4.05 pm 24th Nov Update: The Welsh Government has taken down the online response form for its consultation on scallop dredging in Cardigan Bay.
Hi there, Please see below an update to the press release sent earlier today: Update: Welsh Government closes scallop dredging consultation – but threat remains The Welsh Government has taken down the online response form for its consultation on scallop dredging in Cardigan Bay. The moves follows warnings from ClientEarth, Marine Conservation Society and Whale and Dolphin Conservation that technical errors with the form mean respondents could have submitted answers opposite to those they mean. However, there are flaws in the consultation far more fundamental than these technical errors. The groups are worried that the consultation is unfairly weighted towards scallop dredging in the protected site. It asks leading questions and makes it hard to object to the whole concept of establishing a scallop fishery, particularly in marine protected areas. The marine protection and legal experts repeat their call for the Welsh Government to end this rushed, ill-considered consultation. It should re-think the whole proposal to open protected areas to such damaging activities.
3.00 pm 24th November Not only are questions unfair, technical errors mean the public may submit answers opposite to those they intend
Three environmental groups – Whale and Dolphin Conservation, Marine Conservation Society and ClientEarth – have today launched a complaint against the Welsh Government questioning the integrity of their consultation on proposals to open up the protected marine site in Cardigan Bay to damaging scallop dredging activities. The groups are calling on the Welsh Government to withdraw the consultation.
The issue of scallop dredging in Cardigan Bay is highly contentious, making the public consultation an important step in the decision-making process. The three groups consider that scallop dredging in line with the Welsh Government’s current proposals could be illegal. It is incompatible with the aims of the protected sites and the interests of the species, such as bottlenose dolphins, that the sites are designated for. The law governing activities in protected areas means that scalloping cannot go ahead if it could have a negative impact on the ecosystems within the site.
The groups are worried that the consultation is unfairly weighted towards scallop dredging in the protected site. It asks leading questions and makes it hard to object to the whole concept of establishing a scallop fishery, particularly in marine protected areas. Due to a technical glitch with the online questionnaire2, members of the public could end up unintentionally submitting a response that is the very opposite of what they want to tell the Welsh Government. The response given to some questions, including the most important question, changes automatically from ‘no’ to ‘yes’ (and vice versa) when the respondent is addressing later questions, as shown on the attached video. https://youtu.be/xlgPmtTbjf4
The three groups consider that scallop dredging is incompatible with the aims of protected sites and the features, namely bottlenose dolphins, sandbanks and reef habitats of this particular site. The site was sensibly initially closed to such fishing in 2010 after extensive public outcry from 10’s of scallop dredgers operating freely in the site.
What’s more, the consultation suffers from a technical glitch that could falsify respondents’ answers.
Mick Green, of Whale and Dolphin Conservation said “Scallop dredging destroys almost everything and smashes the seabed life forms to pieces and quickly reduces a rich ecosystem to a sandy or muddy desert. Many of the bare sea floors covered in loose sediments, that we have come to see as natural, are artefacts created by various forms of trawling. The Welsh Government should have ambition in their conservation sites to restore such damaged habitats and not allow repeated ongoing damage.”
Jean-Luc Solandt of Marine Conservation Society added: “It’s a sad indictment of our governments that after protecting Cardigan Bay, and giving it the chance to recover, the Welsh Government want to open it up to destructive forces of scallop dredging once again. Scallop dredging is widely known to be the most singularly destructive fishing method, for fish, biodiversity and ecosystems. How on earth can we call this a ‘Special Area of Conservation’ with this sort of management?
Catherine Weller, a lawyer at ClientEarth, also said “Scallop dredging in Cardigan Bay would be enormously damaging to fragile habitats and threatened species like the bottlenose dolphin. It could also be illegal. The proposal is highly controversial, so we are surprised that the government consultation should weight the scales so heavily in favour of dredging.
“Technical errors in how the online questionnaire works compound how rushed and ill-considered this process is. Responses received to date may not reflect the real views of the respondents. That is not acceptable. The Welsh Government must immediately withdraw the online form and relaunch the consultation.”
The three groups are also calling on the Welsh Government to re-think the whole proposal to open protected areas to such damaging activities.
Contacts:
WDC: Mick Green, Senior Policy Advisor, 07837253074. Danny Groves, Communications Officer, 01249 449534
The Marine Conservation Society: Dr Jean-Luc Solandt, Senior Biodiversity Policy Officer, 07793 118 387. Press line: 01989 566017.
ClientEarth: Mike Haines | Communications manager, 0207 749 5978 m. 07710 874 819 e. mhaines@clientearth.org
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