Marine

In 1960, in The Sea Around Us, Rachel Carson wrote"Although man’s record as a steward of the natural resources of

the earth has been a discouraging one, there has long been a

certain comfort in the belief that the sea, at least, was inviolate,

beyond man’s ability to change and to despoil. But this belief,

unfortunately, has proved to be naïve."

Four decades later, this Marine Update provides an overview of

WWF-UK’s Oceans Recovery Campaign, ORCA, launched in

July 2000 because of the continuing widespread violation and

inadequate management and protection of the oceans, marine

wildlife and our coastal communities.

Elliott Norse, in Global Marine Biological Diversity – A

Strategy for Building Conservation into Decision-Making

(1993), identifies five major threats to marine biodiversity:

● Over-exploitation of living things

● Physical alteration of the environment

● Pollution of the seas

● Introduction of alien species

● Increased ultraviolet radiation and alterations of

climatic conditions

While Carson was referring principally to the widespread

occurrence of radioactive contamination in the world’s oceans,

it is now clear that this worldwide distribution of persistent

pollutants is also true for many highly toxic chemicals. For

example, polychlorinated biphenyls, DDT and its derivatives,

and tributyltin and the dibutyl and monobutyl tin breakdown

products are found worldwide in the muscle and fatty tissues

of marine invertebrates, fish and wildlife at the top of marine

foodchains, as well as in humans.

The exploitation of marine wildlife has led to extinctions

globally and locally – the Atlantic grey whales and the great auk,

for example, became extinct following massive over-exploitation

while the northern right whale is extinct in British waters for the

same reasons. Poor management of commercial fish stocks has

led to 60 per cent of the world’s important fish stocks being

over-fished or fished to maximum limits.

WWF’s Oceans Recovery Campaign – ORCA

Eighteen years ago, in 1982, two eminent fisheries biologists,

Tony Pitcher and Paul Hart , wrote in a standard text book on

fisheries ecology:

“The current picture is rather bleak. Over the past 30 years

protein resources have been squandered by failure to manage

stocks properly. Until 10 years ago there was perhaps some

excuse for ignoring the advice of biologists because classical

fishery management models were often misleading and

inadequate… It is a sad reflection on our ability to manage

resources that the past decade has seen no amelioration of

overfishing. A long list of stocks endangered in 1970 would be

longer still in 1980, the only removals being those stocks that

have collapsed.”

Pitcher and Hart go on to list herring, cod, hake, sardine,

anchovy, pilchard, tuna, mackerel and many flatfish among

the species where many stocks are in a worse state in the early

’80s than ever before. By 2000, little has changed: the list has

simply grown. In 1999, the EU effectively banned fishing for

cod in the Irish Sea because of the plight of cod stocks.

One of the most horrifying examples of destruction of

habitats experienced on this planet is the loss of the intertidal

wetlands. Habitats such as coastal lagoons, saltmarsh and

mudflats have been systematically destroyed for coastal

development, agricultural use and tourism. In the UK it is

estimated that 25 per cent of our mudflats have been lost

between the early 1950s and 1980s, while 15 per cent of the

41

Over-exploitation of living things is identified as one of the five majorthreats to marine biodiversity.

Paul Kay

update

life are not carbon or oxygen but sulphur!

Imagine the surprise of scientists in a deep

sea submersible diving over the young

geological formations of the spreading

earth’s crust when they found a Nike

shoe among the basalt rocks, and plastic

bags of rubbish at 1,900m depth in

the Sea of Cortez. Nowhere, it seems

remains pristine.

It was been recognised for some time

that there is no single solution to the

plight of the oceans – it is pointless

managing commercial fish stocks properly

if we continue to poison the seas or

destroy the spawning and nursery

grounds. Similarly, it is useless protecting

highly diverse or highly productive sites if

a transient oil tanker runs aground spilling

thousands of tonnes of crude oil over tens

or hundreds of square kilometres of sea

and coastline, ignoring the boundaries

of marine protected areas.

An integrated approach to the

management of the oceans, seas and

coasts is fundamental to the protection of

biodiversity as well as to the sustainable

management of the resources. Such an

“ecosystem approach” requires not only

the management and protection of the

species and habitats, but also the

processes that generate and sustain the

habitats and species and the multitude of

activities that take place – research,

exploitation of living and non-living

resources, transport, waste disposal,

offshore development, recreation, etc.

