Government U-turn prolongs destruction of valuable Lyme Bay coral reefs
Lyme Bay facts
- Devon Wildlife Trust has spent almost £0.5M gathering data on this area of sea bed over a period of ten years. Throughout that period DWT has been working closely with scallop fishers seeking a sustainable solution which would enable acceptable levels of fishing to continue whilst protecting this important habitat.
- Video evidence recorded on 16 June 2006 shows clearly that the sea bed inside the voluntary area has been destroyed by dredging.
- According to Government statistics scallop fishing began in earnest in Lyme Bay in 1975. The traditional fisheries in this area are potting and trawling.
- However until 3-4 years ago scallop dredging was a “fill-in” activity – most boats trawled for 9-10 months of the year. The proposed closed area is just one of many areas that support scallop stocks.
- In the last 6 months the number of boats scallop dredging on the reefs has increased from 6-8 to 16-18 at times. The main reason for this is that the fuel price has increased moving people from trawling for fish to dredging for scallops.
- Scallop fishermen have reported gross earnings of £3500 a day – this has increased dredging activity.
- Many other industries depend on the reefs including potting, netting, angling and diving. These will benefit from the closure and strongly support this proposal.
The Minister announced only a voluntary agreement to halt dredging in some areas of Lyme Bay, rather than the statutory ban on 60 square miles that is needed to protect some rare species and habitats.
Click here to view a video of the destruction caused.
The Director of Devon Wildlife Trust, Paul Gompertz, said, ‘The government has failed to make a decision on this matter – they have simply bowed to the scallop dredgers’ demands. If this occurred on land, where the world could see the wanton destruction taking place to the environment, there would be uproar’.
‘Ben Bradshaw recently told an international conference we have to stop the dredging, yet has utterly failed to protect this important site in our own inshore waters’, said Paul Gompertz. ‘This bowing to the demands of a few scallop fishermen exposes this government’s much trumpeted environmental credentials as completely bogus’.
English Nature and Devon Wildlife Trust requested an Emergency Stop Order on dredging in Lyme Bay in May. No decision to refuse the order has been made.
The Devon Wildlife Trust is now taking legal advice to see if the latest decision can be overturned.
