On Thursday 1 December the House of Commons debated the future of the UK fishing industry. Scott Mann, MP for North Cornwall and species champion for the sea bass, spoke up for recreational anglers and mentioned the critical level of bass stocks. He welcomed proposals by some inshore fisheries and conservation authorities to remove gill nets from estuaries.
Four MPs spoke out for their species during a debate in parliament earlier this month. Kerry McCarthy, champion for the swift; Angela Smith, champion for the hen harrier; Rachael Maskell, Shadow Secretary of State for the Environment and champion for the tansy beetle; and Dr Thérèse Coffey, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Environment and champion for the bittern, all declared their involvement in the Species Champions project during a parliamentary debate on global biodiversity.
The Westminster Hall debate was held in recognition of the findings of WWF’s Living Planet Report 2016, which shows that global wildlife populations have fallen by 58% since 1970. MPs recognised the significant threats that the natural world faces, and showed their support for government action. During the debate Kerry McCarthy in her role as Species Champion for the swift explained the reasons for the bird’s decline, and told her fellow MPs about action she will take in her constituency to help the species recover. To read the debate click here.
Claire Perry, MP for Devizes, has taken on the role of Species Champion for the broken-belted bumblebee. Having disappeared from most southern and eastern counties, a colony remains on Salisbury Plain, close to Claire’s constituency.
Butterfly Conservation gets its third champion as Caroline Nokes, MP for Romsey and Southampton North, joins the project to stand up for the Duke of Burgundy, one of the fastest declining butterflies in the UK.
Huw Merriman, Conservative MP for Bexhill and Battle, joins the species champions project to support the endangered long-horned bee, a species found at just a few dozen sites in the UK.
Eight MP species champions meet Sir David Attenborough at the launch of the second State of Nature report.
First species champions newsletter sent to MPs
A two page newsletter has been sent to MP species champions, to update them on progress with the project and to show what MPs are doing around the country to help their species.The newsletter will be sent out twice a year.
Oliver Colvile, MP for Plymouth Sutton and Devonport, became the latest recruit. Oliver has agreed to champion the hedgehog and will be supported by the People’s Trust for Endangered Species and the British Hedgehog Preservation Society.
At the beginning of August Daniel Zeichner, MP for Cambridge and species champion of the ruderal bumblebee, had a close encounter with a male red tail bumblebee at the Cambridge botanic gardens, which although not his species, inspired him to get to know more about bumblebees. Plans to visit further afield in search of the Ruderal next spring are being made.
Sir Desmond Swayne, species champion for the smooth snake, visited the New Forest Reptile Centre near Lyndhurst in Hampshire to see a smooth snake. He was able to hear about the New Forest Smooth Snake Survey which uses computer modelling techniques to predict where the species is likely to be found. More about the visit can be found on the New Forest National Park website.
