Island Life Magazine Ltd August/September 2007 | Page 68

life

COUNTRYSIDE, WILDLIFE & FARMING

For success deep
down
it pays to go to the very top
The waters around the Isle of Wight
are special, hosting many nationally and
internationally important habitats and
species. Off the east of the Island we
have huge underwater sand and gravel
dunes, rising 15m up from the seabed.
These areas are home to high numbers of
prey species including sand eels, which
in turn support high numbers of predatory
fish, such as bass, rays and sharks. The
area is thought to be a national shark
‘hotspot’ and used as a breeding ground.
Closer to shore we have seagrass
beds which provide protection and allow
wildlife to thrive, not least the seahorse.
The Solent is also home to the largest
native oyster population in the country.
Unfortunately, our sand and gravel
habitats, seagrass meadows, oyster
beds and many of our other important
marine features are not adequately
managed and protected from the impacts
of industry and leisure activities. By
campaigning for Government action,
the Wildlife Trust is hoping to turn this
around and preserve the unique character
of the seas around the Isle of Wight.
The regulation and administration of
many of the various industries has been
ineffective and in a total sea area of approx
867,000 km2 only 3.3km2 are actually fully
protected from all damaging activities.
On land this would be comparable with
the Wildlife Trust’s Farlington Marshes
reserve in Hampshire being the only
protected area in the whole country!
After more than four years of behindthe-scenes meetings with Government,
lobbying and petition-signing, the Trust’s
campaign kicked off in earnest in March
2005. Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife
Trust joined up with other Wildlife Trusts
and non-government organisations from all
over the country to march on Westminster.
A few months later representatives returned

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to present Tony Blair with a petition
signed by 165,177 people, including
signatories from our two counties. The
Trust has also sought to keep pressure on
local MPs by writing letters urging them
to sign an Early Day Motion pledging
their support for a new Marine Bill.
Partly as a result of this pressure, in
March 2006 the Government finally
produced a consultation document,
outlining options for overhauling the
management and protection of our
marine environment. Not only did the
Trust submit an official response to this
consultation, telling the Government what
it thought should be included, but many
wildlife supporters also wrote their own
letters. This bolstered the campaign for
the inclusion of Marine Protected Areas
(MPA) within the Marine Bill, something
which has now been incorporated in a
Government White Paper, a consultation
document that outlined intended policy.
But continued pressure is required to
get the Bill and the MPA element into
the Queen’s Speech in November 2007,
and then through Parliament during this
term. The Trust is therefore stepping
up its campaigning activity. It will be
arranging further meetings with local MPs,
explaining the role and necessity of fully
protected MPAs to protect our local seas.
Influencing central government decision
making is often a long and laborious
process, with many competing interest
groups from various industries all looking
to further their own agenda. However,
in the case of a Marine Bill and Marine
Protected Areas, the Trust, with the help of
its members, has shown that persistence
can pay off, although the work will not be
finished until we have a network of fully
functioning protected areas to conserve
our marine habitats and wildlife.

HELP SAVE
OUR SEAS
This summer the Trust is launching
Operation Seahorse, a major campaign
to promote a greater understanding and
awareness of our marine environment
and to help safeguard it for the future.
There are five easy ways to get involved:
1) Write to Andrew Turner, MP for the
Isle of Wight, asking him to back the
inclusion of Marine Protected Areas
in the Marine Bill and to sign the Early
Day Motion (EDM 1489) that calls on
the Government to include a Marine
Bill in the 2007 Queen’s Speech
2) Go one step further and join our
‘Save our Seas’ team. You will receive
regular updates on the UK Marine
Bill and other hot topics in marine
conservation as well as invitations to
take part in major campaign events.
3) Help with the Trust’s shoreline
and underwater surveys. The Trust
urgently needs volunteers to help
carry out surveys along the coastline
or, f or divers, under the waves.
4) Come along to one of the Trust’s
Marine Week events from the 4th to the
19th August (see opposite) or visit our
website www.hwt.org.uk for more details.
5) Donate to the Operation Seahorse
Appeal. A fighting fund is vital to ensure
the Trust is able to seize the moment that
the Marine Bill provides and really make
a difference to ensuring the long-term
protection of our marine environment.
To find out more about Operation
Seahorse, to get involved or to make a
donation please visit www.hwt.org.uk.

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