With a general election on 12 December all of the UK’s political parties and MP candidates will be setting out the legislation and policies that they would like to introduce. The Marine Conservation Society has prepared its own Ocean Manifesto identifying the key policy changes which would help protect our marine environment. The MCS will be examining each political party’s plans to see how they measure up against its priorities for the marine environment.

“We’re in the midst of an environmental and climate emergency and our marine biodiversity is under constant threat. This comes from overfishing, plastic and other pollution, deep-sea mining and the effects of climate change. There is a pressing need for further action,” says the society.

The nine point policy plan sets out an ambitious agenda and MCS believes that any future government should implement the following:

Marine Plastics – 13 million tonnes of plastic end up in our oceans each year

  • Ban the loss of microplastics into the environment during the manufacturing and recycling processes
  • Introduce an all-inclusive deposit return scheme for drinks containers
  • Introduce extended producer responsibility so that manufacturers are responsible for the total disposal and recycling costs of their products

UK and Overseas Territories – Less than 0.01% of UK waters are in highly protected marine areas

  • Designate new Highly Protected Marine Areas to cover at least 10% of UK waters by 2023
  • Commit to a substantial increase in UK Overseas Territories funding to ensure we protect these vital ecosystems
  • Ban damaging activities from all UK Marine Protected Areas

Fishing – Only 59% of UK fish stocks are fished at sustainable levels.

  • Implement measures to help vessels account for what they catch
  • Legislation to ensure no fishing above scientifically recommended sustainable levels
  • Support the roll out of CCTV cameras on vessels to record catches

Our oceans are vital to all life on Earth and protecting them for future generations should be a key aim for the next government.

From Emma Crane, MCS. See more at: www.mcsuk.org