A “ROBUST” monitoring framework should be established to ensure the Island’s plan to protect its marine environment is implemented effectively and transparently by current and future governments, a Scrutiny panel has argued.
The Environment, Housing and Infrastructure Scrutiny Panel has put forward an amendment which, if approved, would require the Environment Minister to set out a framework, timeline, and tracking system for monitoring the Marine Spatial Plan.
The proposed changes will provide clear direction, bring accountability to the plan’s environmental goals and assist all parties in decision-making, according to the panel.
The panel also called for a definitive timeline for research on areas still under consideration for protection under the Marine Protected Area Network – areas where towed fishing gear and destructive extractive processes such as dredging are not permitted.
Members of the panel also requested that the Environment Minister commit to decisions about including any additional areas into this zone before the end of the current term of office to provide clarity to local fishers.
In its amendment, the group said: “The current lack of certainty means that some members of the Island’s fishing fleet – particularly those using mobile gear – do not know how to plan their future.”
The amendment follows a Scrutiny review of the Marine Spatial Plan, a revised version of which was recently published by the government.
The new draft included reducing the size of areas protected under the plan from 27% to 23% of Jersey’s territorial waters following consultation, a move which Environment Minister Steve Luce said struck “a balance” but drew criticism from environmental groups.
Campaigners Save Our Shoreline Jersey, for example, argued that a regulator should be established to oversee the implementation of the plan and raised concerns about a lack of accountability for the project’s various actions.
In a report accompanying the amendment, the panel said its “primary concern is that there is currently a lack of accountability for the various actions which make up the delivery of the MSP”.
Howell Marine Consulting, an independent expert adviser to the panel, was also quoted in the report and stated: “The lack of a monitoring framework leads to a lack of government accountability to deliver the JMSP, and poor transparency for stakeholders.”
If approved, the amendment would not introduce additional financial or staffing implications, the panel said.
The States Assembly will debate the Marine Spatial Plan and the panel’s amendment on 22 October.
