HERE’S a tale from the riverbank that’s good news: it’s now cleaner and greener thanks to a community clean-up.
Staff and volunteers of the Berkshire branch of Greenpeace met at Kings Meadow to collect rubbish along the banks of the River Thames Caversham.
The group say they are also seeking signatures and support from the public as part of a wider campaign on marine protection and fishing control.
Event organiser Jane, who is from Lower Caversham, said: “In the coming weeks, Greenpeace will build an underwater boulder barrier in a designated Marine Protected Area (MPA) to block destructive industrial fishing.
“Greenpeace is taking marine protection into its own hands for the third time, as the Government continues to fail to uphold its promises to make Brexit a turning point for protecting small-scale fishing in the UK.
“The next Prime Minister must ban industrial fishing in MPAs by amending commercial fishing licences.”
The United Nations is currently negotiating for a Global Ocean Treaty in New York. This would allow governments to create vast ocean sanctuaries that are off-limits to harmful activities.
Greenpeace says the current round of negotiations is the last chance for governments to meet commitments to ocean protection worldwide.
As part of its campaign, its ship Arctic Sunrise will sail to the South West Deeps (East), an MPA off the Cornish coast. This is intended to create an off-limits zone to bottom-trawling, a fishing practice that Greenpeace says can destroy marine habitats.
Celebrities, including Stephen Fry, are in support of the campaign. Their names will be stencilled on to boulders before they are dropped onto the seabed to create a barrier.
Jane said: “As an island nation, we know how important our oceans are for fishing communities, tourism and tackling climate change.
“Boulder barriers have proved to be effective in the Dogger Bank and Brighton MPAs and are a last resort to save the UK’s marine life; we would prefer that the Government just did their job and kept long-standing promises to end destructive fishing in MPAs.”
