Half of all fish caught in the North Sea are thrown back dead. This is due to strict fishing quotas set out by the EU Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) that limit the number of fish landed each day. Although these quotas were originally developed with the intention to help conserve fish stocks, they are in fact doing the exact opposite and forcing fishermen to throw back thousands of dead fish, known as discard, every day.

The problem occurs because in a mixed fishery, where species other than the target fish live, non-target species get caught along with the desired catch, and are then later thrown back over-board dead. This is not only a waste of food but has absolutely no benefit to conservation.

In response, the Big Fish Fight kicked off on Channel 4 this month. The campaign aims to lobby change in EU fisheries policy in order to make fishing more sustainable, as well as encourage the public to diversify their eating habits, and increase supermarket sourcing awareness.

The high profile campaign is fronted by celebrity chefs including Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, Jamie Oliver, Gordon Ramsay and Heston Blumenthal who have been showcasing sustainable seafood recipes to the public. The campaign is also supported by conservation NGO’s such as WWF and the Marine Conservation Society, who are working to develop solutions to help make the CFP work for fish, fishermen and consumers alike.

The Big Fish Fight has already received tremendous public support, with over half a million people signing up in favor of the CFP reform in 2012. To join the fight and find out more sign up at http://www.fishfight.net

Last night the BES’s Policy Officer attended an event to celebrate the founding of the world’s largest Marine Protected Area (MPA), around the Chagos Archipelago. The programme of talks and networking was organised by the Chagos Conservation Trust, a charitable trust which, with other partners in the Chagos Environment Network, including the RSPB, Royal Society and Pew Environment Group, actively promote conservation of the Chagos. The highlights of the evening however were however two short films which showcased the huge biological diversity of the seas around the Chagos, with turtles, sharks, rays and a huge number of fish species caught on camera. The films also made clear the diversity of avian and crustacean species inhabiting the islands.

The UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office designated the waters around the Chagos as a Marine Protected Area on 1st April 2010, following a consultation to which the BES responded. The last license to fish in the seas around the Chagos expired at the end of October, meaning that from the 1st November this year, all fishing is prohibited. The Chagos MPA encompasses more than 500,000 km2 of the Indian Ocean, one of the most heavily fished and degraded oceans in the world. At this size, the MPA represents 13% of all oceans held in protected areas worldwide (which currently equate to 1.12% of oceans, with only 0.08% having total protection, as ‘no take’ zones). At the CBD in Nagoya in October this year, parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity agreed to a target to designate 10% of the ocean’s surface as protected areas by 2020.

Perhaps the most interesting presentation of the evening was delivered by Carl Gustaf Lundin, Head of the IUCN Marine and Polar Programme. The presentation focused on how the MPA can now be taken forward, including priorities for research, the development of regulation and enforcement of the MPA as a no-take reserve. Mr Lundin suggested that ‘zoning’ could be a useful approach to regulation, as in the Great Barrier Reef, proposing that tourism could be allowed in certain areas to provide money to support conservation. He saw enforcement as the priority for the MPA in the next couple of years, suggesting that a lenient attitude had been adopted to date with regard to illegal fishing: he stressed that even the smallest fishing vessels should be stopped.

Following Mr Lundin’s presentation, a representative from the FCO stood up to say a few words. He stressed the commitment of the Coalition Government to the conservation of the MPA in the Chagos, but highlighted the political realities impinging upon the success of the project – mainly relationships with the countries neighbouring the MPA (particularly Mauritius, which does not respect UK sovereignity over the British Indian Ocean Territory). The ongoing legal challenge in the European Court of Human Rights regarding the right of Chagossian Islanders to return to the islands was also highlighted an issue of which to be aware. A judicial review has been sought by some Chagossians regarding the designation of the MPA.

Overall it is clear that challenges lie ahead for the Chagos MPA, particularly regarding illiegal fishing and providing finance for enforcement of the area’s protected status. However it is clear that designation of the MPA is a very important step, both to safeguard the Chagos’ own phenomenal biodiversity and to provide a test bed for important scientific research, but also as an example which other nations can follow in order to reach the ambitious targets set at Nagoya.

