How people power can help to turn the tide

Published on Tuesday 6 November 2007 00:46

WHEN a group of people on Arran decided in the mid-1990s to start campaigning for a marine reserve in Lamlash Bay, they found "people looked at us as if we were mad".

But in the intervening years, increasing numbers of people have come round to their point of view and the Community of Arran Seabed Trust - or COAST - now has a membership of more than 1,700 compared to the island's population of fewer than 5,000.

They are currently in negotiations with government officials and fishermen, but are hopeful of finally succeeding in their aim of creating a marine protected area in the bay.

It is an example of how people power can be mobilised to change the prevailing political mood which, if replicated across the country as a whole, would almost certainly guarantee an effective Marine Bill being passed by the Scottish Parliament.

And those with a care for the marine environment can also take direct action themselves to help improve the condition of the marine environment and our knowledge of what happens beneath the waves.

Eating sustainably caught fish, taking litter off the beach on every visit, getting involved in organised clean-ups and reporting sightings of interesting wildlife are all things ordinary people who visit the seaside or go out on to the sea can do.

Lamlash Bay was home to a sea angling festival where catches as large as 5,000 fish, weighing up to a total of 16,000lb, had been recorded, but in 1994 - the last year this was held - the catch had slumped to 200lbs.

Partly because of this, a group of divers and other interested people decided to campaign to get the area closed to commercial fishing in the hope its sealife would be able to regenerate.

"It's been a long, long fight but we think we are coming to the end of the road," said a spokesman for COAST.

"At one time fishing was one of the main economies of Arran - 40 or 50 years ago when Arran almost survived on fisheries with agriculture, not that long ago.

"We needed to do something. It needs to start somewhere and we thought it could start with us. When we started 13 years ago, people looked at us as if we were mad. Even two years ago."

The group believes the no-take zone will help marine life regenerate - both within the bay and outside it as fish and other creatures spread out - and also attract tourists to the area.

Any official no-take zone requires the agreement of the Scottish Government; voluntary schemes have been tried in the past with only very limited success.

The Marine Conservation Society runs a number of campaigns - including Adopt-a-beach and Beachwatch, which are designed to remove and monitor litter, and Seasearch to record marine habitats and animals - which rely on support from members of the public.

Calum Duncan, the group's Scottish conservation manager, urged people to get involved.

"The beach litter projects are a great opportunity for people to show they care about their local stretch of coast or favourite stretch and clean it up," he said.

"Divers can take part in the Seasearch and be our eyes under the water to record species. And anybody at sea or on the coast, looking out to sea, can send us basking shark sightings to help protect this gentle giant.

"Sea users can also report sightings of turtles and we're also encouraging people to record jellyfish. If we understand their distribution, it can give us an insight into leatherback turtle distribution."

Surfers Against Sewage (SAS) was one of the first people-power movements to campaign for cleaner seas - for obvious reasons. Richard Hardy, SAS campaigns director, said since then it had expanded its remit to cover the marine environment generally and is pushing for effective marine legislation.

The campaigners at COAST on Arran hope Lamlash Bay will provide a good example of the kind of transformation in environmental well-being that could be achieved on a wider scale by a network of marine protected areas round Scotland's coasts.

Its spokesman said: "Perhaps in 50 years' time we'll get back to what we had in the sea 50 years ago. It will be a long, long process, but we need to do something."

READERS RAISE THEIR VOICES IN SUPPORT OF CAUSE

As a scuba diver who has dived around St Kilda, Scapa Flow and the west and east coast of Scotland, I have a fair picture of what is down there.

Once when diving off the west coast I saw the remains left of the sea bed after a trawler had passed over. It was disastrous. It looked as if an earth mover had ploughed its way across, leaving dead fish, smashed shells, churned up plant growth - a nurture area for marine life - in its path. I think there must be a case for better farming of the sea where less waste occurs and stocks have a chance to revive.

- Ian McCrorie, Aberdour, Fife

As an active surfer I'd like to register my support for this campaign. Conservation is top of the agenda for many water users, including surfers, kayakers, divers, sailors etc. These activities must be a major contributor to Scotland's economy, but not easily quantified.

- Dave Lockwood, Dunfermline, Fife

Please do something now before it is too late.

- C Middleton, Leith

I fully support this campaign and indeed would urge a moratorium on some forms of commercial fishing (trawling/long lines) for a least five years and hopefully forever. I subscribe to the view that a man should take from the sea only what he himself can physically pull out. Simplistic and workable.

-Geoff Carlin, Banknock

I applaud The Scotsman's campaign on this issue which has for a long time needed greater public awareness and discussion. If we are to conserve Scotland's marvellous and diverse marine environment and utilise it sustainably for the benefit of us all, we urgently need a Marine Bill giving the Scottish Parliament planning powers to control developments such as mineral extraction, power generation, fishing and tourism developments just as happens on land. A part of this must include marine reserves where endangered habitats can be conserved from the pressures of industry or fishing.

- Gordon Swann, Edinburgh, Marine Conservation Society member and amateur scuba diver

I support the Save Our Seas campaign.

- Robert Gill, visitor experience manager, the Royal Yacht Britannia, Leith

Why should fishermen only catch (or retain) cod, haddock, shrimps and throw back other fish which are exceptionally tasty, plentiful and good, causing unnecessary waste and not encouraging the public to be more adventurous in their eating habits.

- Catherine Luke, Zurich, Switzerland

I support The Scotsman's campaign. This is an urgent priority. Responsibility for the 200-mile boundary should be devolved to the Scottish Government without delay so that effective, local action may be initiated.

- Alastair Henderson, Edinburgh

I really do welcome this initiative and I support the campaign for marine reserves not only around Scotland but all global marine areas that require urgent assessment and conservation, thank you.

- Alex MacInnes, Aquascot Ltd, Alness, Ross-shire

WAYS YOU CAN HELP

• Write to your MSP/MP to ask for strong Marine Bills in Scotland and the UK.

• Take some litter off the beach when you visit and dispose of it carefully.

• Eat sustainably caught fish.

• Join a campaign group such as the Marine Conservation Society and add your voice to the 300,000 people who are members of environmental groups campaigning on green issues.

• Take an interest in the beach and sea near where you live, treat it as "an extension of your own backyard".

• Use the seas responsibly.

MORE INFO

www.savescottishseas.org/action.php

www.arrancoast.co.uk

www.marinecode.org

www.rspb.org.uk/ourwork/policy/marine/scotland

www.mcsuk.org

www.mcsuk.org/marineworld/trackturtle/

www.adoptabeach.org.uk

www.goodbeachguide.co.uk

www.fishonline.org

www.seasearch.org.uk

• SEND your views by email to [e-mail] or letter to Save Our Seas, Newsdesk, The Scotsman, 108 Holyrood Road, Edinburgh, EH8 8AS.