Issues
> Marine and coasts |
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| Taking action for marine and coastal ecosystems |
WWF works with key audiences in government, industry, education and civil society generally. Together we can make a positive impact on the future of the planet, influencing public policy, corporate agendas, education systems and public environmental awareness.
On this page:
Marine Act Campaign
The UK's marine environment is in a state of crisis. Some species and habitats are suffering serious declines. Inadequate planning and poor management of human activities at sea are magnifying the pressures on marine wildlife. WWF-UK has been campaigning for a new marine law to enable developments at sea to progress in harmony with the ecosystem.
To find out more visit www.wwf.org.uk/marineact.
Sea Life Survey
The seas and coasts around Britain and Ireland are home to an amazing array of wildlife, but relatively little is known about it or its distribution. Unusual discoveries are still being made all the time!
WWF's Oceans Recovery Campaign (ORCA) has teamed up with MarLIN (Marine Life Information Network) to build a better picture of the marine wildlife around our shores.
We need you to help us spot some of the 34 species from the bottlenose dolphin to the common starfish. The data collected will provide vital information about the health of our seas and will play an important role in shaping the management of our marine environment and its recovery.
To take part, visit: www.marlin.ac.uk/rml/
TBT and antifouling
For many decades, organotins have been used in antifouling paints applied on ships and boats to prevent barnacles, sea squirts, molluscs, algae and other organisms sticking to the hull. However, organotin compounds - Tributyltin (TBT), monobutyltin (MBT) and dibutyltin (DBT) - have been shown to pose an unacceptable risk to marine wildlife such as fish, seabirds and mammals. These toxic chemicals have endocrine (hormone) disrupting properties, and there is justifiable concern over the level of exposure of humans to organotins consumed in shellfish and fish.
WWF is now seeking, and is in discussion with, companies or bodies that are willing to make a significant contribution to safeguarding the marine environment by phasing out the use and/or production of organotin-based antifouling paints.
Abbotts Hall Farm
Coastal wetland is a vital habitat for wildlife. However, the last few centuries have seen thousands of acres disappear, and a further global loss of between 40 and 50 per cent is predicted during the next hundred years. That's why coastal restoration and management has been a key element of the Joint Marine Programme of The Wildlife Trusts and WWF-UK since its inception in 1996. It is predicted that the UK's saltmarshes, coastal marshes and intertidal mudflats could be radically changed or lost altogether if sea levels rise, as suggested, due to global climate change. A quarter of the saltmarshes of Essex have already been lost to erosion in the past 25 years, and sea level rise threatens to accelerate these losses.
In February 2000, WWF-UK joined forces with Essex Wildlife Trust to acquire 283 hectares of arable farmland, saltmarsh, coastal grassland and mudflats on the Blackwater estuary at Great Wigborough, Essex. This purchase, which included Abbotts Hall, a productive farm enterprise, was the start of a project that is different from all previous coastal realignment schemes. The plan is to revert more than 80 hectares of arable land back to saltmarsh, mudflat, coastal grassland and transition habitat. The new habitats will help to support wildfowl such as Brent geese, which overwinter in the area, wading birds such as redshank and lapwing, which nest on the site, and birds of prey such as the hen harrier. The recreated marshes, saltwater channels and mudflats will also provide habitats for fish spawning and nurseries, and for marine invertebrates on which the fish and waders will forage.
The other conservation partners involved in this venture are The Wildlife Trusts, the Environment Agency, the Heritage Lottery Fund and English Nature.
WWF's Oceans Recovery Campaign
Launched in July 2000, WWF-UK's Oceans Recovery Campaign (ORCA) raised public awareness about the many threats facing our seas and oceans, and lobbied governments in Westminster, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales to take urgent action to protect people's livelihoods, coastal communities and precious wildlife.
The Campaign pushed for a national oceans policy backed by a Marine Act which would encompass the hundreds of laws and policies governing our seas to ensure better coordination and strategic decision-making. ORCA also lobbied for a stronger network of Marine Protected Areas to safeguard wildlife and habitats, as well as a network of regeneration areas, including pilot Fishing-Free Zones, to enhance and restore fish stocks. One such project is being piloted with fishermen in the south-west of England as industry and conservationists have one common goal: abundant fish stocks in healthy seas.
The main 'vehicle' to convey ORCA's messages to the wider audiences has taken the shape of a yellow submarine. This fully mobile interactive exhibition was designed and built especially for the campaign and was packed with informative, fun and interactive displays showing the amazing range of wildlife that inhabits our seas.
