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A Marine Bill could help prevent MSC Napoli type environmental disasters say The Wildlife Trusts. The Wildlife Trusts are deeply concerned by the developing scene of destruction caused by the grounding of the MSC Napoli. The Devon and Dorset Wildlife Trusts are working closely with the authorities to ensure the environmental damage created during the clean-up operation is minimised.
However, The Wildlife Trusts are now questioning whether this disaster could have been prevented and ask what was a stricken ship doing in an area of such high conservation and tourism value? Lyme Bay, known as the ‘Jurassic Coast’ is a World Heritage site renowned for its internationally important wintering bird populations. What many people don’t realise is that beneath the waves lie a myriad of beautiful reefs which are rich in wildlife with over 300 species recorded so far. Of special interest are the seven species of coral including the nationally protected pink seafan and the extremely rare sunset coral - both are national priority species under the Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP). The Wildlife Trusts urge the shipping industry to do all it can to ensure accidents of this nature are prevented. Joan Edwards, Head of Marine Policy, The Wildlife Trusts, says the structure and suitability of such cargo vessels should be investigated and all such ships should be regularly checked to ensure they are fit for purpose: "Some of the busiest shipping routes pass across or near important and sensitive areas such as Lyme Bay. If we had a proper planning system for our seas, potentially damaging activities could be sited further away from environmentally and economically valuable areas around the UK. At present decisions about where to site shipping lanes, marine wildlife reserves and offshore farms for example, are not joined up. The Marine Bill must establish a facility which will be able to assess the cumulative impact on marine life of all our maritime industries." “It is vital that all shipping activities and associated risk assessment processes are included in marine spatial planning (MSP). The Wildlife Trusts are calling for MSP to be part of the UK Government's commitment to a Marine Bill, to provide a framework for comprehensive and integrated management of our seas. A white paper is scheduled for March of this year and we hope MSP and highly protected marine reserves will feature prominently. It is ironic that while the government will hopefully be announcing new legislation to give us cleaner and safer seas, they will still be cleaning up the mess created by the grounding of the MSC Napoli.” |
