PRESS RELEASE

13 November 2009

NEW MARINE ACT WELCOMED IN CHESHIRE

Cheshire Wildlife Trust is delighted that the new national Marine and Coastal Access Bill has achieved royal assent this week (on 12 November) and will be passed into law.

The Marine and Coastal Access Act is truly momentous event in the history of The Wildlife Trusts and UK marine conservation. No other country in the world has successfully introduced a single piece of legislation to protect the marine environment.

For Cheshire, the Act will provide legislative framework to protect the wealth of fabulous marine wildlife in the Cheshire/Wirral area of the Irish Sea through the designation of Marine Conservation Zones.

Through the implementation of the Marine and Coastal Access Act, Cheshire Wildlife Trust hopes to achieve its vision for Living Seas for Cheshire and the Wirral – in which wildlife thrives from the depths of the oceans to the coastal shallows. For the Irish Sea, this will include our native species such as the cuttlefish, sea heart urchin and sea mouse and the highly productive Irish Sea habitats that provide the food and shelter for our marine locals.

The Wildlife Trusts have campaigned hard for this legislation over the last decade. This is however, when the work begins. CWT looks forward to the job ahead, building partnerships to bring Marine Conservation Zones and their management for our local wildlife to fruition.

Dr Kathryn Turner the North West Wildlife Trusts Irish sea Advocacy officer said: “This is really excellent news for our local wildlife, from the tom pot blennys of Hilbre to the sea heart urchins of the Mersey Estuary, we believe that if opportunities are seized and radical changes are made that our vision for Living Seas in Cheshire and the Wirral can be achieved in the next 20 years. We have some really fabulous marine habitats and this is a great step forward in ensuring a vibrant future for them.”

Joan Edwards, The Wildlife Trusts’ head of Living Seas, added: “We will continue to press for strengthened provisions for marine wildlife conservation as our challenge now is to achieve real change. New legislation is only the beginning. The decisions made, and actions taken, over the next five years will determine the future of the UK’s seas. This is a unique opportunity and we must seize it.”

-ENDS-

To find out more about the Marine Bill and the
Wildlife Trusts vision for a living sea please
download our Living Seas leaflet
(0.6Mb PDF).