5th November, 2008

The UK Marine Bill is in danger of being dropped from the Queen’s Speech due to competing Government priorities, say The Wildlife Trusts.

The Marine Bill is vital if we are to save underwater wildlife such as sunset corals, sea fans, basking sharks and seahorses. At the moment less than 0.001% of our seas are highly protected from damaging activities. The Marine Bill will provide us with the legislation to allow us to designate Marine Conservation Zones which will protect our unique marine wildlife.

An advertisement will appear in The Times and The Guardian newspapers today, 5 November, pleading with Gordon Brown not to drop the Bill.

A year ago, 300,000 people signed pledges to show their support for the Bill, showing the depth of the public’s concern for the marine environment.

The Wildlife Trusts have been working with the RSPB, the Marine Conservation Society and WWF for over 6 years on our Marine Bill campaign. We have provided evidence of the damage being done to our marine environment and demonstrated the need for new legislation. The UK Government itself has admitted the need for the bill, which also has cross-party party support.

The Scottish Government will introduce its own Marine Bill next year. The UK Government has invested large sums of public money in developing the Marine Bill, including conducting three large-scale public consultations. This investment would be wasted if the Bill were dropped at this final stage.

Joan Edwards, Head of Living Seas for The Wildlife Trusts, said:

“The UK’s marine wildlife is under serious threat, stronger legislation is already long overdue, and we need the UK Government to take urgent action to protect it. It would be a tragedy for the UK’s sea life – and for those who depend on our seas for their livelihood and enjoyment - if the Marine Bill was lost now. We urge Mr Brown to make sure the Marine Bill is in the next Queen’s Speech.”

Marine Bill Advert click here