National marine park proposed at Plymouth, UK
Abigail McQuatters-Gollop of the Planktonplankton Plankton is a generic term for a wide variety of the smallest yet most important organisms form that drift in our oceans. They can exist in larger forms of more than 20cm as the larval forms of jellyfish, squid, starfish, sea urchins, etc. and can be algae, bacterial or even viral down to as small as 0.2µm. They are nutrient and light dependent, and form the essential foodchain baseline for larger dependent aquatic lifeforms. Fish species rely on the density and distribution of zooplankton to coincide with first-feeding larvae for good survival of their larvae, which can otherwise starve. Man-made impacts such as dredging, dams on rivers, waste dumping, etc can severely affect zooplankton density and distribution, which can in turn strongly affect larval survival and thus breeding success and stock strength of fish species and the entire ecosystem. They also form the essential basis of CO2 take up in our seas ecosystem, hence Global Warming. and Policy Research Group, Plymouth University, reports 3rd March 2019: The UK has 15 National Parks. All of these are terrestrial and celebrate our moors, mountains, and broads. Unlike other countries like Malaysia, Greece, India, Thailand, and Costa Rica, amongst others, as of spring 2019 the UK does not have any National Marine Parks.
This is a missed opportunity as the UK’s marine waters are amazingly biodiverse and important to our heritage and well-being.
The good news is there is a plan to right this wrong and create the UK’s first National Marine Park right here in Plymouth, Britain’s Ocean City, and the best place in the country to have a National Marine Park (admittedly, I may be a little biased).
Plymouth – Britain’s Ocean City and soon to host the UK’s first National Marine Park
My research group at the University of Plymouth has recently published a paper in Marine Policy exploring how a type of Marine Park, called a ‘City Marine Park’ due to its focus on coastal cities globally, can enhance the many benefits of living by the sea.
Firstly, a City Marine Park does not set out to further regulate or conserve the marine environment. Instead, a City Marine Park seeks to recognise an ocean and coastal space for its special importance for city community health, well-being, and heritage.
The intention of a City Marine Park is to encourage greater prosperity for the region and get people enjoying the coast and sea, with the hope this engagement will encourage a better understanding, appreciation, and care for the marine environment.
A City Marine Park will encourage pride in the local marine environment and the adjacent community, and, hopefully, increase sustainability and well-being for local citizens. In fact, City Marine Parks, as part of a global blue urbanism movement for happier and healthier cities, have the scope to help address multiple Sustainable Development Goals (Fig. 1).
Figure 1: Marine parks can help address multiple Sustainable Development Goals.
Modified from Pittman et al. 2019.
So, back to Plymouth. Plymouth is not a wealthy city. In some of our most socio-economically deprived areas children grow up without ever visiting the seaside, even though it is only a few miles away. A National Marine Park can provide the infrastructure to enable local schools to bring their students to the sea. Adding an educational element to the Plymouth seafront can encourage local citizens to learn about our marine waters and hopefully foster a sense of pride in our marine environment (Fig. 2).
Figure 2: Marine parks can increase access to and pride in the marine environment.
Modified from Pittman et al. 2019.
As the lyrics say:
Well in England’s South West is the county that’s best,
full of rolling green hills and a coast that’s been blessed,
and inside of the Sound lie the three Plymouth towns,
where everyone’s known as a Janner.
Janners, Janners, down in Plymouth we’re all known as Janners.
Indeed, we are blessed with an amazing coastline here in Plymouth. I love Plymouth and I’m proud to be (an honorary) Janner. I hope that creating the country’s first National Marine Park right here in Plymouth will highlight the amazing marine environment of Britain’s Ocean City.
Abigail, Plankton and Policy
Read more: Pittman, S.J., Rodwell, L.D., Shellock, R.J., Williams, M., Attrill, M.J., Bedford, J., Curry, K., Fletcher, S., Gall, S.C., Lowther, J., McQuatters-Gollop, A., Moseley, K.L. and Rees, S.E., (2019). Marine parks for coastal cities: A concept for enhanced community well-being, prosperity and sustainable city living. Marine Policy. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2019.02.012
Source: Plymouth University, 3rd March 2019. For further details, see https://planktonpolicy.org/2019/03/03/how-can-marine-parks-enhance-coastal-cities%EF%BB%BF
