Marine Wildlife Deserves Better Than This

One tries to be topical but it isn’t everyday that one of my blogs gets an immediate response from a Parliamentary Under Secretary of State.  Only yesterday I discussed government plans to act on only 31 out of 127 recommended sites for Marine Conservation Zones, and this morning the Fisheries minister, Richard Benyon, is reported by the BBC explaining that he just doesn’t have the dosh.

My own hubris does not extend to believing that the dozen or so page views my piece has received overnight might include the erstwhile minister.  That would put me on a par with the editor of the Skibbereen Eagle who told Kaiser Bill that his illustrious newspaper ‘had his eye on’ the German emperor.  As I reported yesterday plenty of more significant voices than my own have been raised in support of this cause including: Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and the Marine Conservation Society.

What is significant however is the shift in the government’s position.  Until now their argument has been that in the 96 sites not selected the science was unclear.  Heaven forbid that they might accidentally protect something that is not actually critically endangered.  However, in the report by the BBC’s Roger Harrabin, Mr Benyon admits that he would like to go further but cuts to the DEFRA budget mean that he simply doesn’t have the money needed to assess sites and put in place the necessary conservation measures.

The one concession he does make is to say that his department will release proposals for a second set of MCZs along with his decision on the first tranche.  Previously there had been no clear commitment to doing anything beyond the original 31 sites.

So the government’s argument comes down to saying, times are hard, we are all having to tighten our belts and Britain’s sea creatures will have to shoulder their share of the problem.  We’ll look at it again when resources are more plentiful.

The trouble with that argument is that for many endangered species or habitats this is literally a matter of life and death.  Failure to act now could have dire consequences for decades to come, and for some species it might be terminal.  The government has ring-fenced from cuts the Overseas Aid budget, currently running at about £12 billion per year.  Implementing the full list of proposed MCZs would cost less than a thousandth part of that amount.

But then out of sight is out of mind.  The bottom of the ocean is about as far out of sight as you can get.  Plus it's difficult to get sentimental for a sea slug or a sponge.  And yet we have seen time and again that it is often the smallest and least cuddly organisms that underpin the entire ecological model.

Richard Benyon is the fisheries minister who was unable to identify more than two common fish from a selection of 12 popular varieties eaten in the UK.  As minister responsible for wildlife he came under criticism last year for felling 218 acres of woodland on his family estate to allow extraction of aggregates, and of course he works for Owen Paterson, the environment secretary who believes Europe needs agrochemical companies more than it needs bees.  Is it just me or is the claim to be the ‘greenest government ever’, wearing just a little thin? 

Bumping Along The Bottom

This Sunday, March 31^st marks the end of the UK government’s consultation period on proposals to create Marine Conservation Zones (MCZ) in English and Welsh offshore waters.  It concludes a four year process set up by The Joint Nature Conservation Committee and Natural England to look at ways of protecting the marine environment.

From the outset the project was designed to be as comprehensive as possible, recognising the complex and varied relationship we have with the seas around our shores.  We treat the sea as a larder, a playground, a factory, a dustbin, a transport superhighway, a source of energy, a carbon sink and much more.  Accordingly the list of groups invited to consult was also long and varied (see below).

In September 2011, the project delivered a list of 127 recommended sites, each one specially selected to protect significant species or individual habitats.  The smallest may cover a single reef or tidal estuary, while the largest protects a large swathe of the biologically important Dogger Bank.  Together these 127 sites account for roughly 15% of the total sea area managed by DEFRA (The Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs). (Separate proposals are in place for Scotland and inshore waters in Wales.)

It is important to understand that these MCZs are not exclusion zones.  Their purpose is to protect the sea bed, including the huge range of fish, plants and invertebrates that live and breed there.  Destructive forms of fishing such as scallop dredging or beam trawling are prohibited, but low impact forms of fishing are allowed to continue.

They are not an attack on fishermen or the communities who live by fishing.  Half of Britain’s fisheries are currently being fished out to unsustainable levels, according to government figures.  These MCZs will protect the long term future of fishing in British waters.

Last year the government announced that after spending £8 million and taking three years to review, it intended to protect only 31 of the 127 sites recommend, a list which the government’s own scientists said was needed to secure the health of our oceans.

So much for the ‘Greenest Government Ever’!  Of course the government needs to balance the competing interests of the environment with the need to secure jobs and growth, but even the deepest recessions come to an end within a few years.  Compare that to the ocean quahog which takes 400 years to reach full size and is now endangered by unrestricted trawling. 31 conservation zones represents the minimum that the department could do for the environment.  Right now it is not only the trawl doors that are bumping along the bottom!

