N ew s
Local communities to share stories of
the East Anglian coast
Pamela Pearson,
also known as
‘the Wallasea
Mermaid’, will be
the first person to
share her story as
part of Holding
Back the Tide – a
new Heritage
Lottery funded
project delivered
by CoastNet.
Pamela grew up on the banks of the
Crouch Estuary in Essex where her
parents ran the Wallasea Yacht Club.
Pictured here, at the age of 20, in her
homemade mermaid’s tail you can
understand why she went on to be a
professional synchronised swimmer –
having nursed her passion for being
on and in the waters of the Crouch
from a young age.
News in brief
● Caribbean countries plan early
tsunami warning system by 2010
Caribbean nations will set up a joint
tsunami early warning centre by
2010, governments agreed at a
meeting in Panama in March.
Supporters want the centre to relay
information from national geological
institutes across the region, that
could help prevent deaths and
infrastructure damage in the event
of a tsunami.
4 The edge Spring 2008
The project will involve collecting
stories, pictures and artefacts from
East Anglian communities to tell
stories of coastal change in the
region over the past 50 years or
more and culminate in a travelling
exhibition that celebrates this
coast and changes faced as told by
its inhabitants.
“The telling and sharing of stories
can generate great pride in both
individuals and communities, as well
as reinforcing the value of the coast
itself”, says CoastNet’s newest team
member, Suzanne Gattrell, who is
coordinating the project.
For more information contact
Suzanne Gattrell,
Project Coordinator:
suzanne.gattrell@coastnet.org.uk
● Mediterranean tuna fleet in race for
the last bluefin
The most comprehensive analysis yet
of the Mediterranean bluefin tuna fleet
shows it conservatively having twice
the fishing capacity of current quotas
and more than three and a half times
the catch levels recommended by
scientists to avoid stock collapse
according to a new report by WWF,
Race for the last bluefin.
The fleet is so bloated that just
covering its costs implies that a third
of its fishing would be illegal, with the
worst over-capacity culprits being
Turkey, Italy, Croatia, Libya, France
and Spain says the report.
WWF is calling on concerned
countries to dramatically reduce
capacity in this fishery as a matter of
urgency ahead of the 2008 fishing
season that starts end-April.
Solutions focus proves
a success for SEA
conference
CoastNet’s first conference of
2008, on Strategic Environmental
Assessment, proved yet again the
popularity of CoastNet-style
conferences with a strong
emphasis on practical problems
and solutions to implementation
of SEA in coastal and marine
situations. The approach was
complemented by some thought-
provoking contributions on the
role of SEA in environmental
justice, and on SEA as a learning
tool for sustainable development.
Beverley Walker, of Royal
Haskoning Scotland, who made a
keynote presentation commented,
“It’s the best conference I have
been to for years”.
See www.coastnet.org.uk for
the conference outputs.
● Uncovering the mysteries of
oceanic bacteria
A team of MIT researchers is trying to
understand how microbes living in the
oceans play a critical role in regulating
Earth’s environment. The researchers
have devised a new method to analyse
gene expression in complex microbial
populations and say the work could
help better understand how oceans
respond to climate change.
● IMO to discuss shipping carbon
emissions cuts
The International Maritime
Organisation (IMO) is to discuss
binding measures to reduce carbon
dioxide emissions from international
shipping. In April the body’s marine
environment protection committee will
explore a range of options for tackling
the issue.
Imcore to begin where
Corepoint ends
Imcore, Innovative Management for
Coastal Resources, is an Interreg
IVB project and successor to the
Corepoint project. Provisionally
approved by the North West Europe
Programme, Imcore will enable
many of the Corepoint partners to
continue to work together and apply
lessons learned and techniques
developed to the issue of climate
change in coastal areas. It is hoped
that the project will start in April.
TV Coast’s, Mark Horton,
speaks at APPG
The Coastal and
Marine All Party
Parliamentary
Group held its AGM
in February with Dr
Mark Horton from the popular
Coast series delivering a
passionate address on the major
challenges facing the UK’s coast.
His enthusiasm for the coast, and
concern for the threatened
coastal heritage and archaeology
stimulated contributions from the
audience and a lengthy debate.
CoastNet working in Wales
CoastNet has won a contract to
support CCW (Countryside Council
for Wales) in taking forward the
‘Making the most of the coast’
initiative in North West Wales. Its
focus will be the Menai Straight and
Conwy Bay Natura 2000 nature
conservation site, but taking into
account the wider priorities and
pressures in that area of NW Wales.
CoastNet will be working with local
and regional stakeholders to identify
the best approach to the creation of
a sustainable coastal management
framework and action plan.
News in brief
● Maine wants lobster fisheries
certified sustainable
According to the Associated Press,
the US Maine lobster industry is
seeking to have its lobster certified
as sustainable by the London-
based Marine Stewardship Council.
● Greatest glacier ice loss recorded
Latest official figures from the
World Glacier Monitoring Service
show that the world’s glaciers are
shrinking at record rates and many
could disappear within decades,
the UN Environment Programme
reports. Data from close to 30
reference glaciers in nine mountain
ranges indicate that between the
years 2004-2005 and 2005-2006 the
average rate of melting and
thinning more than doubled.
● North Pacific right whale receives
new legal protection
The US federal government in
March declared the North Pacific
right whale ‘endangered’ under the
federal Endangered Species Act,
following petitions and litigation
from the Center for Biological
Diveristy. The whale, once ranging
from California to Alaska and across
the North Pacific to Russia and
Japan, is now the most endangered
large whale in the world.
N ew s
● Wind and wave developments
A new study commissioned by the
Scottish government has found that
wind turbines will not put tourists off
visiting Scotland. According to
researchers at Glasgow’s Caledonian
University carrying out the survey,
three-quarters of visitors surveyed
said wind farms had a positive or
neutral effect on the landscape, and
97% said wind farms would have no
impact on their decision to visit
Scotland again.
This is good news for the plethora of
wind and wave development
programmes in the pipeline or
underway such as that by British Gas
owner, Centrica, who is now set to
push ahead with one of the UK's most
ambitious offshore wind generation
building programmes off the
Lincolnshire coast after it secured a
long-term contract on the MV
Resolution, the world's largest
turbine-installing barge.
Spanish company Iberdrola has also
begun testing its wave energy pilot in
Santoña, Cantabria, which will
become the first of this kind to
be installed in Europe. And UK tidal
energy firm, Marine Current Turbines
has announced its plans to install the
world's first commercial scale, grid-
connected tidal energy generator at
Strangford Lough in Northern Ireland
late in April. The project is expected
to generate enough electricity for
1,000 homes.
In North America, proposals for a
deep water farm off the coast of
Martha's Vineyard has been met with
enthusiasm while the Pacific Gas &
Electric Corporation were given a
permit to study and possibly develop
wave energy off the coast of
Northern California.
The edge Spring 2008 5