Saving Britain’s Nemo (He’s really called Tompot!)

You might think tropical sea life can only be found in exotic destinations, but our own shores are home to a range of weird and wonderful marine wildlife. And earlier this year 23 new marine conservation zones were created to become part of the ‘blue belt’ of British waters. These new zones join 27 that have already been created, meaning 20 per cent of British waters (roughly equivalent to the size of Wales) are now protected.

‘As an island nation we have amazing marine life. National Parks were protected by law in 1949 and now we’re creating a national park for the sea. It’s been a slow process but it’s an important step and we must keep going,’ says Melissa Moore, Marine Conservation Society head of policy.


‘We [WWF, RSPB, and Wildlife Trust] started campaigning in 2002 [for the zones] and we eventually got the Marine and Coastal Access Act in 2009.

‘The first tranche of zones came in 2012 when there were 27 sites and in his latest tranche 23 were announced. There’ll be a final third tranche in 2017,’ she continues.

With regard to the final tranche, I ask her how many more are being pushed for.


‘We are calling for another 40 sites. If we can get our 90 in total we’ll be happy. Ultimately we want about 30 per cent of UK seas protected, so about a third,’ Melissa explains.

In these zones there are strict guidelines on things like fishing, excavation, pollution and dumping. With regards to fishing guidelines not everyone is happy, with some fisherman saying their livelihoods will be affected.

‘Low-impact fishermen reasonably support them because in most instances they will be able to continue to fish in marine conservation zones. The only thing being managed really is the trawling and dredging so they do have concerns, but in the long term it is going to help their fisheries, protecting fish nurseries, which will enable restocking.’


With only 20 per cent of British waters currently protected, how is it decided which areas to protect?

‘There’s various criteria called ecological principles; the full name is principles for an ecologically coherent network. They are based on representing all the key habitats,’ Melissa tells me.

This means things like reef, sand, mud and salt marshes, for example, all need to be present in an area for it to be considered for protected status.

‘Then we look at whether the sites are large enough to be worthwhile,’ Melissa continues.


With our National Parks having been protected since 1949, what’s taken so long to get our seas protected?

‘I think it was just out of sight, out of mind,’ she says.

‘The thing with National Parks, if you think about the number of poets who have written about the Lake District and all that sort of thing, it has just taken time for the same to happen for our seas.

‘Interestingly when the Labour Party agreed to the marine act it was just after the first Blue Planet BBC series with David Attenborough, so that sort of thing really helps to educate people about the importance of our seas.’

When it comes to monitoring landbased life, a ring on a bird’s leg or a tag with a number is a way to monitor wildlife, but how do you monitor something in the sea?


‘We’ve got something called sea search; we have hundreds of volunteer divers who go to marine protected areas and do surveys for us. The government do their own surveys too using high-tech equipment to map the seabeds and habitat type.

‘Management-wise we’re gradually getting more fishing vessels to have vessel monitoring systems on board (big boats already have this but we’re trying to get all boats to have it). This means the Association of Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authorities is able to know if a fisherman goes into a protected area and they can see if the vessel is moving at the speed that would indicate it was fishing.’

I ask Melissa how long it takes from protecting a site to positive benefits being noted.

‘In some areas it’s been reasonably quick,’ she tells me. ‘In Lyme Bay where they’ve stopped scallop dredging, some of the reef species such as sponges and pink sea fans are starting to reappear – that’s in just over a few years. But in places where the reef has been removed, you might not ever get that recovery.’

So what more can be done to protect our seas?

‘We need better spatial management of fishing – at the moment you can scallop dredge pretty much anywhere you want for example. We’re gradually getting fishing in protected areas better managed but we’ve still got some issues. Oyster dredging for instance might still happen in a marine protected area and we think it’s time to look at more farmed fish.’


The Marine Conservation Society has also just launched the Pocket Good Fish Guide, helping people to buy sustainable fish to eat.

‘If you search for any fish in the guide, it will advise as to whether it’s sustainable,’ says Melissa.

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Spotted on British shores…

Bloody Henry starfish: off the south coast.
Tompot blenny: around the southern coasts. 
Jewel anemone: around the south and west coasts of Britain and all around Ireland.
Dead Man’s Fingers: on wrecks and rocks.
Cuckoo wrasse: on chalk beds off the Norfolk coast.
Ocean quahog: around British and Irish coasts and in offshore waters.