The Marine Conservation Society (MCS) has been lobbying to get the government to follow through on its own recommendations, and the TV chef and campaigner, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall took up the cause in his programme Hugh’s Fish Fight.

On February 25^th, around 1500 people braved a biting Easterly wind to march across Westminster Bridge and petition Parliament.  I know because I was one of them.  Since then, over 24,000 have used the site to send emails to DEFRA demanding 127 MCZs.

It will be interesting to see what impact this demonstration of people power has.  It is yet another test for the man who is rapidly becoming something of a regular feature on this blog, Environment Secretary, Owen Paterson.  But whatever the outcome of the consultation, we now know what needs to be done to protect our seas.  I hope and expect that the fight will go on beyond Sunday until the full list of MCZs in in place.

The following list is taken from the DEFRA website:

  

List of Consultees

Academic / research organisations
Angling organisations
Aquaculture organisations
Coastal development organisations
Coastal managers
Coastal MPs
Commercial Fishermen’s organisations
Consumer organisations
Environmental NGOs
Government agencies
Inshore fisheries and conservation authorities
Local Government
Marine aggregates industry sector organisations
Marine dredging industry sector organisations
Marine industry sector groups/organisations
Marine leisure & recreational organisations
Oil & gas industry sector organisations
Ports and Harbours authorities
Producer organisations
Recreational boating sector organisations
Regional advisory councils
Renewable energy sector organisations
Shipping industry sector organisations

 

Moules Marinière

Autumn is well and truly here now.  It’s probably my favourite season of the whole year.  I love the way that it assails all your senses at once.  There’s nothing I like more than walking in the Autumn countryside.  Those dank, dark days where your breath hangs in front of your face and smoke rises vertically from cottage chimneys in the still air.  The only sounds are the doleful cawing of crows in the nearby beeches.   The air heavy with rotting leaves and over ripe fruit still clinging to bare trees.  The whole day seems to be only a precursor to night, with lights burning brightly in distant windows in mid afternoon.

The long period of summer fruitfulness is over, and now is the time to turn from salads and abundant fresh produce to warm nourishing and hearty fare.  Personally I love thick homemade soups and rich slow-cooked casseroles.  How good is it to come home cold and damp from a long walk to the kitchen, warmed by the oven, and the smell of cooking permeating the whole house?

Among the greatest pleasures of the Autumn is the return of new season mussels to the fishmonger.  Mussels are relatively cheap.  I pay £3 for a kilo (£5 for 2kg) which serves two people as a starter, or one person,( me), as a main course.

Thankfully they are also completely green.  Most commercially available mussels are farmed, so they are renewable, and they are reared organically.  Unlike other forms of aquaculture they do not rely on fish meal as food. Mussels are filter feeders; they clean the sea water rather than polluting it.  They are not treated with any artificial chemicals.

If you live anywhere near the sea there’s a good chance that they might be reasonably local too.  Mine come from just up the coast from Blakeney in Norfolk.

Many years ago the first recipe I ever tried with mussels was the French classic Moules Marinière and I loved it so much I have never looked much beyond it.  It makes a quick and delicious lunch or light supper and it could hardly be easier to cook.

Choose small mussels and make sure they are fresh.  Use them on the day of purchase.

Moules Mariniere

Moules Marinière - Recipe

Ingredients

·         1 or 2 kilos of mussels

·         1 clove of garlic, finely chopped

·         2 shallots, finely chopped

·         1 knob of butter

·         a bouquet garni of fresh parsley, thyme and bay leaves

·         1 glass dry white wine

·         120ml/4fl oz double cream

·         coarsely chopped parsley for garnishing,

·         crusty bread, to serve

Method

Begin by cleaning the mussels in the sink under lots of clean fresh water.  Live mussels should close firmly when jostled in the sink.  Discard any that don’t.   Also discard any with broken shells.

Remove any dirt, seaweed or barnacles attached to the shell, and make sure to pull off the beard.  That’s the rough, fibrous appendage that they use to attach themselves to rocks.  Also throw away any that feel particularly heavy.  They are probably just full of mud which will ruin your meal.  Drain them in a colander.

Soften the garlic and shallots in a large pan with the butter and toss the bouquet garni in.

Put the mussels and wine in the pan, turn up the heat and put a lid on the pan.  Steam them in the wine for 3 or 4 minutes only, giving the pan two or three good shakes.

Remove from the heat and take out the bouquet.  Add the wine and chopped parsley.

Ladle into bowls, giving each person plenty of creamy sauce.  Discard any that haven’t opened properly.

Eat immediately with the crusty bread and the rest of the wine