WWF believes that the delivery of an

ecosystem approach to the management

of the oceans, seas and coasts must

involve three goals:

● the maintenance of biodiversity and

ecological processes

● the sustainable and equitable use of

marine resources

● the restoration of marine and coastal

ecosystems where their functioning has

been impaired

The delivery of an ecosystem approach

will out of necessity involve the use of a

number of management tools including,

for example, strategic environmental and

social assessment, identification of high

risk areas, pollution prevention and

reduction measures and environmental

impact assessment. WWF believes that

two of the principal management tools

within an ecosystem approach should be:

● a Network of Marine Protected Areas,

and

● a system of Fishing-Free Zones

(also known as No-take Zones).

Marine Protected Areas: why dowe need them?The UK is an island nation bestowed with

a rich and varied marine and coastal

heritage. Intertidal habitats such as

saltmarshes and mudflats are valuable

feeding grounds for nationally and

internationally important numbers of

wildfowl and waders. Estuaries and soft

bottomed sediments provide nursery and

feeding areas for a number of fish species.

A myriad of underwater sea cliffs, sea

caves, fjords, rias, rocky reefs and saline

lagoons are host to a diverse collection of

animals and plants. The wealth of marine

life extends offshore to the continental

shelf break and beyond into deeper

waters. Here, offshore features such as

sea mountains and coldwater corals are

essential habitats for fish, underwater

canyons maybe breeding places for

whales and different water masses

converge – upwell and eddy concentrating

microscopic plankton and creating rich

feeding grounds for shoals of fish, basking

sharks and other wildlife.

saltmarsh is England and Wales has been

lost. Furthermore, the Hadley Centre – a

leading UK research body – predicts that

globally 50 per cent of the world’s coastal

wetlands will be lost by the 2080s due to

coastal erosion and rising sea levels.

As well the UK’s coastal wetlands

being vital “kitchens” for internationally

important populations of coastal wildfowl

and waders, these habitats are also the

spawning and nursery areas for many

commercial fish species, sinks for nutrient

run-off and our natural coastal defences

which dissipate the energy of the wind

and the waves.

We still know relatively little about the

oceans. In the past 30 years one of the

largest fish in the sea, the megamouth

shark, was seen for the first time and has

still only been recorded on a handful of

occasions. Similarly, the 7m-long oarfish

has only been recorded occasionally,

including one record from the North Sea.

A new species of beaked whale was

recorded during the 1980s.

The second largest fish in the sea, the

basking shark, frequents British waters in

the summer, but where these animals

go between September and May is not

known. Sightings of these gentle giants

indicate that the populations have

declined. Twenty-five years ago we were

only beginning to get an inkling of what

mysteries the hydrothermal vent systems

held – new species and new phylums;

communities where the building blocks of

Basking Shark – the second largest fish in the sea. Sightings of these gentle giants are an indicationthat the populations have declined.

J Stafford-Deitsch/WWF

For all this marine life and more, nature

conservation objectives can be achieved

inside a Marine Protected Area (MPA),

provided that sustainable use and

management objectives are achieved

outside the protected area. So, MPAs

can form an important tool in the

development of the ecosystem approach.

The concept of MPAs is similar to

nature reserves on land. MPAs are chosen

and managed to conserve marine wildlife

and habitats, but it is also important that

such sites are managed to provide long-

term benefits for coastal communities.

However, these areas frequently support

a variety of activities and the term “MPA”

– though internationally recognised – can

be misleading. MPAs in coastal and

marine areas are often zoned to support

different human activities in different

areas. A global system of ecologically

representative, effective MPAs is required

to contribute to sustainable development

by providing integral benefits for marine

conservation, and also for activities such

as fisheries and tourism.

Habitats and species protected in

MPAs will, for example, deliver increased

robustness of ecosystems upon which

commercial fish stocks depend. They

will provide shelter and food, and

protect nursery areas and refuges for

commercial fish and other species.

