Help us create a sustainable future for Devon's marine wildlife

DWT supporters have contributed over £18,000 to help us continue our Sustainable Fisheries project - but we need to raise £30,000 by the end of 2012. Can you help?

2011 has inspired both a great deal of hope and a lot of frustration amongst people who care about the UK's marine wildlife. Hope, because after years of hard

work and negotiation between all those whose lives and livelihoods are connected with the sea, a recommeded network of Marine Conservation Zones was put forward to the UK government. And hope, too, because many thousands of

Wildlife Trust supporters added their voice to the case for protection of marine wildlife by signing a Petition Fish scale.

Our Petition Fish campaign continues to give you the chance to impress upon the government the importance of creating a network of sites that will offer protection for precious marine creatures and habitats. This campaigning work will continue well into 2012 because - and here's where the frustration comes in - the UK government now seems to be delaying the process of creating

Marine Conservation Zones, and it appears might not be committed to designating more than a fraction of the suggested network of sites. This would be a serious blow to the future health of our seas.

Devon Wildlife Trust has been here before: it took 18 years of building the evidence and campaigning to ensure that we gained legal protection for the delicate reefs of Lyme Bay from damage by scallop dredgers. But eventually we succeeded and in 2008 a 60-square-mile exclusion zone was created, making it illegal to dredge the sea bed inside the zone. And the good news is that since then coral, sea fans and sponges have started to recover on the damaged reefs.

Devon Wildlife Trust has now embarked on another important aspect of marine conservation: sustainable fisheries. The case of Lyme Bay proved that unsustainable fishing practices are now one of the biggest threats to the health of the sea and its wildlife. You might have seen that Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, amongst others, has recently highlighted the waste and destruction caused by bad fishing practices. And DWT can build on the knowledge gained in stopping the destructive scallop-dredging in Lyme Bay to influence the future of fishing in Devon's waters.

We need to help the fishing industry to move to more sustainable methods of capture and end the tragic waste of fish, we need to promote low impact fishing methods and we also need to publicise and support those Devon fishermen who do fish sustainably and who are helping to preserve marine habitats and wildlife whilst fishing.

Our action on Sustainable Fisheries will benefit Devon's marine wildlife, Devon's fisheries and Devon's consumers - but it can only continue with the support of local people who care about the marine environment and understand why protecting it is so important. Devon Wildlife Trust launched a Sustainable Fisheries appeal recently and so far more than £18,000 has been contributed by DWT supporters - but our challenge is to raise £30,000 by the end of 2012 to continue this vital work: can you help?

DWT supporters have raised more than 60% of our Sustainable Fisheries appeal target - please help us reach our target by the end of 2012

Please donate today...

Donate to our latest appeal by Credit or Debit Card , Direct Debit or by Post