The south coast’s marine environment is home to an amazing diversity of life, loved and valued by local people and visitors, from those who depend on it for their livelihoods to those who seek it for simple joy and adventure.

But our seas are at a critical moment. Major pressures still exist despite many organisations trying to restore our marine habitats. Recovery is limited and disconnected, and protection on paper is not being delivered in practice. 

Bottom trawling, dragging heavy nets and chains across the ocean floor, has devastating effects on our seabed.

I’m not going to rewrite here what has already been eloquently explained before. Watch the film and read this blog. 

The Fisheries Act (2020) has a precautionary objective to maintain marine stocks above levels capable of producing maximum sustainable yield. Political rhetoric that we would now take back control of our waters, and that our policies would be in harmony with the needs of the marine environment swam around Parliament after the passing of this legislation and then sank to the bottom of the ocean alongside bottom trawlers. Many commercial stocks like cod and mackerel are in sharp decline, quota management remains largely unchanged and the marine environment, far from harmonised, is facing severe pressures. 

The Marine Management Organisation is proposing management measures for fishing in 42 Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in English waters. The consultation is now closed, and we await the outcome 

There will always be people who disagree, using economic arguments and the detrimental cost to UK businesses and public bodies. It is estimated that the total cost of protecting these MPAs, over the 20-year appraisal period, would be £7.8 million. But the benefits of enhanced environmental protection to fish populations, nutrient cycling and climate regulation would be approximately £3.1 billion.

The simple fact is that our present efforts to protect our marine environment are not working. And the shame of it is that the solution is simple. Stop overfishing. Stop bottom trawling. 

The South Coast Marine Recovery Project is a ground-breaking, ambitious and visionary project, bringing together communities and stakeholders to strengthen existing marine recovery efforts. Dorset Wildlife Trust, alongside wildlife trusts in Cornwall, Devon, Hampshire and Sussex, supported by The Wildlife Trusts, are joining forces to coordinate and galvanise action across Britain’s south coast, helping to drive marine nature recovery at scale. The project, currently in its development phase until March 2027, is looking for brave, bold ideas for a delivery phase over the next 6 to 10 years. 

Discussions are taking place with local people all along our coastline, on sustainable fisheries management, water quality and pollution, recreation and tourism pressure reduction. We want to reduce pressures harming our seas and help people understand, value and play an active role in marine restoration. It is a whole coast approach, which will turn fragmented efforts into a coordinated, self-sustaining ecological network, strengthening people’s connection to the sea and supporting sustainable use and livelihoods.