Tide changes for marine wildlife

Structured nature conservation got going in the UK with pioneering legislation passed just after the Second World War. For the first time, important terrestrial wildlife sites could be protected in a statutory network of Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Because of this 1949 legislation, important plants and animals that live above the high tide mark have been reasonably protected.

Sadly, this is only half of the story as our estuarine and marine wildlife has largely remained unprotected. Is that important? Yes, absolutely! There is even more fabulous wildlife in the seas around the British Isles than on the mainland and islands.

But the tide may be changing in favour of the sea horses, sea anemones, seals and corals, species that live largely unseen within our coastal waters. The Marine and Coastal Access Bill now before the House of Lords will, for the first time, give substantial legal protection to our special marine places.

DEFRA Minister, Huw Irranca-Davies, confirmed the English government’s commitment to establishing Marine Protected Areas at our Wildlife Trusts Marine Dinner, held appropriately at the Fishmongers Hall in London on Tuesday last week. The Wildlife Trusts have worked hard to progress this essential legal protection for our precious Marine Wildlife. The Marine Act, when it is passed, will be as important in its way as existing wildlife legislation.

Speakers at the dinner referred to this exciting development as a seminal moment in the history of nature conservation. We were each given a goody bag at the end of the evening. If I was a believer in Karma and reincarnation, I would now have a clear view as to my likely status in a future life. The bone china mug in my bag featured the Long-snouted Sea Horse, a unique species, largely restricted to Studland Bay and suffering habitat loss due to sailors tearing up Eel Grass with their anchors. This is a species with a poor conservation outlook, but the males make good really good sea-horse dads. Perhaps I might even be doing something right in this life!

Spiny Seahorse (c) danjc003 on Flickr