Wildlife such as dolphins, porpoises and

seabirds will attract visitors. MPAs also

have the potential to host recreational

activities – diving, angling, whale

Intertidal habitats such as saltmarshes and mudflats are valuable feeding grounds for nationally andinternationally important numbers of wildfowl and waders.

Ann Simpson/WWF

Fernando Ugark/WWF

Identifying and managing a network of MPAs can provide food and shelter and act as a stepping stonefor migratory and highly mobile species.

watching, bird watching, rambling and

sailing are enhanced by the natural

beauty and resources of coastal and

marine seascape. Some populations of

marine wildlife in UK waters, such as

basking sharks and harbour porpoises,

are highly mobile. It may not be possible

for an MPA to protect examples of the

populations from all the threats to the

population; however, a successfully

managed MPA may protect food sources,

provide shelter from disturbance, and

protect breeding and nursery areas as the

animals stop by the site. Identifying and

managing a network of MPAs can

therefore provide food and shelter and

act as stepping stones for migratory

and highly mobile animals.

Outside the MPA, other activities will

require other management plans. MPAs

and MPA management plans should be

integrated with plans designed for

regulating, for example, land-based

sources of nutrients from agriculture,

offshore development for oil and gas,

wind farms, oil spillages and sand and

gravel extraction and fisheries.

The key message, therefore, is that all

creatures and the physical and chemical

interactions upon which they depend

make a contribution to the Earth’s

ecosystem. The robustness of these

ecosystems may depend on the ability

of the tiniest or largest creature to evolve

and adapt to natural and human induced

threats. Protecting examples of all

habitats within a network of Marine

Protected Areas will help ensure that the

Earth’s ecosystems naturally function

and evolve.

Marine Protected Areas: whereare we now?Marine Protected Areas are an integral

part of the goal of the Convention on

Biological Diversity (CBD) – “Conserving

biodiversity and ensuring sustainable use

of those species and habitats exploited

by man”.

To date, MPAs have been created

under a number of different names in the

UK. Protected under law in England,

Wales and Northern Ireland, there are

three Marine Nature Reserves (MNRs).

At present, no offshore sites in deeper

waters have been protected. Although a

recent High Court decision in the UK has

ruled that the Directive should apply to

all the UK’s seas – ie, the continental shelf

and to the superjacent waters up to a limit

of 200 nautical miles. There are, however,

only two habitats listed in the Directive

that are relevant to the offshore

environment – sandbanks and reefs.

Furthermore, if the Habitats Directive

applies to all the UK’s waters, then

presumably the same must be true of the

Birds Directive – yet there are no marine

sites protected under the Birds Directive.

Finally, there is a whole range of nationally

important marine features that have no

protection under any of the existing

international designations – for example,

sea lochs, underwater canyons, deepwater

sponge communities, and ecosystems

associated with productive frontal systems.

Marine Protected Areas: Overseas Experience CaseStudy 1MPAs were established to protect the

more mobile species in deeper waters –

which is itself something of a challenge.

But there have been some notable

successes, such as the Stellwagon Bank

National Marine Sanctuary in the US,

where the highly productive waters

support an abundance of fish and marine

mammals. The sanctuary is particularly

important for humpback, fin and northern

right whales, which use the area as a

nursery and feeding ground. In common

with the UK Habitats Directive sites,

effective implementation of measures to

protect these species relies on cooperation

and coordination of agencies as well as

users. The National Marine Fisheries

Service, Coastguard and US Army Corp

of Engineers are involved, and codes of

practice for whale watching and vessel

movements in the area operate to avoid

harassment of the whales.

Marine Protected Areas: whatis required?WWF’s target is for a network of MPAs

covering at least 10 per cent of the UK’s

seas to be identified and successfully

managed by 2010. These are not exclusion

These reserves, surrounding Skomer and

Lundy islands in Wales and England, and

in Strangford Lough, Northern Ireland,

protect species such as the pink sea fan

and maerl beds. There are also a number

of voluntary marine conservation areas

from the Scilly Isles to St Abbs in Scotland,

but these sites are not given statutory

protection. The protection of coastal

communities dependent on the sea for

their livelihoods is central to the

management of MPAs. To this end, the

designation of Marine Natural Parks is

being developed in Scotland. No Scottish

Marine National Parks have yet been

identified because this management tool

is still in the early stages of development.