It also suggested action for you to help us on our oceans recovery mission. Activities included following our submarine diver on an underwater adventure; a navigation computer game where the future of our seas is in your hands; firing an e-mail petition direct to Prime Minister, Tony Blair at 10 Downing Street; signing up as a WWF Oceans Champion; taking part in our nationwide marine life survey; and last but not least, hearing the true fishing story straight from the cod's mouth!
As a result of ORCA the UK government's attitude to protecting our marine environment has shifted. It has started to evaluate the level of marine protection, and is deciding where action is needed. During the coming years WWF will be pressing hard for a UK wide and a Scottish Marine Act to be passed. These Acts are essential if we are to benefit economically and culturally from our seas while ensuring they are properly protected.
Basking shark project
WWF-UK and The Wildlife Trusts have been providing funding study of the basking shark, the second largest fish in the world. Basking sharks visit UK shores during the summer months, but we still do not know for sure whether they actually leave for distant waters during the winter or whether they are in deeper waters not so far from our shores all year round. The project consists of surveys conducted from a yacht using volunteer observers.
The date, time and place of sightings are recorded, together with the weather and sea conditions, and photos are taken as part of a basking shark photo identification project in which WWF is also involved. All the information is fed into national databases and is incredibly useful for bridging the gaps in our knowledge about these gentle giants.
Harbour porpoise and EDCs
WWF-UK funded research into the levels of endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) contained in the bodies of stranded harbour porpoises in England and Wales. This will help us to understand more about the threats posed by these chemicals to predators, such as whales and dolphins, which are at the top of the food chain. Research on the harbour porpoise, which is a coastal species, will help to raise awareness of the need to reduce inputs of chemicals into the marine environment.
Particularly Sensitive Sea Areas (PSSAs)
PSSAs are areas of the seas and oceans that need special protection through action by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) because of their ecological, economic, cultural or scientific significance and their vulnerability to harmful impacts from shipping activities.
WWF works within the framework of the IMO to encourage coastal nations to identify and propose PSSAs in order to protect invaluable ecosystems such as coral reefs, coastal wetlands and other important habitats.
PSSAs can be used as a powerful management tool. They include measures such as:- Areas to be Avoided (prohibiting entry of tankers or other ships carrying hazardous cargoes);
- inshore traffic zones and deep-water routes (to separate local traffic from transiting shipping traffic);
- mandatory reporting requirements (to ensure two-way communications between ship and shore).
Marine Protected Areas - Darwin Mounds
The Darwin Mounds are part of a unique deep-water landscape. They are situated 185 kilometres North-west of Cape Wrath, the North-west tip of mainland Scotland. They are a collection of sandy and cold water coral mounds lying at a depth of some 1,000 metres and were officially discovered in 1998. Since this time they have been damaged. They support a substantial population of the deep water coral Lophelia pertusa, giant one-celled animals (xenophyophores) that can grow up to 20 cm and are often fragile. These form, in turn, an invaluable habitat for many species of fish, starfish, worms, sponges and urchins.
But this fragile environment is at risk from fishing activities (smashed corals from trawl fishing); oil and gas exploration (licensing of blocks for exploitation of oil and gas in this special environment is possible since no protection is currently in place); and, carbonate extraction.
WWF is working to conserve the Darwin Mounds by lobbying the UK government to declare them a proposed SAC (Special Area of Conservation) on the list of UK sites to be submitted to the EU for consideration at the next Habitats Directive Atlantic Biogeographic Region seminar, in Dec 2001. WWF also recommends that the UK government develop and publish as a matter of urgency, a plan for the management needs of the Darwin Mounds.
Biodiversity and EU fisheries policy
WWF has been investigating the integration of biodiversity objectives into EU fisheries policy. As part of the project, which was grant aided by the Environment Directorate-General of the European Commission and the Oak Foundation, WWF invited key stakeholders to a series of workshops with the aim of identifying common goals and promoting policy solutions. The workshops addressed institutional frameworks, subsidies and financial incentives, the ecosystem approach, and the integration of policy frameworks.
Fishing activities have significant effects, not only on target species, but also on the wider marine environment. The reform of the EU Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) should take into account biodiversity concern. Management strategies should be assessed through pilot schemes in collaboration with the fishing industry and other interested stakeholders, and could be funded through EC Structural Funds. The precautionary approach will play an important part in such a management system. But most of all there is a need for greater will to tackle the environmental problems associated with fisheries and to ensure that biodiversity considerations are incorporated fully into EU fisheries policy. |
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WWF-UK > Research > Issues > Marine and coasts > WWF in action
