Surfbirds News: July 2007 Archives
Mid-season reports from coastal RSPB reserves in Scotland suggest that the UK's seabirds are having yet another poor breeding season.
Cliffs in some parts of the north and west are near-empty, where there should be thousands of birds nesting. Climate change seems to be disrupting food availability. The RSPB is keen to ensure that areas seabirds use for feeding should receive greater protection, and the Society is calling for a Marine Bill.
Last week Prime Minister Gordon Brown made a half-hearted commitment to introducing a draft marine bill in his legislative programme, put out for consultation last week.
Guillemot, copyright Jeremy McClements
Martin Harper is the head of the RSPB's sustainable development department. Reacting to Gordon Brown's statement, he said: 'Increasing protection for marine wildlife has been an outstanding commitment for this government over the last decade. We are disappointed, therefore, that the Prime Minister remains to be fully convinced of this need.
'The protection of sites and species on land has not been mirrored in the marine environment, leaving species and habitats vulnerable to many threats. Any omission from this year's legislative programme remains a great concern to the RSPB and jeopardises the government's manifesto commitment.'
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