On May 21st I posted a blog about the wanton destruction of our planet and, of course, anybody with even the slightest interest in ecology is fully aware of what we are doing to the world around us. Barely a day goes by without some reference in the national press to the melting of polar icecaps, the devastation of rain forests or the wiping out of yet another wildlife species. Surely our politicians must also be aware of all of this and surely the Government must be trying to do something about it? I wonder though; is world conservation an important enough vote winner and do we, as a nation, care enough to do something about it? The answers, very sadly, are probably not.

Two recent news stories concerning the protection of the seas serve to emphasize once more that urgent action is vital if we are to prevent further destruction. The first story, published in yesterday’s Sunday Times, concerns the near annihilation of the North Pacific Right Whale whose numbers have dropped from approximately 50,000 before industrialised hunting began to somewhere in the region of 400 worldwide. The story follows the decision of South Korea, announced last week, to embark on a “scientific” whaling programme in the Pacific meaning, quite simply, the killing of whales for commercial gain. Will any of the so-called civilised nations (us, the rest of Europe and the USA for example) do anything about it? What do you think?

The second story, is somewhat closer to home and this, published in the Greenpeace Summer 2012 pamphlet, reveals the full extent of the denuding of fishing stocks in UK waters. It highlights the continued failures of the EU Common Fisheries Policy and specifically the scandalous quota system which has simultaneously brought several fish species to the brink of extinction and caused financial ruin to many of the UK’s fishermen, particularly those involved in “small-scale” fishing. Small-scale fishing boats, incidentally, are those of 10 metres or less in length.

Evidently, small-scale fishing boats comprise 77% of the UK’s fishing fleet yet they are only allowed to catch 4% of the UK’s fishing quota so it isn’t too difficult to see why so many British fishing communities are struggling to survive. The Common Fisheries Policy is due for reform this year and that is why Greenpeace are highlighting the plight of our seas and the fishermen who try to make a living from them. They are urging supporters to join their campaign, “Be a Fisherman’s Friend”, to try to protect the future of both the sea and the fishing industry.

The Government seem to be doing nothing so shouldn’t we show our support by joining the Greenpeace campaign (www.greenpeace.org.uk/faircatch) and also by lobbying our MPs, our MEPs and the UK fisheries minister (Richard Benyon) so that they are left in doubt that we do, actually, care greatly about what is happening to our seas.