Is it time to change the way we view the use of our seas? By Martin Attrill & Monty Halls

By Martin Attrill & Monty Halls

We are entering a new era in how we use the seas around the UK. Up until
fairly recently, our waters have been an open environment where fishermen
can hunt their catch without great restrictions beyond the odd offshore
structures, such as oil rigs, or a few military areas. Consequently, very little of
our UK seabed has not been impacted by fishing in some way. Looking to the
next 20 years, things will be very different. Significant areas of our coastal
waters will be given over to renewable energy developments, marine
conservation zones and, potentially, aquaculture, restricting the activities, and
thus the impact, of the fishing industry through either legislation or simple
physical exclusion (trawling through an array of underwater tidal turbines
would not be possible, for example). So how much seabed is involved in
these new developments?

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