Living Seas - Our vision for the future

Living Seas. What picture does this phrase conjure up in your mind? A rocky reef bursting with brightly coloured fish, corals and sponges? A boat trip in the company of leaping dolphins and playful seals? Fishermen hauling nets brimming with big, tasty fish? Living Seas are all these things and more. We urgently need your help to bring back the UK’s Living Seas. The next five years are critical. It is literally ‘make or break’ time. With new laws and Government commitments in the offing, we have a ‘once in a lifetime’ opportunity. If we make the very best of it, pushing every step of the way, our seas will turn the corner and start to recover their health. If we do not, they will continue on their downward spiral. Please join us in our quest for Living Seas. It is time to make history.

Within Living Seas, marine wildlife thrives, from the depths of the ocean to the coastal shallows. In Living Seas:

• Wildlife and habitats are recovering from past decline as our use of the seas’ resources becomes environmentally sustainable.
• The natural environment is adapting well to a changing climate, and ocean processes are helping to slow down climate change.
• People are inspired by marine wildlife and value the sea for the many ways in which it supports our quality of life.

The Wildlife Trusts believe it is possible to achieve Living Seas around the UK within 20 years – a single generation – but only if opportunities are seized now to make radical changes over the next five years. Join us, and support our role as the champions and guardians of the UK’s Living Seas - click here to find out how you can help.

Download our vision for Living Seas

Why now?

The next few years could be remembered as the most important period in history for the protection and management of UK seas. Following more than a decade of campaigning by The Wildlife Trusts and partners, 2009 saw the passage of a Marine and Coastal Access Act, covering English and Welsh inshore waters and offshore waters around the whole UK. This Act could dramatically boost protection for marine wildlife and improve management of activities at sea. It has five key areas, every one of which could help us achieve The Wildlife Trust vision of Living Seas:

• A new network of Marine Protected Areas
• New authorities and powers to manage fishing in inshore waters
• Improved arrangements for licensing industrial activity at sea
• Joined-up planning of marine industry, leisure and conservation
• A Marine Management Organisation charged with developing marine plans

In addition to the UK Act, a Scottish Marine Act with similar objectives is expected in 2009. This will be followed in 2012 by an Act for Northern Ireland. Together, these Acts give us an unprecedented opportunity to bring back Living Seas.