Our Weekly Marine Photograph —
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© Paul Naylor
www.marinephoto.co.uk

© Paul Naylor  www.marinephoto.co.uk
This picture features the shellfish Queen Scallop (Aequipecten opercularis), the outstretched tentacles of Brittle stars (Ophiothrix fragilis) and the surrounding seabed Maerl (Lithothmnion corallioides) which is a relatively hard, calcareous (coral-like) algae.

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MARINET is the voluntary network of Friends of the Earth Local Groups tasked with managing marine conservation issues for national Friends of the Earth. Membership is open not just to FOE Local Groups, but also to individuals and non-FOE organisations.

We are fully constituted and have a Steering Group who give their time free of salary. Our commitment is to protect UK seas and to address any issue likely to affect UK seas. We act through education, persuasion and campaigning. The priorities for our work, which vary over time, are identified by our membership.

Our work at the moment is focused on four main campaigns. These are:

• The implementation of the UK Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009
• The Reform of the EU Common Fisheries Policy
• Marine Pollution by sewage outfalls
• Opposition to Offshore Aggregate Dredging

Central to all of these campaigns is our work on:

• The Shoreline Management Plan
• Marine Reserves
• The ecosytem-based approach to marine management
• Action centred on the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive and OSPAR (the Oslo-Paris Convention for the Protection of the North East Atlantic).

We take no money from government, and are thus able to take a wholly independent stance on the issues involved with protection of the marine environment. We see our rôle as promoting strategies that deliver change realistically, and we do not pander to any particular interest, whether it be political, conservation or commercial.

Our independence ensures our integrity. Our independence also means that our finances are very slender with all our work being done voluntarily by our members.

Our independence is our greatest strength, yet poverty is our greatest weakness. We need funding to put ourselves in all the arenas, conferences and governmental meetings where policies are being forged and decisions made.

Therefore if you can help us in a constructive way, financially or otherwise, please get in touch with us. Nothing will be wasted, and all expenditure is fully accountable.

David Levy,
Chair, Marinet.