UK: Hope for Pink Seafan as Wildlife Trust Secures Victory
The phone went the other day. Nice chap at the other end – a press contact. And he thanked me for the coverage I’d given this story in the past. Very rare in this game.
It turns out that Lyme Bay – just an hour’s drive from here has had the victory we’d all hoped for.
One of the UK’s finest marine wildlife sites is set to be protected from damaging scallop-dredging, thanks to the introduction of a 60sq mile exclusion zone.
Paul Gompertz, Devon Wildlife Trust’s director, said: “This is one small step for marine but one giant leap for marine-kind. It finally acknowledges that our seas need vital life-support systems like Lyme Bay reefs.
“It’s taken 18 years, hundreds of thousands of fundraised pounds, the energy and dedication of many people - and a host of setbacks and heartache along the way. But it has all been worth it - to see a new day dawn for the future of marine conservation in this country. The Government is to be congratulated on a bold step. Now we need to see the exclusions enforced.”
