The UK hosts an international conference on climate change (COP 26) this year, and our local MP Sally-Ann Hart has been showing off her green and grassy credentials (see below) by championing seagrass – but local fishermen feel the need for them to be protected too.
Paul Joy, chairman of Hastings Fishermen’s Protection Society, claims they were the sacrificial lamb in order to get a post-Brexit trade deal at Christmas, and Sally-Ann Hart has said this was an area of compromise in the negotiations, and this was “hugely disappointing” ; but overall “many parts” of the deal were positive and “as an MP I have to look at the deal as a whole”.
And negotiations during COP 26 will no doubt involve some compromises too, in order to reach an agreement on stopping climate change (which includes damage to sea life).
But some of the worst damage done to natural life on the sea floor, like seagrass, can also result from bad fishing practices by foreign trawlers, in what are supposed to be protected “Marine Conservation” areas so local fishermen will continue to need help too.
Image Credits: Jstuby at English Wikipedia, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons , Twitter .