Conservation & Licences in the Seaweed Industry

Conservation and Licences Seaweed Gathering and the Law Whether you can, or cannot, gather seaweed is a legally complex issue as it depends on the ownership of land, devolved legal administrations and customary usage. Land can be divided into three categories: Above the high-water Between high and low water Below the low-water mark The boundaries between these thre areas are themselves hard to identify. For instance, is the low water mark the line of Mean Low Water Spring Tides (MLWS) or Lowest Astronomical Tides (LAT)? There are no detailed maps available showing who owns what and where. Essentially, if you want to gather sea-weed you have to obtain the permission of the land-owner - unless it is floating on the surface of the sea. There is a public right to collect this resource - known as "wrack". In Cornwall, the Crown Estate owns all land below the LAT. The foreshore is often owned by the Local Authority, Duchy Estate or landowners. An additional complication is that some intertidal areas carry a nature designation - Sites of Special Scientific Interest, and sub-tidal areas can be classified as Special Areas of Conservation. Seaweed collection on an intertidal Site of Special Scientic Interest (SSSI) could be a criminal offence - and there might also be a civil liability for trespass. According to Natural England - who investigate and prosecute: It is an offence for any person to intentionally or recklessly damage or destroy any of the features of special interest of an SSSI, or to disturb wildlife for which the site was notified. SSSI’s are legally protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, as amended by the Countryside and Rights of Way (CROW) Act 2000 and the Natural Environment and Rural Communities (NERC) Act 2006. But where are these SSSI's? They are often not identifiable, though there is an online resource at http://www.natureonthemap.org.uk/. Follow this simple guideline: Do not pick any seaweed from the intertidal without requesting permission from the landowner If permission is sought, then it might be necessary to obtain consents from Natural England who will look at the cumulative impact of the proposed activity based on an Appropriate Assessment. Do not collect seaweed from above the high water mark as - apart from issues of ownership, the stranded weed has an important function for protecting biodiversity. Source: Verbal conversation with Crown Agents Nov 2009, Cornwall. Rory MacPhee, (LlB PGCE MIfL) is a designer maker and lecturer in environmental management. He sits on the Fal/Helford SAC Advisory Group and is a trustee of the Royal Cornwall Polytechnic Society Natural History Museum Seaweed Survey Big Seaweed Search Seaweeds are easy to find and occur all around the UK coastline. There are a staggering 650 seaweed species in the UK, around 7% of the world’s species, and they play a vital role in the functioning of the marine environment. Scientists think that the effects of climate change and the spread of invasive species are starting to have an effect on where they are found but they need more information to be sure. This is where you can help. Identify the seaweeds you spot on the UK's coast and tell us what you find. This will help researchers from the British Phycological Society and Natural History Museum to find out what is happening to our seaweeds. Take a walk along the coast and help us monitor the effects of climate change and invasive species on the UK's seaweeds.	Hazel Tompkins, Kelp on the Lizard,2009
	The Environmental Impacts of Harvesting Beach-Cast Seaweeds Zemke-White, W. L., Speed, S. & McClary, D. School of Biological Sciences, University of Auckland, Private Bag 92019, Auckland, New Zealand; Kingett Mitchell Ltd, Auckland, New Zealand *ABSTRACT* Until recently the commercial collection of beach-cast seaweeds in New Zealand was prohibited but the legislation has recently been amended to allow permitting of this activity. This review collates existing information on the role of beach -cast seaweed in coastal ecosystems to describe the nature and extent of the effects that commercial removals of beach cast seaweed may have on the marine environment. It outlines the amount of beach-cast seaweed available for harvest in New Zealand and the fate of seaweed when not collected; reviewing current information on the importance of beach -cast seaweeds and its inhabitants on: feeding and nesting shorebirds, and nutritional contribution of seaweed inhabitants to nearshore coastal ecosystems when seaweed is washed back into the sea It also identifies key research gaps related to any environmental impacts that the removal of beach cast seaweed might have. Journal of Phycology,Vol 39, Issue s1, Pages 63-63 Pub Online 12 Jan 2004 © 2009 Phycological Society of America
