Reserve restrictions are not enforced
Marine wildlife and habitats are under threat because legislation aimed at protecting them is not being enforced.
World Wildlife Fund policy advisor Kate Reeves said: “Enforcement is very very low and it’s because the resources aren’t there and a lot of people dealing with it, the coastguard agency, the fisheries agency, it’s not their prime objective to make sure that marine wildlife is protected.”
PC Nevin Hunter, who investigates wildlife crime in his spare time for Devon and Cornwall Police, recognises that resources are a problem: “Whenever I’ve been involved in an investigation and needed resources I’ve always had the support to do that, but it doesn’t always have the priority it should have.”
But PC Hunter said that the nature of the marine environment is also causes problems: “With marine species legislation it’s recognised that it’s difficult to enforce because often it happens under the water or on the water where enforcement agencies such as the police may not be.”
Conservationists hope that the New Marine Bill, if approved in Parliament, will give more powers to other agencies and increase the number of people who can enforce regulations at sea.
Marine Bill in brief
A white paper setting out plans to improve the management of the marine environment in the UK.
Aims to improve enforcement of marine regulations by creating a new agency, the Marine Management Organisation, to oversee fisheries and conservation regulations.
Propses to create more marine conservation areas.
Supporters hope that the bill will be read in the next Queen's speech.
Miss Reeves said: “We want Defra to ensure that enforcement is there locally. There’s also a new organisation called the marine management organisation as part of the marine bill, which we welcome, and that will have greater resources around the coast.”
Until then, the only statutory marine reserve in the UK is off Lundy Island in the Bristol Channel, and conservationists say that other sites should follow its example.
Miss Reeves said that involving local people in the management of the Lundy reserve means that they make sure others respect the restrictions around the island: “A lot of the people in the area think it’s absolutely fantastic and they’ve all got t-shirts saying the UK’s only no take zone and they’re very proud of it.”
But PC Hunter is not convinced: “The Lundy no take zone has been quoted as a wonderful success, but how many people have been prosecuted? And if people do breach the Lundy no take zone, how are they going to be dealt with?”
To date, no one has been prosecuted for breaching the Lundy no-take zone regulations.
