Marine Bill timeline
September 2004: the UK government finally agreed to introduce new marine legislation after a long-running WWF campaign for a new UK Marine Act.
January 2005: WWF published its own draft Marine Bill to show how this new law could:
- ensure that all future developments at sea are environmentally sustainable
- reverse the decline of British marine wildlife and habitats.
March 2006: the government launched a consultation exercise on what the proposed Marine Bill should cover. WWF responded to this consultation and gave evidence to the Environmental Audit Select Committee on the scope of the Bill.
March 2007: the government published its Marine Bill White Paper. This was a welcome step towards the sustainable management of our marine environment. WWF sent in its own detailed response and contributed to the Wildlife and Countryside Link’s Marine Task Force, a combined team of all the major NGOs concerned with the marine environment.
WWF offices in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland also responded because of the need to have marine legislation for all UK seas. A Marine Act will be needed in Scotland, as well as complementary legislation in Wales and Northern Ireland.
April 2008: the government published its draft Marine Bill for public consultation and parliamentary scrutiny.
May 2008: a parliamentary committee was formed to examine the proposals in the draft bill, and a call for written and oral evidence was made. WWF sent in its own detailed response and contributed to the Wildlife and Countryside Link’s Marine Task Force.
May 2008: the Prime Minister announced that a Marine Bill will be included in the legislative programme for 2008/2009.
July 2008: the parliamentary committee published its analysis of the bill, recommending that the bill is strengthened, and containing a number of positive proposals for government action.
3 December 2008: Queen’s Speech. It is now essential that the government includes a Marine Bill in the Queen’s Speech to ensure there is no further delay in the recovery of our seas.
