11/11/2005 - Environment Agency States Sea of Concern 118/05

Act now or jeopardise our seas is the warning from the Environment Agency today.

Sir John Harman, Chairman of the Environment Agency, said: "Our coasts and seas are under pressure. Fish stocks are decreasing. Sea levels are rising and flood risk is increasing. The climate is warming up and marine ecosystems are changing in response.

"Already animals, such as the basking shark, which rely on small sea organisms for food have migrated north - a recent survey of UK coastal waters found 172 out of 187 were seen in Scottish waters,” he said.

Key findings of our State of the Marine Environment report are:

80% of global marine pollution comes from the land and 1 in 4 coastal waters are at risk from diffuse pollution caused by fertilisers and pesticides
About one third of all intertidal estuaries, including half of all saltmarshes, have been lost to land reclamation since Roman times due to pressure from commercial development and human activities
Over the past 40 years, warmer seas have forced some marine plants and animals to move North towards Scandinavia, roughly the length of Britain
The estimated costs of damage from coastal and river flooding are currently about £1 billion a year. The flooding of coastal areas could increase between 4 and 10 times as a result of climate change unless there is adequate future investment in flood risk management
Sir John Harman continued: “To meet these challenges we need to strike a much better balance between the different uses of our coasts and seas to protect the marine environment.

"While we have seen improvements - such as the best results ever this year with all bathing water in Wales and 99% in England meeting EU standards - our challenges are changing and much remains to be done.

“This is why we have produced our first Marine strategy. It sets out how the Environment Agency can play a leading role to protect the environment through our duties which span land and sea, and range from promoting recreation to managing flood risk and controlling pollution,” he said.

The Environment Agency supports the Government's commitment to create a Marine Bill so we can replace today’s piecemeal approach to management of the seas and coast by introducing:

a system of marine spatial planning
better protection measures for marine biodiversity and fisheries
clear, allocated responsibilities for managing and regulating activities in the marine environment
effective measurements to strengthen the links between the management of our coasts and seas
“However, we can’t do it alone. We can only protect our marine environment if we work together with Governments, other regulators and coastal communities to develop new ways of management”, Sir John Harman said.

ENDS

NOTE TO EDITORS:

Both The State of the Marine Environment of England and Wales and Working for a better marine environment - our strategy 2005 - 2011 are available at www.environment-agency.gov.uk/marine or from the press office

The Environment Agency has a broad range of duties that span land and sea;

Manage flood risk
Regulate pollution discharges to maintain good water quality
Monitor the state of our coastal waters
Regulate sea fisheries in more than half of our estuaries
Manage migratory stocks of salmon, sea trout and eels
Protect species and habitats, especially mudflats and saltmarshes
Promote recreation at our coasts