Have your say! Come along to the Beachy Head East Marine Conservation Zone community workshops.

Sussex Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority (IFCA) are about to start their public consultation process on the fisheries management of Beachy Head East Marine Conservation Zone. Marine Conservation Zones (MCZs) are managed by different government organisations and here, it is the legal duty of Sussex IFCA to ensure all fishing is sustainable within this protected environment.

The MCZ community workshops are supported by the Marine Conservation Society’s Agents of Change project, and are an opportunity to understand and influence future management. The workshops precede the Sussex IFCA’s formal consultation on specific byelaw measures.

The workshops will be run in pairs and, to get maximum benefit, you are encouraged to attend both if possible. Please be aware that, to support constructive conversation and information sharing, the workshops have a limited capacity. Following the workshops, Sussex IFCA will share an online questionnaire to support the participation of those who could not attend in person and/or if attendees wish to provide additional information.

To book, email admin@sussex-ifca.gov.uk or call 01273 454 407.
Hastings: Thursday 9 and Thursday 16 February 2023
Bexhill: Monday 6 and Friday 17 February 2023

With more than 10 million tonnes of plastic entering the ocean from the world’s coastlines every year, plastic pollution has be-come one of the most pressing environmental issues. Hastings local Chris Williams and his partner Lara are doing their bit to try and help tackle the issue and keep our stunning beaches clean. For the past three years, the couple have spent a few hours every week picking up rubbish on the same 600 metres of St Leonards beach – from the Goat Ledge Café to just past the Azur Restaurant. 

CREDIT: Chris Williams

In early 2018 Lara started a monthly beach cleaning event; in conjunction with the Marine Conservation Society, which would often meet and clean up near the Hastings Pier. When the pandemic struck the monthly events were sadly halted, but that didn’t stop the couple from getting out when they could and continuing the work they had started. Although they did admit it can be difficult some weeks to find the time to head down to the beach. Lara is busy working as a frontline NHS worker whilst Chris is self-employed and also doing a degree in Environmental Science at the Open University. 

Their commitment over the past three years should be commended, with over 60,000 pieces of rubbish being picked up between them. It hasn’t all been plastic bottles and carrier bags though. 

“Predominantly, it has been cellophane, cigarette packages, sugar sachets and crisp packets… but we’ve also found all manner of bizarre and wonderful things; wall plugs, bits of carpet, even saws and screwdrivers,” Chris said.

CREDIT: Chris Williams

They hope their work and effort can inspire others to get involved in the fight to protect our marine life and oceans.

Chris added, “If everyone grabbed something while they were there, it would make a huge difference. We do see dog walkers and other people out on the beach picking up litter from time to time which is always good to see, as every single piece of plastic we can get off the beach counts.”

The couple has set up a crowdfunding page to help cover the costs of their website, equipment and hopefully the return of the monthly beach cleaning events in the future so that more of our beautiful coastline can be covered.

• You can donate to their Crowdfunder at www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/hastingsbeachclean or find out more on their website www.hastingsbeachclean.co.uk

No trawling will be allowed at any time of year over an area in excess of 300 square kilometres, stretching out for up to 4km from the shoreline in the west of the county to a rather narrower breadth off the coast of Hastings. The aim is to restore a vast underwater kelp forest which has been torn from the sea floor by repeated passage of trawling vessels without sufficient interval for natural regeneration.

A partnership of pressure groups comprising the Blue Marine Foundation, Marine Conservation Society, Sussex Wildlife Trust and Big Wave Productions joined forces to campaign for the ban, and Sir David Attenborough lent his support in October 2019 when he provided the voice-over to a film, Help Our Kelp – see https://sussexwildlifetrust.org.uk/helpourkelp – which showcases the wealth of wildlife to be found in the diverse kelp habitat.

Kelp Forest Canopy
PICTURE: Andy Jackson/Sussex Wildlife Trust

DEFRA Approval

The new byelaw is now being passed to the Secretary of State at DEFRA for approval before it can be implemented. Sussex IFCA say they are hoping for rapid signing off before another year of trawling further damages the sea-bed.

There was never any question of interference by the European Union, either before or after the Brexit legislation, according to Dr Sean Ashworth, deputy chief fisheries and conservation officer at Sussex ICFA. These near-shore waters have always been a matter for national or regional regulation. Dr Ashworth concedes that not all individual fishermen from Sussex or elsewhere will be entirely pleased with the new prohibition. “Some will be happy, others less happy”, he says. But those who recognise that the fishing industry must maintain stocks in a sustainable way should welcome it. 

Tackling Climate Change

Kelp once stretched along 40 km of the West Sussex coastline from Selsey to Shoreham, forming an underwater forest that extended at least 4 km seaward. It provided a vital habitat, nursery and feeding ground for seahorses, cuttlefish, lobster, sea bream and bass.  It also locked up huge quantities of carbon, helping to combat global climate change, while improving water quality and reducing coastal erosion by absorbing the power of ocean waves.

But within living memory, kelp in Sussex waters has diminished to almost nothing. Storm damage, changing fishing practices and the dumping of sediment spoils by dredging boats have taken their toll on this sensitive habitat.  The wildlife associated with it has all but disappeared, and the vital ecosystem services it provided have been lost. The aim is now to bring it all back.

Charles Clover, executive director of the Blue Marine Foundation, said: “This is an initiative that tackles climate change and overfishing impacts all at once, the first of its kind in the UK. This is exactly what we need to be doing in marine habitats all over the world”.

Lara Quinn who runs the monthly beach clean on behalf of the Marine Conservation Society writes: 

Single use plastics get a lot of media attention and we do find discarded plastic bottles, cutlery and straws left behind on the beach by people barbequing or picnicking. Uncollected, these items would undoubtedly be carried out to sea and pose a threat to marine life.

What is more noticeable, however, is the huge amount of fishing-related items we collect that are washed up by the tide – rope, string, netting, line, hooks, gloves, cable ties, and rubber protectors from lobster pots. 

There is a national scheme for recycling used fishing line, but disappointingly, this is not something the local fishing industry participates in. The National Geographic magazine recently reported that over half of all marine litter is fishing-related. To illustrate this we have constructed a metal fish, which we’ve filled with fishing-related litter found on the beach in Hastings and St Leonards over recent months to raise awareness of fishing litter.

As beach cleaning is brought in-house by Hastings Borough Council following an unsatisfactory contract with Kier, the coastline from Beachy Head to Hastings Pier is being designated a Marine Conservation Zone. This is in recognition of the special and unique habitats and marine life it hosts, so it’s vital to highlight the threat to marine life and habitats from the fishing industry.