The report of the BES – UK BRAG joint session on ‘The UK Marine and Coastal Act- what does it mean for biodiversity research?‘ has been published online. The session saw speakers from Defra, the JNCC, Marine Biological Association and University of Bangor join participants for a wide-ranging discussion at the University of Leeds, taking place as part of the BES Annual Meeting (6-9 September).

Our speakers, and their topics, were:

Alison Reeves, Deputy Director, Marine Stewardship Team, Defra: An introduction to the Marine and Coastal Access Act
Prof. Mike Kaiser, University of Bangor: Managing Conflicts and Conflict Resolution
Dr Matt Frost, Executive Secretary, Marine Biological Association: Ecosystem Services from the Marine and Coastal Environment

The session was Chaired by Dr John Goold, Marine Director at JNCC.

In consultation with partners and stakeholders, the Marine Management Organisation (MMO) has selected the sea areas off the coast between Flamborough Head in East Riding of Yorkshire to Felixstowe in Suffolk (known formally as East Inshore and East Offshore) as the first two English marine plan areas that will be developed from April 2011.

These two area plans will be the first in a series that will, over the coming years, grow to become a comprehensive marine planning system around England, enabling the effective integration of economic, social and environmental factors and promoting the sustainable development of our seas.

See more at http://www.marinemanagement.org.uk/news.

Taken from the Society of Biology’s weekly Science Policy News digest.

2,700 scientists in over 80 nations have collaborated to create the first ever Census of Marine Life (CoML). In a 64 page report, the highlights of over 10 years of marine biological research are presented, with some groundbreaking findings, including the discovery of over 200 new species. The census will contribute substantially to knowledge of global marine biodiversity and marine ecosystem function. It also includes reference to changes in species distribution across European Seas –the Baltic, Atlantic and Mediterranean- which indicate considerably high levels of threat to biodiversity in these waters.

An original paper, which describes the full inventory of life recorded was published as part of a special edition of PLoS ONE in August 2010. The CoML is widely welcomed, ahead of the final TEEB (Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity) report, to be published shortly with support from the European Commission, as part of it’s vision for Sustainable Devlopment

Source: Costello, M.J., Coll, M., Danovaro, R., Halpin, P., et al. (2010). A census of marine biodiversity knowledge, resources and future challenges. PLoS ONE. 5(8): e12110.

Expressions of interest are invited to attend a 3 day sandpit as part of the NERC/Defra Marine Renewable Energy Research Programme.

The aim of the sandpit is to fund research project(s) which will develop an understanding of the environmental benefits and risks of up-scaling marine renewable energy schemes on the quality of marine bioresources (including biodiversity) and biophysical dynamics of open coasts.

The sandpit will be taking place from the 8-10 December 2010.
The closing date for expressions of interest is 16:00 on Thursday 14 October 2010

For further information and contacts please visit the programme webpage.

This week has seen the publication of a comprehensive report on the state of the UK seas, Charting Progress 2, carried out by the UK Marine Monitoring and Assessment community and published by Defra.

There have been “significant improvements” in some areas since 2005. Coastal waters are getting cleaner, fish stocks are improving and species diversity in estuaries is increasing. Fish stocks are improving overall, partly due to reductions in European Union quotas. Furthermore, the proportion of fin-fish stocks harvested sustainably in the UK has risen from 10% in the 1990s to 25% in 2007.

However, this still means that the majority of fish stocks are being harvested at unsustainable levels. Declines due to unsustainable harvests are being compounded by warmer waters, which are causing the cold and warm water zooplankton that fish feed on to move north. Climate change is also causing sea levels to rise, with the mean sea level rising by 1.4mm per year in the 20th century, whilst the picture for waterbirds and seabirds is mixed, with waterbird populations being generally healthy, whilst the numbers of some seabirds are falling, particularly in the north.

Whilst pollution from heavy metals is continuing to fall in UK waters, there are still some localised problems such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) which, while stabilising nationally, are still found in places at levels that affect wildlife, including harbour porpoises. Litter levels have also doubled between 1994 and 2007.

Marine environment Minister Richard Benyon said: “The report’s findings show that we are moving in the right direction, but there is more work that needs to be done, especially to protect the UK’s seabirds. I am committed to improving our marine environment by delivering the conservation measures in the Marine and Coastal Access Act and hope to see further improvements in the next report as we gain the benefits from Marine Conservation Zones.”

