. Over 8,000 species have been recorded in our seas, mainly in shallow waters. Under the draft bill, Marine Conservation Zones (MCZs) will be designated and protected to help conserve marine species such as the sunset cup coral and long-snouted seahorse, and habitats such as reefs and sandbanks.
MCZs will work on different levels, depending on the conservation objectives set for the site. If the site is already in good condition, fishing and dredging activities might still be allowed but within limits, to ensure the condition is maintained. At more vulnerable sites, damaging activities (including fishing) might be excluded altogether, creating highly protected marine reserves.
Sites will be protected through new duties placed on public authorities which will largely take effect through existing licensing and consent regimes, such as marine licensing and use of fisheries by-laws. The Bill will also give the Marine Management Organisation the ability to manage a range of currently unregulated activities, such jet skiing where they could harm a site.
The Bill will enable us to designate a coherent network of well managed sites by 2012. The aim is not only to conserve rare and threatened species but to support healthy marine ecosystems and build resilience to threats such as those posed by climate change.
Marine fisheries
The fishing industry is a valuable economic contributor as well as being of huge cultural and historical importance.
However, to make sure fish stocks are conserved for future generations and to avoid unsustainable impacts damaging the wider marine environment, it needs to be managed effectively.
The Marine Bill will achieve this by providing strengthened powers to various organisations. For example, the local Sea Fisheries Committees which already exist in England and Wales will have a clear duty to manage inshore fisheries in a sustainable way. To do this, they will be given improved by-law-making and enforcement powers.
Likewise, our fishery officers will have enhanced powers to tackle illegal fishing on the high seas, and will be able to punish offenders with tougher penalties.
The new strategic approach of the Marine Bill will also provide for a more joined-up way of managing fisheries and other activities that take place on our seas.
Freshwater and migratory fisheries
The Bill will help to set up a new scheme to control the transfer of fish between lakes, rivers and streams, to make sure that biodiversity is not compromised. If fish are released unchecked into the wild, it can affect those that are already present in the water through cross-breeding and there being more competition for the same food.
The Environment Agency will be given powers to introduce emergency by-laws when freshwater or migratory fish stocks come under threat. For example, when droughts cause the river level to drop, salmon become far easier to catch at obstacles such as weirs. The Environment Agency will be able to impose a temporary ban on fishing in such areas, to ensure the higher levels of fish are not exploited.
Fishing by nets or traps that are fixed in place for a season, such as crayfish traps or eel racks, pose a higher risk to fish stocks and the environment. Under the new licensing system, each application will be assessed separately and permission can be refused if the proposed fishery is likely to lead to significant exploitation or harm.
Offshore wind farms
Although more technically tricky and costly than onshore wind farms, offshore wind farms have huge potential. A large part of Europe’s offshore wind blows over our waters, and the wind is stronger and more consistent here.
We already have five offshore wind farms in UK waters and three more under construction. The Government would like to have 25GW of generation capacity by 2020, which would mean around 5,000 turbines.
At present, to set up an offshore wind farm, one licence is needed under the Electricity Act, one under the Food and Environment Protection Act and a further one under the Coast Protection if the wind farm is likely to interfere with marine navigation.
Under the Marine Bill, the system will be simplified and just one licence will be required, under the Electricity Act for wind farms of up to 100MW. Statutory time limits on the application process will help to minimise delays. Larger wind farms fall into the category of “nationally significant projects” and will be licensed under the Planning Reform Bill.
Coastal access
Public access to the coast is covered by many different types of rights. People are often surprised to discover that there is no general right of access to beaches. In addition, coastal erosion can mean that some routes are cut off by crumbling cliffs.
At present, a third of the coastline can’t be reached by the public, and current access rights mean that paths can take inconvenient detours. Even on the South West Coast Path, Britain’s longest National Trail, cliff-top and coastal routes can be cut short, or they veer off and run along busy roads.
The new Bill aims to open up and secure for the future greater access to the English coast, making it possible for the public to walk along and enjoy the coastline.
For areas such as commercial ports, or where there are defence or safety issues, consultation with local authorities, local access forums and landowners will take place to agree a detour that will go around the development but still provide a good route that joins the path on either side.
Further information
More information, including the draft bill, is available on the Marine Bill website.
Page last modified: 12 May 2008
Page published: 7 May 2008