Did they just propose banning anchoring on half the South coast?

[Carib]

Probably old news but I've just found a Defra report from 2017 which studied the effect of anchoring and mooring on protected areas.

It's 525 pages long - no, I haven't read much of it - but the conclusion?

"The risk assessment results suggest that anchoring and mooring pressures are not likely to be of management concern for most MPAs." (Although it does say this should be "interpreted cautiously due to the inherent uncertainties and assumptions made when estimating exposure footprints and sensitivity and the gaps in evidence for activity levels and distribution, particularly recreational anchoring and mooring."

Let's hope sense prevails - you never know..

 

[oldharry]

Probably old news but I've just found a Defra report from 2017 which studied the effect of anchoring and mooring on protected areas.

It's 525 pages long - no, I haven't read much of it - but the conclusion?

"The risk assessment results suggest that anchoring and mooring pressures are not likely to be of management concern for most MPAs." (Although it does say this should be "interpreted cautiously due to the inherent uncertainties and assumptions made when estimating exposure footprints and sensitivity and the gaps in evidence for activity levels and distribution, particularly recreational anchoring and mooring."

Let's hope sense prevails - you never know..

Yes remember that one. Generally ignored as too many 'uncertainties and assumptions'. In other words it wasnt politically correct to suggest anchoring is not an issue. Conservation is very good at blacking any report that points outside the box , however factual it may be. Seen it happen several times.

 

[Carib]

And meanwhile.. Supertrawlers spent almost 3,000 hours fishing in UK marine protected areas in 2019

Perhaps they should focus on this kind of thing first!

 

[Babylon]

Well done Old Harry for your immense tenacity over all these years!

Conservation isn't all bad (thank goodness) but it is a relentless industry looking for the next ideological target, like so-called progressive politics (having run out of important things like stopping the slave-trade or introducing safety in workplaces) is a rapacious industry intent on neutering everyone who doesn't agree with their latest mad ambitions. It'll all only stop in about 100 years time when China eventually owns us outright and tells everyone to just shut up and do exactly as they are told... which they're already of course doing in their African colonies.

In the meantime, let's just keep on exercising our existing rights of navigation.

 

[oldharry]

And meanwhile.. Supertrawlers spent almost 3,000 hours fishing in UK marine protected areas in 2019

Perhaps they should focus on this kind of thing first!

I've been saying this for years; They make a huge fuss about 20kg or so of anchor , but turn a completely blind eye to beam trawlers towing 5 tons of trawl across the seabed a couple of miles away. I ve seen it happen off Studland. I pointed out to MMO. All they could say was its not illegal. I pointed it out to NGM, particularly as seahorses spend 6 months of the year in deep water exactly where the Rose Marie from Newhaven was operating at the time in Poole Bay. Oh they dont harm seahorses was the reply, they are too small to be affected!. These things penetrate on average 30cms of seabed in a wide swathe, with all the finesses of a motorway construction excavator! I know first hand how much they have destroyed along the South Coats in the last 20 years. But conservationists - even the reputable ones - are too concerned with inshore habitats which might be disturbed by our anchors...... Yes I am having a rant, and I dont apologise for it because people who say they care about the seabed and those who have a legal duty to do something, have just turned their backs on this massive problem

 

[Seven Spades]

Oldharry your recent posts have a tone or resignation that the march to banning anchoring is unstoppable. I hope you are wrong. Does no one in government sail? Can no one see the absurdity of all this. There are hundreds of miles of coastline along the south coast of England yet. The numbers of areas where you can anchor probably covers about 50 football pitches, I would love to know on an average days how many boats are actually at anchor along that coast. I bet it is fewer than 200 a day averaging from Julynto August and fewer than that for the rest of the year.

 

[Keith 66]

In the end how exactly are they going to enforce it? Marine police cant police the PWC's properly cos there arent enough of them. Natural England wont because their officers are spread too thin because of restructuring downwards. EA staff seem to spend most of their time in offices.

 

[duncan_m]

Any further news on this? I'm a little slow to the mark but have had a thumb through the report. Also pinged the nice people of the RYA an email to see if they have any thoughts. I'm not impressed and am not resigned to it. If I have to flyer every boater on the east coast I will.

Based on even just the summary the average boater is throwing all their litter overboard and emptying their holding tanks in nature reserves.

Can't speak for the boats currently anchored around me but I spent 2 hours doing litter picking on the beach today and we're generally pretty careful about tanks etc.

Would be nice to see something more progressive like making it mandatory for all UK marinas to have functioning pump out facilities.

 

[ryanroberts]

Poo is gross and bad very near shores and people but the impact of mullet food is probably much less bad than 1000 boats in a small space covered in 80s antifouling chemicals?

 

[duncan_m]

It's a fair coment regards antifouling but stopping anchoring isn't going to make much difference on the Crouch, Roach, Blackwater etc. boats sit in marinas, mid river moorings and go up and down all the time anyway.

There's some interesting research going on in the Baltic sea and I'd love to see better regulations and services around keeping the bottom clean without harming sealife.

Why is it anchoring that's the issue?

 

[ryanroberts]

It's visible I guess. It's probably easy to twist any end of discussions like this into unreasonable monsters. And imagine your opponent is more powerful too

 

[Babylon]

'Progressives' need an 'enemy' in order to make any progress. Boaters are an easy target.

 

[duncan_m]

It's visible I guess. It's probably easy to twist any end of discussions like this into unreasonable monsters. And imagine your opponent is more powerful too

From a little (very) basic research it doesn't seem that there's not a huge number on the HPMA side in terms of support, maybe 5k-10k. Mostly these guys from what I can find: Highly Protected Marine Areas: Time for action, not more words

A quick survey of the other boat in the anchorage we're in would suggest not supporting, though biased audience I guess. RYA has 110k members if you're to believe their website.

My gut instinct is that if this did go anywhere that at least some of the newspapers would sport headlines like 'Fishing to be Banned' which unfortunately is likely to get more interest and support than 'No Anchoring for Yachties'

 

[oldharry]

No anchoring for yo

From a little (very) basic research it doesn't seem that there's not a huge number on the HPMA side in terms of support, maybe 5k-10k. Mostly these guys from what I can find: Highly Protected Marine Areas: Time for action, not more words

A quick survey of the other boat in the anchorage we're in would suggest not supporting, though biased audience I guess. RYA has 110k members if you're to believe their website.

My gut instinct is that if this did go anywhere that at least some of the newspapers would sport headlines like 'Fishing to be Banned' which unfortunately is likely to get more interest and support than 'No Anchoring for Yachties'

Quite right, Editors would not see 'No anchoring for Yachties' as newsworthy. What they love is 'Wealthy Yachties destroying environment by anchoring' A fiction heavily and successfully exploited and not just by NGM!