Marine and Coastal Access Bill [Lords]

The American poet Walt Whitman once described the sea as "a continual miracle". His description captures both the beauty and the importance of our marine environment. The waters surrounding our island contain a rich and diverse collection of species. Indeed, our seas contain double the number of animal groups found on land. It is estimated that more than 44,000 different types of plant and animal—about half the UK's biodiversity—live in our seas. They are home to 22 marine mammal species, such as minke whales and bottlenose dolphins, and 300 species of fish, which include different varieties of seahorse and basking sharks. However, the seas are not just crucial for marine creatures. They are of the utmost importance for people, too, performing the vital tasks of absorbing damaging greenhouse gases, regulating our climate and producing oxygen for us to breathe. It must also be recognised that many people enjoy the benefits of the marine environment through a variety of leisure and sporting activities. The oceans are an important resource for food, and an enormous potential source of energy—provided, of course, that we harvest such resources sustainably. There can be no doubt that the condition of the marine environment is of great importance to the public. In a 2005 survey conducted by the National Trust, two thirds of respondents said that visiting the seaside or coast was important to their quality of life. In 2007, the wildlife trusts produced a poll showing that 94 per cent. of people believed that the health of the marine environment was important to them, but the same survey also revealed public concern about the decline in fish stocks in our seas. That is one of the most pressing challenges facing the marine environment. Around 70 to 80 per cent. of the world's marine fish stocks are fully exploited, over exploited, depleted, or recovering from depletion. It is predicted that the world will run out of seafood species that can be fished by 2048. The picture is similar for UK waters, as fish stocks have greatly decreased over recent decades. In 1956, the British distant water fishing fleet returned to shore with 8.36 million tonnes of fish. By 2007, the whole UK fleet landed only 600,000 tonnes. The Secretary of State referred to the recently released film called "The End of the Line", which highlights the damaging impact of over-fishing on marine eco-systems, and the harmful effects of the common fisheries policy in particular. I pay tribute to the efforts of Charles Clover in raising public awareness of that hugely important issue. Reform of fisheries policy is essential, but we also need to focus on two other great challenges facing the marine environment. The first and most important challenge is climate change. As I mentioned earlier, our seas perform the vital task of absorbing harmful greenhouse gases. The world's oceans absorb more than a quarter of the carbon dioxide generated by the planet, but there are concerns that the amount of CO2 that they are soaking up is decreasing. In 2007, scientists from the university of East Anglia showed that CO2 absorption in the north Atlantic halved between the mid-1990s and the early part of this decade. There are fears that, if the oceans become saturated with CO2 and are unable to absorb any more, that could lead to an increase in global warming. The Marine Climate Change Impacts Partnership has highlighted some of the effects of climate change on the marine environment. It has stressed the""growing evidence that the scale of impact of climate change on marine waters around the UK is becoming sufficiently pronounced to have a noticeable effect on sea bird populations."" Rising sea temperatures brought about by global warming have led to increased acidity in our oceans and seas. In the last 200 years, ocean acidity has increased by 30 per cent., a much quicker rate than at any time in the previous 65 million years. That has caused considerable damage to coral reefs, which provide food and shelter for marine species. To mitigate climate change, there is a pressing need to improve the amount of energy generated from renewable sources. The Government missed their 5 per cent. target in 2003, and they have admitted that they will miss their 2010 and 2020 targets to generate, respectively, 10 and 20 per cent. of electricity from renewables. If we are to have any hope of meeting our targets and developing our capacity to generate green electricity, offshore wind must play a bigger role. Our proposal for a network of marine energy parks would greatly increase that capacity, and address some of the current infrastructure problems that stand in the way of greater progress. There is no reason why such parks, if correctly sited, could not coexist with the marine conservation objectives set out in the Bill. In many cases, indeed, offshore wind farms that prevent the catching of fish can serve as de facto no-take zones. The second challenge is pollution, and the WWF has estimated that 3 million tonnes of oil each year end up in the seas and oceans around the world. Shockingly, a third of the total is pumped out from tankers cleaning their tanks before receiving as new load. Although oil spills are rare, their consequences are horrific. In 1996, the tanker Sea Empress was holed below the water line as it entered an estuary off the Pembrokeshire coats, spilling 72,000 tonnes of oil into the sea. That resulted in the deaths of thousands of sea birds and the contamination of 120 miles of coast line. There is also concern about the growing problem of discarded plastic items such as nets, line and containers. The United Nations Environment Programme estimated in 2006 that there are 46,000 pieces of floating plastic in every square mile of ocean. According to the WWF, this form of pollution is tragically thought to kill about a million seabirds and 100,000 whales, seals, and dolphins every year. Here in the UK, the Marine Conservation Society's recent Beachwatch report found that litter on Britain's beaches is at its highest levels since records began in 1994. Over a single weekend last September, more than 5,000 volunteers from the society picked up 385,000 pieces of litter from beaches in the UK. The most common items were pieces of plastic. So we on this side of the House recognise the pressing need for a Bill that faces up to the challenges before us and ensures that the marine environment is protected for future generations. When the Secretary of State published this Bill last year, he proclaimed it as "groundbreaking legislation", but it has taken a long time to break the ground. It is now eight years since Tony Blair said that his Government were""launching measures to improve marine conservation here and abroad"." The Labour party's 2001 manifesto promised action. There was a consultation in 2002—predictably entitled "Seas of Change"—but another two years passed by, until the then Prime Minister said that""there are strong arguments for a new approach to managing our seas, including a new Marine Bill."" Despite those "strong arguments", however, the new approach consisted of plans for a new Marine Bill in DEFRA's five-year strategy, and yet another manifesto commitment. Another two years elapsed before proposals for a draft Marine Bill were included in the Queen's Speech of November 2007. Finally, the Bill was introduced in the other place in December last year. The Secretary of State told the Joint Committee on the draft Bill that we have waited""five million years for a Marine Bill"." Of course we have not, but it certainly feels like it. Throughout this time, while the Government delayed, we on this side have pushed for a marine Bill. Indeed, my hon. Friend the Member for Uxbridge (Mr. Randall) proposed a Bill some eight years ago that would have greatly increased the protection offered to the marine environment. [Interruption.]