Greenpeace has welcomed reports that the government is proposing to designate marine reserves to allow damaged oceans to recover.(1)
A Greenpeace ship, the MY Esperanza, is currently in the North Sea campaigning for a network of marine reserves.
Sarah Duthie Greenpeace oceans campaigner on board said: "This proposed legislation could be what is needed to stop the trashing of the North Sea. If we are ever going to allow this fragile eco system to recover from the pounding it's suffered, than it's vital that marine reserves are introduced and these must include large zones where all fishing is banned."
"This isn't only great news for plethora of wildlife that the North Sea supports, it's also a lifeline to the fishing industry. Marine reserves will allow ailing fishing stocks to recover and the continuation of fishing for generations to come. It's now essential that the UK leads the way and champions this exciting approach through Europe. If marine reserves are going to work then they must extend throughout the whole the North Sea."
"If you want your children to be able to eat cod or mackerel, or be able to see dolphins in the North Sea then you should support the idea of large-scale marine reserves - essentially national parks at sea".
The Greenpeace ship the MY Esperanza is currently engaged in a tour of the proposed Viking Bank Marine Reserve, off the Shetland Islands. Viking Bank is one of seven areas in the North Sea that Greenpeace is calling on European governments to declare 'marine reserves'. The marine reserves would be like national parks on land and totally off limits to new oil and gas production, aggregate extraction and all fishing. In total Greenpeace is calling for 40% of the North Sea to be placed under this protection.
Despite having been one of the most productive seas in the world in the past, the North Sea today is one of the most degraded in the world. Its decline is reflected by crashes in fish stocks and populations of marine mammals and increases in pollutant levels in sea life.
Greenpeace believes that the current piecemeal approach to managing oceans has clearly failed and that large-scale marine reserves are essential to enable our seas to recover from decades of over-exploitation, and help sea-life withstand new threats such as global warming.
Further information
Please contact the Greenpeace Press Office on 0207 865 8255.
(1) Source: Independent on Sunday, 19 September 2004, News p2, Marine Law Planned to Save Oceans.
