Our Coast, Our Sea - New Marine and Coastal Access Act

12 November 2009

Northumberland Wildlife Trust is today celebrating the passing of the new Marine and Coastal Access Act.

It is almost 10 years since the wildlife charity first highlighted that the seas around the UK, especially the North sea off our coast, which together contain half our wildlife, were in dire trouble and began campaigning with other wildlife trusts throughout the UK for new laws to provide better protection of marine habitats and wildlife as well as improved management of activities at sea.

After 10 years of campaigning, a Marine and Coastal Access Act has finally been secured. During November, the Bill – which spent an incredible six months in the House of Lords, making it the second longest Bill in history – received royal ascent and yesterday became an Act.

The Marine and Coastal Access Bill, if effectively implemented over the next five and more years, will provide the chance to conserve a number of rare and threatened species – many of which are on our doorstep in the North Sea. It is our chance literally to make it a Living Sea once again, rather than one that is slowly dying in terms of its biodiversity.

What’s so special about the Northumberland coast and marine environment?
•Extensive sandy beaches, dunes reaching 10m in height, vast mudflats, huge sandy inlets and areas of rocky shore characterise the Northumberland coastline.
•Extensive mudflats and sandy inlets are rich in tasty invertebrates, providing food for thousands of wintering wildfowl and waders.
•Mudflats around Lindisfarne support the east coast’s largest beds of seagrass, a scarce habitat, which in turn provides foraging for wintering pale-bellied brent geese and wigeon.
•Offshore the great North Eastern rocky reef provides a fixture point for extensive forests of kelp, where shelter and food is sought by species ranging from sea urchins to grey seals.
•The rocky reef emerges from the sea to form the Farne Islands, home to tens of thousands of breeding seabirds, and 3,600 grey seals.
•These rocks have proved a shipping hazard for centuries resulting in countless wrecks which now form artificial reefs, covered in anemones and soft corals, and a hiding place for lobsters and curled octopus.
•Sea caves provide a home for mussels, barnacles, sea squirts and purse sponges, alongside a hiding place for crabs, while deeper water rocky reefs abound with fern-like hydroids, the beautiful Devonshire-cup coral and dead man’s fingers (a soft coral). Here, the sea floor is a writhing mass of brittlestars.
•The coastal waters are home to both porpoise and minke whales, whilst bottle-nosed dolphin, white-beaked dolphin and even killer whales can often be seen. Important numbers of Atlantic Grey Seal breed off the Farnes and along the coast.
•Further offshore, vast numbers of mackerel gather to spawn, while thornback rays scavenge the seafloor for crustaceans. Buried in these vast sandy plains are huge beds of venus clams.

Mike Pratt Northumberland Wildlife Trust Chief Executive said: “There is so much we still don’t know about the rich and diverse marine life around the UK and closer to home in the North Sea. As a wildlife trust we will continue to strive for a better understanding of the unique and special marine environment thereby creating a stronger foundation to help us conserve it for the future. Many of the species we do know about are endangered and under pressure, the Marine Act will give everyone a new impetus to focus attention on the marine natural world”

Now, the journey really begins. The necessary legislation is now in place to allow the creation of an ecologically coherent network of Marine Protected Areas. This network will be implemented through four regional Marine Conservation Zone projects – the North Sea project is called Net Gain. The job of the individual wildlife trusts will be to ensure the MPA network is established with wildlife at the heart, protecting not only the
rare and threatened but a range of marine species and habitats.

Through input into the Net Gain project conservationists will be able provide information and data supporting the establishment of Marine Conservation Zones to appropriate bodies.