How to help our seas and sealife
| 18:59 UK time, Friday, 13 November 2009
If you're a fan of marine wildlife you'll have cause to celebrate the Marine and Coastal Access Act. It passed into law on 12 November 2009 and applies to the coast of England and Wales. (The Scottish parliament is also considering a Marine Bill.)
The Act introduces:
- Marine Conservation Zones
- Reforms to inshore fisheries management, including local bans
- A right of public access to the entire coastline
Read of the Act's detail and views of supporters and opponents.
It will be months or years before some of the changes take effect. Campaigners for wildlife and clean seas are already working to conserve the coastal environment and there's plenty you can do to help. And if you do help, please tell us by posting a comment below.
Your seas, your voice
The Marine Conservation Society are asking people to vote for the specific areas they want to protect. Together with their recommended 75 sites, they will use your votes to "ensure that the important and special places along our coast are properly protected." Find out more and vote on their .
Water quality, litter
Waste water from domestic sources seldom goes into rivers or seas untreated so don't worry about the type of detergents you use (in terms of them causing water pollution). But it is always sensible to check what's the best thing to do with any chemicals you're trying to dispose of.
Rainwater drains may well flow directly into water courses taking pollution and litter with them. Do your bit to keep plastics and other junk out of the sea, where it's not just a mess but a hazard to marine life.
There are some alarming statistics which show how much harm plastic does in our seas:
- There is six pounds of plastic for every pound of algae
- in the North Sea found that fulmars, a type of seabird, had an average of 30 pieces of plastic in their stomachs
- About 80% of the plastic in the oceans is blown or washed off the land, or intentionally dumped
To get more involved, you can keep an eye on our beaches and make sure they are kept clean. The MCS's Adopt-a-Beach and Beachwatch initiatives are brilliant for this.
You can either join as a Beachwatch organiser, adopt a beach and then organise a team of volunteers to clean and survey your beach from time to time, or just as a volunteer at a beach that's already been adopted.
You can find a list of all Beachwatch beaches and organisers and more about the initiatives on the .
Train to rescue sea mammals
If you're keen to get even more involved then the are the people to talk to. They rescue seals and stranded cetaceans in the UK and will train people to become marine mammal medics.
They were the team that led the of the famous northern bottle-nosed whale stranded in the Thames in 2006.
Tim Scoones is the Executive Producer of Autumnwatch
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