ANOTHER leading wildlife organisation has added its voice to calls for increased protection for creatures in the North Sea from pressures including industrial pollution.
The RSPB has called on Prime Minister Tony Blair to fulfil his promise for a Marine Bill to protect wildlife in UK seas.
Greenpeace and The Wildlife Trusts also recently called for better protection.
According to the RSPB, industry has a key role to play in reducing the threat. The organisation has cited pollution, dredging and disturbance as being among the major threats to the likes of corals and seabirds.
More than 44,000 species of marine plants and animals - more than half the UK's wildlife - live in UK waters and more than 300 MPs signed an early day motion backing the call for comprehensive marine laws earlier this year.
The RSPB says that the failure of thousands of seabirds to breed in eastern England and Scotland this year, because of the scarcity of sand-eels, was a warning that all was not well.
Dr Sharon Thompson, the organisation's marine policy officer, said: "We should be proud of our own, vibrant corals and of all the other wildlife we host, and be doing all we can to protect it before it is too late.
"Never have our seas been in so much demand from so many competing interests and never has protection been more vital.
"Without it, many species will become extinct before we even know they are there. Failure to act now will indicate a shabby disregard for the wealth of marine wildlife for which we are responsible."
According to Defra, the UK has supported, and is experimenting with, areas closed to fishing and similar activities but the environmental benefits of restricted areas remains to be proved.
Defra says the EU has established regional advisory boards to gauge the views of environmental groups, fishermen and others in fisheries management, the first covering the North Sea.
l The RSPB has called on members to support its campaign and pledges of support will be presented to Government next year. An online petition can be found at www.rspb.org.uk/policy/marine/safeguard/index.asp
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