It will be important, however, that the

process receives the full input of all

legitimate users of the sea.

The EC Habitats and Birds Directives

of 1992 and 1979 respectively require

all European Union member states to

designate and manage Natura 2000 sites

for listed species of animals, plants and

birds and for specified habitats. Special

Protection Areas (SPAs) for birds do not

currently extend beyond low water.

There are over 40 new Special Areas of

Conservation (SAC) marine habitats and

species in England, Wales, Scotland and

Northern Ireland – but they are at present

restricted to coastal waters.

From this description it might seem that

the current situation is good – until, that is,

the detail is considered more thoroughly.

Over 40,000 species – up to half of the

UK’s wildlife – are found in the sea, but

less than 1 per cent of the UK’s seas are

adequately protected. Almost 10 per cent

of our land area falls within a protected

area. The EC Habitats Directive appears

to offer a solution but the classification

system is based on one used for southern

European Habitats. This is particularly

flawed for UK marine habitats because it

leads to the “shoehorning” and forcing of

habitats into a system into which they do

not fit. Only seven of the 168 habitat types

listed for site protection in the Directive are

marine and occur in the UK, while only

nine out of the 623 species listed occur in

the marine environment or spend part of

their life in the sea and have breeding

populations in the UK.

areas, but areas which may be zoned for

multiple use and where the management

objectives are compatible with the nature

conservation interest of the site. The

intention of these MPAs is to ensure the

long-term viability of coastal communities

dependent on marine nature. This will be

done through integrated management

and focusing financial resources within

the protected area in order to achieve

the nature conservation objectives and

sustainable use objectives. A network of

MPAs is fundamental to the achievement

of sustainability in the UK’s marine

environment. The network will protect

examples of all our coastal and marine

heritage, from deep coldwater corals to

coastal lagoons. The network, along with

wider environmental measures, will help to

protect the structure and function of the

ecosystems upon which we all depend.

Marine Protected Areas: Overseas Experience CaseStudy 2 (Figure A)The value of MPAs in not limited to

inshore locations. There is growing

interest in setting up MPAs in the deep

Figure A: Vertical zoning scheme for theTasmanian Seamount Marine Reserve (see:http://www.environment.gov.au/marine/publications/mpa_images/map.gd)

The number of UK fishermen has more than halved since 1948 and has dropped by around 20 per cent in the last decade.

Simon Pepper/WWF

sea around features such as hydrothermal

vents and sea mounts. The Tasmanian

Seamount Marine Reserve, which was

declared in 1998, is one example. The

reserve covers 370 km2and includes the

water column, the seabed and sediments

down to 100m below the seabed. There

is a Highly Protected Zone from 500m

depth to 100m below the seabed in

which fishing and mineral exploration is

prohibited. The water column above this,

up to the surface, is a Managed Resource

Zone where the aim is to ensure long-

term protection and maintenance of

biological diversity while allowing the

longline fishery access to the

surface waters.

Fishing-Free Zones: UK Fisheries and the CFP –problems!Fisheries management in the seas around

the UK from the baseline out to 200nm

must meet the requirements of the

Common Fisheries Policy (CFP). The

UK governments manage the inshore

fisheries within territorial waters (up to

12nm), but even here any regulations

have to be in line with the CFP. These

coastal waters are restricted to British

vessels and those from other countries

which have traditional rights to fish here.

The CFP is currently under review: this is

due to completed by 31 December 2002.

Problems with the CFP – and

consequently UK fisheries management –

are many and have been widely

publicised. They include the fact that:

● During the 1970s the CFP was

developed according to short-term

political agendas and the interests of

larger-scale European fishing fleets

were dominant at the time. Little

priority was placed on the interests

of smaller-scale fishermen or their

coastal communities.

● Conservation interests requiring

abundant fish stocks now and in the

future have always been second priority

to short-term economic interests. There

has been an over-reliance on a manage-

ment system based on unsustainable

and impracticable fishing quotas, both

of which lead to overfishing.

● Fishermen have traditionally been left

out of management decisions. Their

regional or local needs have therefore

been neglected and their expertise in

developing management solutions

largely ignored.

