The North Sea – Our Living Sea? What picture does this phrase
conjure up in your mind? A rocky reef bursting with brightly
coloured fish, corals and sponges? A boat trip in the company of
leaping dolphins and playful seals? Fishermen hauling nets
brimming with big, tasty fish? Living Seas are all these things
and more. But… Compared with historic levels, the total weight
of fish in the North Sea has dropped by 99% due to over-fishing.
In places, the damage caused to the seabed from unsustainable
practices – whether construction, dredging, offshore industry or
fishing - has resulted in it being altered beyond recognition.
The Wildlife Trusts aim to bring back “Living Seas”. To ensure
this happens, and our North Sea wildlife receives the protection
it urgently needs, twelve Wildlife Trusts (Northumberland,
Durham, Tees Valley, Yorkshire, Sheffield, Lincolnshire,
Derbyshire, Nottingham, Leicestershire and Rutland,
Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Northamptonshire and Peterborough
(BCNP), Norfolk, Suffolk), have emb