Paint-a-Fish still going strong!

‘Paint a Fish’ is a fun activity to run during the school holidays and engage the young ones in helping save our fish stocks!

Via the "Paint a Fish" campaign, Sea Champions are giving young people the chance to have a say on the future of our fish stocks by putting pressure on EU leaders during the final stages of the reform of the Common Fisheries Policy, scheduled to reach a conclusion by the end of June.
The campaign has already gathered incredible support from every EU member state with over 25,000 fish paintings in its ‘virtual fish stock’. It was one of the many activities that contributed to the outcome of the historic vote at the European Parliament on the 6th February 2013, when MEPs approved a report to end overfishing, responding to civil society demands.

But the work is not yet done and from now until the end of June, ‘Paint a Fish’ will be putting pressure on EU Fisheries Ministers to ensure that they support the European Parliament’s proposed report. Download the ‘Paint a Fish’ activity guide and check out www.paintafish.org/get-involved for more information and materials.

Pledge for marine protection in Scotland

The eagerly awaited plans to create a huge network of Marine Protected Areas around the coast of Scotland have now been published. In December, Scottish Natural Heritage and the Joint Nature Conservation Committee put forward 33 MPA proposals to the Scottish Parliament, including more sites for sea lochs, flameshell beds and fireworks anemones thanks to MCS.

Furthermore, four MPA search locations for dolphins, whales, basking sharks and large-scale features were identified, for which further information is being gathered. In total, the Scottish government is considering protecting 32,000 square miles of our seas, an area roughly as big as Scotland’s landmass itself!

Scottish Sea Champions have made a big push on collecting pledges of support over the winter which will be delivered to Scotland’s Environment Secretary in spring, prior to a public consultation this summer. So far, over 2,000 people have shown their support for the campaign. Can we reach 2,500? Sea Champions have been attending events far and wide to boost support.

You don’t have to live in Scotland to pledge – please pledge now!

Deadman’s finger sea slug, Loch Carron. Image: Paul Naylor.

Barmy about bins!

25 bins have now been installed on the Lee-on-Solent seafront thanks to Sea Champion Graham Smith, and it didn’t cost the council a penny. Graham contacted the council and told them about rubbish-busting firm “Zilch”, which provided the bins for free!

Sea Champion Graham Smith (second right) with Cllr Graham Burgess (far right).

 

 

200 Sea Champions!

From the Isle of Scilly to the Scottish Highlands we now have a network of 200 Sea Champions across the UK. Click here to see some of the amazing achievements from our first year of the Sea Champions programme - a seriously big well done and thank you to all!

 

Transforming dives in Scotland

Scottish Sea Champion Iain Morrison joined Volunteer Coordinator Matt Barnes at a talk for Deeside Divers in Aberdeen, primarily to encourage divers to get involved in Seasearch.

MCS needs volunteer sports divers all over the UK and Ireland to report what they are seeing underwater. This helps us map out the the sea bed and locate the richest sites for marine life, where there are problems and which areas need protecting.

Deeside Divers are now keen to transform their dives by taking part in Seasearch, and eight of them also signed up as MCS members.

Why not promote Seasearch at your local dive club?

 

 

 

“Wow, what an exciting day! This morning it was an honour to be asked to represent the Marine Conservation Society in an interview with ITV news regarding the impact of balloon and lantern releases on the marine environment. It all happened extremely quickly, but I managed to have enough time to prepare myself by brushing up on all the facts. It was a fantastic experience and I would like to say a big thank you to MCS for giving me the opportunity and introducing me to the role of Sea Champion Volunteer. "

Gemma James, Plymouth.

 

Big Beach Clean-up

22nd-28th April 2013

Register now!

Next month, you can join the fight against marine litter by taking part in the MCS/M&S Big Beach Clean-up. Over 110 beaches across the UK are going to sea Sea Champions and volunteers coming together to do a beach clean and litter survey which will highlight the issues of beach litter around our coastlines.

Hosted by your local M&S store team, the beach clean and survey will last a couple of hours, leaving the rest of the day free for you to enjoy the beach. If you’d like to take part, all you need to do is find your nearest beach on the map and register!

Check out our photo gallery from last year and message from Beachwatch Officer Lauren Eyles in this video

What to bring:
Water
Gloves
Suitable clothing
Seashore Safari Guide made especially for the event!

Last year over 6,000 people volunteered and collected 3,200 bin bags full of litter! The bags weighed in at over 11.5 tonnes. This included 12,800 wrappers and 2,850 tin cans.