● Commercial fish depend not only on

smaller fish and other marine wildlife

for food, but also on specific habitats

for shelter, camouflage and spawning

and nursery areas. These factors have

been largely ignored.

● Fish stocks and the habitats, in turn,

are reliant on the natural processes

which drive ecosystem structure and

function. These processes range from

nutrient recycling to the maintenance

of a balance between predators and

prey in the food chain. The CFP and

its management therefore needs an

ecosystem-based approach and an

integration of marine environmental

laws, policy and management.

European fisheries policy and manage-

ment fails to integrate with most

environmental policies or laws designed

to protect offshore habitats such as

coldwater coral reefs, which are essential

fish habitats, or designed to protect

marine wildlife killed or damaged by

fishing activities. It has long been

recognised that sustainable fisheries

management in the UK and the long-term

viability of fishing communities requires

fundamental change in the CFP.

● Mature Irish Sea cod numbers are at a

historical low – and North Sea cod are

near a historical low.

● In some of the important fleets of the

North Sea cod fishery, around 85 per

cent of the one-year-olds caught are

discarded overboard.

● Recruitment of young fish to replace

cod caught in the Irish Sea is so poor

that the stock will continue to be in

danger of commercial collapse.

● Only a few commercial fish stocks in

the UK’s seas show signs of recovery.

Most continue to decline. According

to scientists, about half of the most

important commercial fish stocks in

the North-east Atlantic are at risk.

● For some stocks of European round

fish (cod, haddock, whiting, saithe) the

amount of young produced each year

has decreased by half when compared

with the 1960s and ’70s.

● A 1990s mature North Sea herring is

one tenth of the size of its 1947

counterpart.

● The number of UK fishermen has more

than halved since 1948 and has

dropped by around 20 per cent in the

last decade.

● In 1994, scientists estimated that the

number of young plaice in the

southern North Sea Plaice Box would

increase by 25 per cent if trawling was

According to scientists, about half of the most important commercial fish stocks in the North-eastatlantic are at risk.

Fishing-Free Zones in combination with other management measures offer a chance of improvingfish stocks.

Paul Kay

Paul Kay

stopped, and 34 per cent if the area

were closed throughout the year. Yet

there are still no permanent year-round

fishing-free or no-take zones offshore

created for fisheries management in

the UK seas.

Fishing-Free Zones: UK Fisheries and the CFP –solutions!There is a solution! While an overarching

Common Fisheries Policy is necessary,

it needs to be more robust and worded

so that it can translate into successful

practical solutions. In support of national

fishermen’s organisations, WWF considers

that practical solutions to fisheries

management should be developed by

“zonal” management committees. These

should involve all legitimate interest

groups in each region, such as the North

Sea and the Irish Sea.

The committees will initially give advice

but will move into a management role as

their effectiveness is proved. Management

will still be in line with the overarching

CFP. Highly migratory fish such as

mackerel may require separate “pelagic”

institutions. Pelagic fish such as mackerel

swim in shoals in the water column and

can migrate over distances of thousands

of kilometres. The management area and

issues for pelagic fisheries can be very

different from those for less migratory or

“bottom-living” mixed fisheries such as

cod, haddock and plaice.

The “zonal” management system

would be based on creating recovery

targets for fish population levels and

minimising damage to essential fish

habitat. This would be backed by pre-

agreed action to safeguard non-target

marine wildlife such as juvenile fish,

dolphins and porpoises.

Solutions are required to meet fish

stock recovery targets, to minimise habitat

damage and to safeguard non-target

marine wildlife. The potential solutions

being developed by scientists and

fishermen are varied. They are dependent

on a number of factors such as type of

fishing gear, size of vessel, behaviour of

the target fish, sensitivity of the fish

habitat, finance available to introduce

solutions and behaviour of wildlife caught

and damaged in fishing gear. Scottish

fleets have, for instance, introduced 90mm-

square mesh panels to help juvenile haddock

escape the nets. The small fish float above

the older fish in the net and escape through

the larger mesh of the panel. Real time

area closures or temporary closures – of,

say, ten weeks or less – can be agreed and

implemented at unacceptable levels of

non-target catch. Real time closures have

already been deployed to prevent high

levels of juvenile cod being caught in the

southern North Sea.