The full report can be found here

The Government also launched consultations yesterday on Marine Act implementation, seeking views on the Marine Policy Statement, Marine Planning System and Marine Licensing. The BES will be responding to these consultations (deadline 13 October) and more information can be found on our website.

Selective fishing is widely encourages as part of ecosystem-based fisheries management. It aims to regulate the exploitation of target species whilst protecting non-target (bycatch) species. However, recent suggested that a selective approach may also result in “undesirable impacts both to fisheries and marine ecosystems”.

Writing in PNAS, Shijie Zhou and colleagues argue that selective fishing alters ecosystem functions, and may in turn affect fishery production. Instead, they propose that a “balanced exploitation”, which avoids the intensive removal of particular components of the ecosystem, and recognises that most species would be able to accommodate some level of exploitation. Society, the authors argue, may even benefit because “a greater proportion of the entire suite of harvested species is used.”

Article: Ecosystem-based fisheries management requires a change to the selective fishing philosophy

In a recent PNAS report, Kirsten Grorud-Colvert and colleagues summarise the communication strategy implemented for the establishment of marine reserves off the Californian coast, and suggest that the framework used could and should be adopted more widely by the scientific community.

Effective communication in conservation science is vital, and the authors state that scientists who see communication as a top-down transmission of information run the risk of alienating key audiences – particularly those who are knowledgeable about the issue.

The audiences in question are usually extremely diverse, with different levels of technical knowledge, values and opinions. Hence no single form of communication will be most effective at reaching all of them.

The authors continue to outline a four-step strategy used in the case study, involving;

1. Getting to ‘know the audience‘ – identifying the needs, level of knowledge and background of different groups, and using this to tailor communication efforts
2. Identifying ‘main messages‘ – including the original problem, why this should matter to the audiences, the actions required, and what benefits the audiences would derives from those actions
3. Choosing communication tactics – a diverse range of communication approaches were used, including printed materials, web content and presentations to small groups
4. Measuring the success of communications

The strategy used in the case study involved collaboration between scientists, graphic designers, communication professionals, and policy experts, and the authors assert that this framework should become more prevalent. In addition, they suggest that a communication strategy should be an inherent component of research grants, and that scientists should make the most the growing body of available resources.

The full report can be read here.

The British Ecological Society recently submitted a response to a Foreign and Commonwealth Office consultation document supporting the creation of a Marine Protected Area (MPA) in the Chagos Archipelago. In producing the response to the consultation, the BES recognised that there may be some conflict between conservation objectives and the potential resettlement of the islands, by Chagossians who were removed from the islands in the 1960s to allow the US to establish a military base.

In February 2010 the report of a workshop was released, which considered the socio-economic issues relating to the establishment of an MPA in the Chagos Archipelago. The workshop was held on 7th January at Royal Holloway, University of London, and follows on from a scientific workshop on the same topic at the National Oceanography Centre in Southampton in August 2009. Participants were invited to the workshop on the basis of their involvement or interests in Chagos, including representatives from the Chagossian Social Committee in the UK, Chagos Refugees Group Mauritius, and UK Chagos Support Association. All participants agreed that establishing an MPA recognises the importance and value of the Chagos Archipelago and is an important opportunity to provide long-term protection. The chair of the Chagos Islands (BIOT) All Party Parliamentary Group explained that the number of Chagossians wishing to return is small and hence there should not be a conflict with marine conservation.

However it was emphasised that the MPA proposal must not be used in such a way that detracts from the rights of the Chagossians. Participants agreed that the process must be done in such a way that allows the consideration of future issues with respect to resettlement or changes in jurisdiction. Some proposed the establishment of an MPA that makes provision for sustainable utilisation of natural resources if Chagossians resettle some of the islands. Many participants also voiced the opinion that representatives of Chagos and Mauritius should be closely involved in the MPA discussions, and were concerned that the initial exclusion of these groups may have already undermined the process. Since establishing a no-take MPA will require enforcement, this would certainly require involvement of Chagossians and Mauritians in MPA planning. Discussions in the workshop also raised the issue that economic analysis had been based on the current situation and did not take account of the costs of benefits of potential Chagossian resettlement or change of sovereignty.

Overall, the conclusion of the workshop was that the establishment of an MPA in the Chagos Archipelago should be done in such a way that involves all stakeholders in order to create a robust conservation area that can withstand future challenges.