The self-governing British Isle of Jersey announced in late August it would increase its percentage of protected waters by 15%.
Now, 21.7% of Jersey’s seas will be protected from trawling and other damaging fishing practices. Coming into force on September 1st, the new regulations target some of the most valuable and vulnerable habitat surrounding the Channel island.
For those unaware, Jersey is a semi-autonomous quasi micro-nation of Norman-British heritage; one of 3 considered “Crown Protectorates” under the British Commonwealth.
Officially called a “Bailiwick,” Jersey administers its own environmental laws and regulations, which it often does in consultation with both French and British officials given its position in the English Channel.
Jersey’s Minister for the Environment, Mary Le Hegerat said Jersey’s seas were “one of the island’s greatest natural assets” and that “important, structurally complex zones” of ocean around the island acted as feeding grounds and nurseries for both fish stocks and other marine life valued for biodiversity.
The Jersey Government is actively working with its fishing industry to open up new fishing areas less sensitive to disturbance, and the entire network of protected areas will continue to be managed through the Bailiwick’s Marine Spatial Plan, which is prepared in consultation with French authorities.
“Protecting important habitats today helps ensure Jersey’s waters remain productive and biologically rich in the future,” said Jersey’s head of marine resources Francis Binney. “At the same time, we recognize the challenges facing the fishing industry and are committed to working with fishers to build a resilient and economically sustainable sector.”
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“This is not about choosing between conservation and fishing—it is about ensuring that Jersey continues to have both healthy seas and a successful fishing industry for decades to come.”
It’s not an unreachable goal, as scientific observation of marine protected areas around the world consistently see that protecting the richest marine environments tends to increase fish stocks in the exploitable sees surrounding them in such a way as to be more valuable to the fishing industry than if they were open to commercial fishing.
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