Legal protection is not enough

I dived within a Welsh Special Area of Conservation this weekend - this is an EU driven designation designed to provide for numerous marine areas around Europe which are protected. In an area within the SAC which has additional byelaws protecting it against scallop dredging - known to be a damaging activity - we found the marks of recent scallop dredging activity (I have video footage as proof). Frustratingly its not even good scallop ground so someone has trashed the seabed illegally just to see if its worth dredging there! The problem is of course that the government is very good at deciding the conservation is a good thing and advertising the fact that it is protecting the environment by passing laws, but is in fact utterly useless in the actual practical enforcement of such laws (and of course that the fishing industry has some downright bad operators within it who should not be allowed to fish). I think that a complaint to the EU is called for!

I dived within a Welsh Special Area of Conservation this weekend - this is an EU driven designation designed to provide for numerous marine areas around Europe which are protected. In an area within the SAC which has additional byelaws protecting it against scallop dredging - known to be a damaging activity - we found the marks of recent scallop dredging activity (I have video footage as proof). Frustratingly its not even good scallop ground so someone has trashed the seabed illegally just to see if its worth dredging there! The problem is of course that the government is very good at deciding the conservation is a good thing and advertising the fact that it is protecting the environment by passing laws, but is in fact utterly useless in the actual practical enforcement of such laws (and of course that the fishing industry has some downright bad operators within it who should not be allowed to fish). I think that a complaint to the EU is called for!

For any kind of MPA or ICZM to work you need:

1) money - to fund education, helping people transit through the change, and wages for people involved in the project

2) hierarchy - you need an organisation in charge, maybe other organisations under a central management. the organisations need to be beyond reproach

3) legislation - to punish people who break the rules and give any organisations backing

4) communication - you need to constantly be talking to the people being disrupted, and listening to feedback, all communication should be two way

If any one of the above is missing the project will fail.

I'm sure there should be more to add to this, my lecturers will be turning that I don't remember more

For any kind of MPA or ICZM to work you need:

 

1) money - to fund education, helping people transit through the change, and wages for people involved in the project

2) hierarchy - you need an organisation in charge, maybe other organisations under a central management. the organisations need to be beyond reproach

3) legislation - to punish people who break the rules and give any organisations backing

4) communication - you need to constantly be talking to the people being disrupted, and listening to feedback, all communication should be two way

 

If any one of the above is missing the project will fail.

 

I'm sure there should be more to add to this, my lecturers will be turning that I don't remember more

Sorry Rick

1) We have but not always going to the right places, 2) we have, 3) we have very inadequate fines and 4) not sure why we'd want to discuss law breaking with criminals to be honest.

Theory is all very well. Bottom line is that we live in a rich country with inept leadership. Scallop dredging in a closed area within an SAC is illegal - no two way communication is needed, merely the political will to actually carry out pledges (to Europe) which we have signed up to. I will take this forward to Europe via a complaint - the ultimate sanction being fines imposed on the UK for failure to live up to its promises.

Sorry Rick

 

1) We have but not always going to the right places, 2) we have, 3) we have very inadequate fines and 4) not sure why we'd want to discuss law breaking with criminals to be honest.

 

Theory is all very well. Bottom line is that we live in a rich country with inept leadership. Scallop dredging in a closed area within an SAC is illegal - no two way communication is needed, merely the political will to actually carry out pledges (to Europe) which we have signed up to. I will take this forward to Europe via a complaint - the ultimate sanction being fines imposed on the UK for failure to live up to its promises.

This isn't just an issue in the UK it is worldwide. Legislation to charge is fine but you need some organisation to enforce that and money to fund said organisation. You could possibly set up a small policing force from old trawlermen - thus removing some of the fishermen as well as some of the fishing grounds.

As for communication you need to find why people are trawling in the SAC - they may not be catching elsewhere, they may need a short term loan to purchase different gear to trawl elsewhere or using a slightly alternative method, they may need advising on where else they can catch rather than using the same dozen sites they've used all their lives. If you take something away from them you have to give them something else - a replacement or an alternative.