Marine and Coastal Access Bill [Lords]

People listening to the debate cannot fail to notice the disproportionate number of Members from Wales who have spoken. We have heard contributions from my hon. Friends the Members for Gower (Mr. Caton) and for Carmarthen, West and South Pembrokeshire (Nick Ainger) and the hon. Member for Ceredigion (Mark Williams). I apologise for mistaking a Liberal Democrat for a Plaid Cymru Member—it can happen in Wales. We have also heard from the hon. Member for Brecon and Radnorshire (Mr. Williams) and my hon. Friend the Member for Ynys Môn (Albert Owen) and I am from Bridgend. Although it may seem ironic, more than 50 per cent. of Wales has a boundary with the sea, so the Bill is highly important to us. It is of course even more ironic that one of the few completely landlocked constituencies—Ogmore to my north—is the home of the Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, my hon. Friend the Member for Ogmore (Huw Irranca-Davies), who is partly responsible for the Bill. I can, however, advise the House that he regularly swoops down to Porthcawl from his eyrie at the top of the Llynfi valley, so he has wide understanding of coastal access issues. Several hon. Members have said that the Bill is a once in a lifetime opportunity to protect our marine environment for future generations. It is a good Bill, largely because the Government have been open to discussion with NGOs and colleagues, but it is still possible to make it a great Bill. Like other Members, I must declare an interest, having been a long-term member of the RSPB. I would like to thank the NGOs that have worked closely with Members, such as the RSPB, the WWF, the Wildlife Trusts, which had a wonderful scheme for collecting petitions on a petition fish, the Marine Conservation Society, and the Porthcawl Environment Trust. As has been said, the UK's seas are among the richest in the world—26 species of sea birds nest around the UK coastline, and 15 of those species, including guillemots, puffins and razor-bills, nest in greater numbers in the UK than in any other European country. Six per cent. of the Welsh work force is employed in work closely related to the coast and marine environment. A healthy maritime economy, whether it is fishing, tourism or catering, relies on a healthy sea. Thirty per cent. of Welsh waters are of European importance. To protect this heritage, we need the right tools for the job. As an island nation, we have a vast sea area, three times larger than our land area, and it harbours an amazing wealth of wildlife. Only 2.2 per cent. of our sea is protected, and that cannot be acceptable. I am pleased that in Wales the marine conservation areas around the islands of Skomer and Lundy set an example of what can be achieved. It is frightening to think that our nature reserves at sea are the equivalent of having in the UK a single nature reserve the size of Kensington gardens. Without protection of our seas, activity by the fishing industry and climate change are having a devastating cumulative effect on the marine ecosystem, causing some of our marine wildlife to decline, sometimes irrevocably.