Giant Fish Helps in Lobby for New Marine Law

By Linda McKee

They will be urged to mark World Maritime Day today by each signing a scale of the massive ‘Petition Fish’ in support of a UK Marine Bill for Northern Ireland.

A host of supporters of the proposed bill will press for the Assembly to sign up to the UK Marine Bill and safeguard the future of Northern Ireland’s rich marine life and the livelihoods of local communities who depend on our seas.

The huge Petition Fish is already covered in stick-on scales signed by members of the public.

Ulster Wildlife Trust, one of the groups lobbying today, cites the mismanagement of Strangford Lough and the destruction of the Horse Mussel beds which once covered much of the lough as a case in point for how not to manage the marine environment.

“As a Marine Protected Area, the habitats within Strangford Lough are protected by law; however, the Northern Ireland government’s management of the lough has allowed fishing with mobile gear to almost completely destroy the reefs that once provided valuable habitat to hundreds of other marine species,” the trust said.

Current marine law is outdated, ineffective and piecemeal, with more than 85 pieces of legislation that are not working, UWT said.

More than 1,000 people across Northern Ireland have pledged their support for new marine legislation for Northern Ireland in a petition.

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