Regional producer organisations in the

UK are taking increasingly responsibility

for managing the quotas and fishing

effort of their fleets and in developing

other solutions. For the south-western

approaches to the UK, the Cornish Fish

Producers Organisation, supported by the

South West Fish Producers Organisation,

are at the forefront of promoting a

ground-breaking solution – “Fishing-Free

Zones”, also known as “no-take zones”

or “no-fishing zones”. The zones have

fisheries management objectives such as

increasing reproductive success,protecting

spawning, nursery and feeding grounds,

protecting essential fish habitat and

mature fish, and to enhance catches

outside the zone through a spillover of

fish from within the zone. They will

complement general regulation of fishing

effort. By using satellite tracking, a virtual

fence can be used to enforce a fishing-

free zone.

Figure B: Size distribution of lobsters from protected and unprotected sites around theLeigh Marine Reserve, New Zealand from Kelly et al., 2000)

Figure C – Average density and size of rockfish (a) and estimated egg production of rockfishand lingcod (b) in the Edmunds Underwater Park, Puget Sound, USA (from Palsson &Pacunski, 1995).

Protected Unprotected

(a) (b)

Fishing-Free Zones: what isrequired?WWF is calling on the governments

of the UK to support UK fishermen in

piloting potential solutions to poor

fisheries management such as a system

of Fishing-Free Zones in the south-

western approaches. Time is not only

running out for some of our UK fish

stocks, but also for some of our

fishermen. Fishing-Free Zones, in

combination with other management

measures, actually offer

a chance of improving fish stocks.

Fishing-Free Zones: Overseas Experience CaseStudy OneOne of the best known examples of a

Fishing-Free Zone is the Cape Rodney

to Okakari Point Marine Reserve (also

known as the Leigh Marine Reserve) in

New Zealand, which was set up in 1975.

Since then, there have been many studies

on the effects of protection on fish and

lobsters in the reserve. The clearest

positive effect on the reef fish has been

an increase in the number of large

snapper (Pagrus auratus), but the most

dramatic change has been the increase

in numbers and average size of the rock

lobster (Jasus edwardsii) which happened

quickly – reaching a peak within eight

years of the reserve being set up. There

are still significant differences between

the lobster populations inside and outside

the reserve more than 20 years later (see

figure B). Studies of three other Fishing-

Free Zones in north-east New Zealand

also reveal larger and more abundant

lobsters inside reserves. As the lobster

stocks have built up, so has interest in

fishing for them around the boundaries of

these reserves to catch those which “spill

over”. The relatively high commercial

catch rates of lobsters just outside the

Leigh Reserve compared with rates

further away suggest that the fishing in

these areas is also more successful.

Fishing-Free Zones: Overseas Experience CaseStudy TwoPositive effects of Fishing-Free Zones can

be seen in a number of temperate regions

of the world. In the Tsitsikamma Coastal

National Park on the south-eastern Cape

coast of South Africa, the abundance

and maximum size of reef fish were

significantly greater inside the reserve

compared with a similar site where fishing

was permitted. Reported effects of

Fishing-Free Zones in marine reserves

along the west coast of Canada and the

US include an increase in the number,

size and nests of the lingcod (Ophiodon

elongatus) at Shady Cove, Edmunds

Underwater Park, Porieau Provincial Park

and Whytecliff Park, and larger and more

abundant rockfish than in adjacent fished

areas at Hopkins Marine Reserve and

Port Lobos (see figure C)

At the Marine Island reserve in Tasmania,

fish such as the ling (Genypterus tigerinus)

and draughtboard shark (Cephaloscyllium

laticeps) used to be rare but were observed

more frequently when their numbers were

assessed five years after the reserve was

established. The diversity of mobile

invertebrate species and seaweeds had

also increased in this time – although not

at two smaller reserves (Governor Island

and Ninepin Point), which suggests that

the size of the reserve may also be an

important factor.

Fishing-Free Zones: Overseas Experience CaseStudy ThreeFishing-Free Zones set up to help manage

fisheries rather than for nature

conservation are often closed to fishing

for only part of the year. This was the

case on the Georges Bank off the US east

coast, where seasonal closures and other

conservation measures were introduced to

manage the cod and haddock fisheries.

