A new report from the House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee published today is calling for Government action to “stop using seas as a sewer” and warning that the Government’s ‘out of sight, out of mind’ treatment of the oceans is putting marine resources at great risk.

The Sustainable Seas Report says:

“We are treating our seas as a sewer. Most of the action required to protect the seas relies on action on land. More than 80 per cent of marine pollution is from land-based sources, reaching the ocean through waterways, sewers and drains.”

“Excess nutrients from fertilisers, mismanaged waste and contaminants such as heavy metals, radioactive materials, pharmaceuticals, oils and untreated sewage all pollute the sea.”

UK is lagging behind other EU countries on nitrate pollution

The Committee wants to see legally binding targets for water quality underpinned by clear milestones which are needed to reduce chemical pollutants from land-based sources, commenting:

“It is worrying that the UK is lagging behind other countries in the EU with regards to nitrate pollution, and much greater progress must be made to reducing land-based sources of chemical pollution.”

“The Government should, as part of its Environment Bill, produce legally binding targets on water quality in-line with or exceeding those set out in the EU Water Framework Directive. These targets should be underpinned by clear milestones.”

The report refers to the EAC’s recent inquiry into UK Progress on Reducing Nitrate Pollution which found that 86 per cent of English rivers did not reach good ecological status in 2016, which is lower than the EU average, and that UK bathing waters are seventh from the bottom in the EU.

Marine conservation in UK waters - current approach is not working

Commenting on marine conservation, the report says:

“The Government claims to have met its targets for marine conservation in UK waters. However the current approach is not working with too many harmful activities occurring across too wide an area. Fisheries are not adequately incorporated into marine planning and few Marine Protected Areas have management plans or ongoing monitoring in place.”

The EAC is highlighting a range of actions needed on climate change, sustainable fisheries and aquaculture, and marine conservation.

With plastic pollution in oceans set to treble in the next 10 years, the MPs are calling on the Government to bring forward the UK’s 2042 target date for achieving zero avoidable plastic waste and to rapidly decarbonise the economy to meet net-zero emissions by 2050.

The report says there is much more that the Government could do to prevent waste reaching the ocean, both domestically and by not exporting waste to countries with poor recycling infrastructure.

It also flags up the fact that long-term harm from plastic pollution is unknown - according to the Government’s Chief Scientific Adviser ‘because we haven’t looked hard enough’.

According to the EAC, the Government’s ambition to protect 30 per cent of the world’s oceans by 2030 will only be meaningful if it commits to an ecologically coherent network of Marine Protected Areas and commits to government-backed monitoring and enforcement.

“Given what we have heard about the monitoring and enforcement of existing marine protected areas we are yet to be convinced that the Government’s plans will result in more than just lines on a map” the report says.

The report also warns that the seas face a triple threat from climate change causing warming, deoxygenation and acidification – even under a best case scenario warming of 1.5^o C the world is set to lose 90% of all coral reefs globally.

The EAC says the UK must act to drive global efforts to protect the oceans with a legally binding ‘Paris Agreement for the Sea’, including a conference of parties, that meets annually with a review conference every five years, to designate marine protected areas.

Deep sea mining risks catastrophic impacts on seafloor species and habitats

The report also warns that deep sea mining would have catastrophic impacts on the seafloor site and its inhabitants, saying that the case for deep sea mining has not yet been made.

The MPs commented:

“We heard that Environmental Impact Assessments are very difficult to undertake for the deep sea and that there was little evidence that mitigation measures such as setting aside areas of the seafloor will mitigate the damage and allow for the recolonisation of habitats and species recovery.“

The EAC expressed concern that the International Seabed Authority ISA, the licensing body for seabed exploration, also stands to benefit from licence revenues, describing it as a clear conflict of interest. The report says:

“The Government must commit not to pursue licences for polymetallic sulfides/ seafloor massive sulfides found at active hydrothermal vents within its own jurisdiction and internationally. The UK should utilise its substantial experience in regulating marine industries and its influence with the International Seabed Authority (ISA) to impose a moratorium on exploitation licences in these areas as ISA develops its exploitation guidelines. “

Introducing the report, Environmental Audit Committee Chair Mary Creagh MP said:

“Our children deserve to experience the wonders of the ocean but climate change poses a triple whammy of threats from ocean warming, deoxygenation and acidification, which are decimating marine life.

“We have to stop treating our seas as a sewer. Plastics, chemicals, and sewage are choking our oceans, polluting our water and harming every ocean species from plankton to polar bears. Supporting Indonesia and Malaysia to reduce plastic while simultaneously exporting our contaminated plastics to them shows the lack of a joined-up approach at the heart of the Government's strategy.

“The Government’s ‘out of sight, out of mind’ attitude on the seas must change. We are calling on the Government to push for the creation of a legally-binding ‘Paris Agreement for the Sea’ to protect the world’s oceans.”

The EAC says urgent action is needed now to:

• Develop a Paris-style agreement to protect the world’s oceans
• Rapidly decarbonise the economy to meet net-zero emissions by 2050
• Bring forward the 2042 target date for achieving zero avoidable plastic waste
• Ban plastic packaging that is difficult or impossible to recycle
• Introduce legally binding targets for water quality to reduce chemical pollutants from land

Click here to download the full report Sustainable Seas Report