	Crissy Haydon Keneck Sands 2009
Hazel Tompkins Kelp on the Lizard 2009 Seaweed floating on the surface of the sea can be rightfully harvested under the common law right of public fishing.	£5 million for research into seaweed power Could seaweed be the best future source of biofuel? Seaweed and boats have never got along well. In fouling propellers, keels and rudders, seaweed is typically regarded as a nuisance. But that view will change if the BioMara project proves successful: its aim is to use seaweed to produce biofuel. Backed to the tune of £5 million of public funding, researchers at the Scottish Association for Marine Science in Oban have begun selecting marine algae with high natural oil content, and investigating methods of cultivation. Offshore seaweed farms are envisaged in remote island areas. Governments acting over dwindling supplies of fossil fuels are demanding a switch to vegetable-based biofuels. But as rainforest and land used to grow food are turned over to oil palm and soybean for biofuel, there are fears of ecological ruin and food shortages. Seaweed farmed from the sea may offer a safe solution. Coincidentally, the project launched as south coast harbour and estuary sailors faced mud turned green by explosive summer growth of gut weed, fertilised by run-off from surrounding agricultural land and sewage treatment plants. The annual problem is worsening, but it could herald the arrival of more eco-friendly motorboating.
	Boat News - http://www.rightboat.com/news.php/176/£5%20million.html
Consultation on the Marine Strategy Framework Directive: Putting in place the legal framework for implementation
This is a joint consultation between Defra, the Scottish Government, the Welsh Assembly Government and the Department of the Environment in Northern Ireland. It invites your views on the draft regulations with which the Government and Devolved Administrations propose to transpose the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) (Directive 2008/56/EC). The Directive must be transposed by July 2010, and these regulations put in place a legal framework that will enable steps to be taken to implement the Directive, and on which there will be further consultations between 2010 and 2016. All responses should be received by 22 January 2010. Consultation documents: •Letter to consultees •Consultation document, including a commentary on the regulations, and Annex A (PDF 496 KB) •Annex B: The draft regulations (PDF 138 KB) •Annex C: Impact assessment (PDF 138 KB) •Annex D: The Marine Strategy Framework Directive (Directive 2008/56/EC) •Annex E: List of consultees (PDF 221 KB) •Annex F: List of Northern Ireland consultees (PDF 34 KB)	Definition of "good environmental status": (a) means the environmental status of marine waters where these provide ecologically diverse and dynamic oceans and seas which are clean, healthy and productive within their intrinsic conditions, and the use of the marine environment is at a level that is sustainable, thus safeguarding the potential for uses and activities by current and future generations" (b) hydro-morphological, physical and chemical properties of the ecosystems, including those properties which result from human activities in the area concerned, support the ecosystems as described above. Anthropogenic inputs of substances and energy, including noise, into the marine environment do not cause pollution effects. Annex B: The Draft Regulations, page 16, 1 (1) (a) and (b) Chondrus Crispus Production: Youtube Video by Rory MacPhee talking about the complexities of seaweed licences. Definitely worth a visit. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hR7MjZ797mA
*LATEST NEWS*
Protecting coast and sea to become law A new bill to protect marine and coastal areas around the UK should become law this year. http://www.nhm.ac.uk/about-us/news/2009/january/ protecting-coast-and-sea-to-become-law25917.html Top sites for algae revealed http://www.nhm.ac.uk/about-us/news/2008/january/ top-sites-for-algae-revealed18880.html Important Plant Algae Areas.pdf (http://www.ukbap.org.uk/species.aspx)	Celebrate our seaweeds and their freshwater relatives: top UK spots pinpointed for the first time It may just be weed and green slime to most of us, but experts able to identify thousands of different native species of seaweeds and their freshwater algal relatives have for the first time located the best sites for them across the UK. The diversity and variety of locations where these marine and freshwater algae are found are celebrated today as a list of the most important sites in the UK is published in a joint report from Plantlife, the British Phycological Society and the Natural History Museum.
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