Despite these measures, stocks continued

on a downward spiral to the point where

nearly 11,000km2 of the bank had to be

closed to fishing in December 1994. Since

then, cod and haddock have become more

abundant in the Fishing-Free Zones. The

highest densities of fish were recorded

during spring, and adult fish appeared to

migrate out of the closed areas by autumn,

supplementing the population in the

surrounding areas.

Because several fisheries management

measures were introduced on the Georges

Bank at the same time, it has been difficult

WWF-UKPanda House, Weyside ParkGodalming, Surrey GU7 1XRt: +44 (0)1483 426444f: +44 (0)1483 426409www.wwf-uk.org

Taking action for a living planet

Urgent action is needed to protect our sea life – the most neglected area of our natural heritage.

Paul Kay

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The Oceans RecoveryCampaignRachel Carson recognised, four decades

ago: “It is a curious situation that the sea,

from which life first arose, should now be

threatened by the activities of one form

of that life. But the sea, though changed

in a sinister way, will continue to exist;

the threat is rather to life itself.”

With this in mind, WWF’s Ocean

Recovery Campaign – ORCA – will

endeavour to ensure that the threats

to the oceans are reversed.

At present, there are hundreds of

separate but conflicting laws and policies

relating to the marine environment.

WWF, the leading international charity

working on marine conservation,

wants to see in the longer term the

governments of England and Scotland,

and the assemblies in Wales and

Northern Ireland, introduce an ecosystem

approach to the management of the

oceans and bring about integrated

legislation – an Oceans Act. This would

Acknowledgements: Text prepared by SiânPullen, Sarah Jones, Susan Gubbay andMatthew Davis. Additional input from EdMatthew and Alison Parrett.

to separate the effects of Fishing-Free Zones

from other measures. Another way of

looking at it has been to develop

mathematical models of how Fishing-Free

Zones might affect catches, revenue and

the spawning stocks. These suggest that

properly designed Fishing-Free Zones can

maintain and, in some cases, increase fishery

revenues and harvests in a site such as

Georges Bank where fishing effort was

excessive before the closure.

Georges Bank is an example of Fishing-

Free Zones being used to help stocks

recover, but fisheries scientists have also

been asking whether such areas can help

avoid the collapse of a fishery. The

Newfoundland cod fishery was closed

in 1992 because of a collapse in stocks

caused by overfishing. By looking back

at catch rates, stock levels and areas

targeted by fishermen, it was possible to

model the effect on stocks of closing

different sized areas to the fishery on

both a seasonal and permanent basis.

The conclusions were that seasonal

closures on their own would not have

enabled the stocks to recover, but

seasonal closures combined with complete

closure of 20 per cent of the area as a

marine reserve would not just maintain

stock levels, but actually improve them

significantly.

Recognising that action will require

the support of the industry in other EU

member states, the Cornish Fish

Producers Organisation, supported by the

South West Fish Producers Organisation,

has produced a video about Fishing-Free

Zones and has set up meetings with

fishermen from Belgium, France, Ireland

and Spain. There is still much to learn

about the potential and effects of setting

up Fishing-Free Zones, but the positive

cases from around the world suggest

that it is a management tool that cannot

be ignored.

help resolve these conflicts for the benefit

of the marine environment and the

industries that depend on healthy seas.

However, our seas cannot wait and

immediate measures need to be taken.

Through the Oceans Recovery Campaign,

WWF is highlighting the multiple threats

facing our marine wildlife and lobbying

governments throughout the UK to take

urgent action to protect our sea life – the

most neglected area of our natural

heritage. These threats include:

● Pressures from fishing

● Pollution from land and sea

● Mineral extraction

● Climate change

● Invasive species

● Habitat destruction

By creating powerful partnerships

with government and industry, and

by challenging them where necessary,

we can ensure real protection for our

marine environment and stem the tide

of decline.

In particular, WWF is calling for:

● Better protection for habitats and marine wildlife at risk. The level of protection of

UK waters should rise from less than 1 per cent to at least 10 per cent.

● Action to recover fish stocks through the setting up of Fishing-Free Zones around

the UK