South coast announced as next area for marine planning in UK

Dover to the Dart 

August 2012. The Marine Management Organisation (MMO) has announced that the coast and seas from Dover to the River Dart in Devon will be the second area in England to benefit from marine planning.

Marine plans will inform and guide marine users and regulators, managing the sustainable development of marine industries, such as wind farms, shipping, marine aggregates and fishing, alongside the need to conserve and protect marine species and habitats and recognise leisure uses too.

£47 billion economy
The marine economy is currently worth more than £47 billion annually to the UK, and has the potential to increase significantly. We are the first country in the world to plan across all marine activities, for all our territorial waters, and the plan areas announced are two of the 10 in total to be delivered by the MMO in the next decade.

Steve Brooker, the MMO's Head of Marine Planning, said: "England's South Inshore and South Offshore marine areas were chosen for their wide range of marine activities that need to co-exist in these busy waters. These marine areas are identified as environmentally sensitive so it is vitally important that new activities are introduced in a sustainable way, ensuring that social, environmental and economic implications are considered together.

"As the demand for space increases, so will the need for use of our seas as a key resource. This is an ideal time for marine planning to begin in these areas, to ensure there is a clear framework for sustainable development. "

The MMO is accountable to the Secretary of State for the Environment, Caroline Spelman, who will approve each plan for consultation and adoption.

The views of all those with an interest in the South marine areas are vital to the plan making process, and the next step will be speaking to as many people as possible affected by these plans. A guide on how to get involved will be published before plan-making officially starts in early 2013.

http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/mmo-south-coast.html

In a flap: Rescue team called in to catch ostrich running loose through streets of Dover

21/07/11When this ostrich decided to make a bid for freedom, little did it realise the trouble it would cause. The 6ft albino bird was spotted roaming through a Dover street early in the morning by a startled scaffolder who was driving to work.

It was only eventually captured thanks to the efforts of six police officers and a team from the RSPCA. Wayne McLester, speaking to the Daily Mirror, said he "got the fright of his life" when the bird sprinted past him while he was driving to work at 6.30am.

The 21-year-old said: 'It just stopped in front of my van and stared at me.

'I was about to try to catch it when I remembered a wildlife show which said ostriches could kill a lion with a kick, so I stayed in my van.'

Before calling the emergency services the scaffolder used his van to herd the bird into a car park. He then took these pictures and watched six police officers nervously surround it.

'They waited a good hour trying to contain the ostrich before the RSPCA arrived and took it away,' said Mr McLester.

It is not known where the ostrich escaped from.

But as there are breeders in the area supplying ostrich meat to a growing market, it seems it made a sensible decision in making a bid for freedom.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2015423/In-flap-Rescue-team-called-catch-ostrich-running-loose-streets-Dover.html#ixzz1ST5eYFHI