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The former Environment Minister is “disappointed” by his successor’s admission that Jersey might not meet its target of protecting 30% of its marine environment by 2030.
Environment Minister Steve Luce this week admitted that the island may not meet its target to protect nearly a third of the island's territorial waters from destructive fishing practices within the next six years.
"We may not get to 30% by 2030, but that's not my main focus,” he told the Environment, Housing, and Infrastructure Scrutiny Panel on Wednesday.
Pictured: The draft Marine Spatial Plan is set to be debated in the States Assembly next month.
The "30x30" pledge, which aims to conserve almost a third of natural habitats across the world by 2030, was championed by Deputy Jonathan Renouf during his tenure as Environment Minister.
"It was disappointing to hear the Minister distancing himself from the '30x30' commitment," said Deputy Renouf.
“This is a treaty obligation to which Jersey is committed through the 2022 Kunming Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework."
While Deputy Luce admitted the ‘30x30’ target might not be reached in the next six years, he pointed to the significant increase in marine protected areas from just 6% to 23% in the draft Marine Spatial Plan.
The plan, which was recently published by the Government in revised form, is due to be debated in the States Assembly next month.
The new draft put forward by Deputy Luce included reducing the size of areas protected under the plan from 27% to 23% of Jersey’s territorial waters following consultation with the fishing industry.
Deputy Luce said that his focus in creating the revised version was on ensuring that the protections implemented are “meaningful and backed by data”.
He said: “We need to be really sure that if we're designating a particular area as a marine protected area, there's something to protect."
Pictured: While the Marine Spatial Plan proposes increasing marine protected areas from 6.4% to 23%, it falls short of the 30% target agreed upon in 2022.
But his predecessor criticised the reasons behind reducing the proposed protected areas from 27% to 23%.
Deputy Renouf described the Minister's rationale as "weak and confused”, arguing that the original boundaries were based on thorough research.
He said: “There was no evidence gap identified in the [first] draft Marine Spatial Plan.
“If the problem is a lack of evidence, with 'more research' required, what gap has he identified that the new research is intended to fill?"
The former Minister suggested that the call for more research might be "a fig leaf" which is "designed to make the sacrifice of some of the most sensitive marine environments appear more respectable".
But Deputy Luce has claimed that the revised plan seeks a balance between marine conservation and the needs of the fishing industry.
"I'm not here to put fishermen out of business," he said. "We've made concessions to ensure their livelihoods are less impacted on day one."
Pictured: Environment Minister Steve Luce said the decision to reduce the size of the protected area was made after consultation with concerned fishers.
The current Environment Minister called for a gradual approach, proposing financial assistance for the industry and "grandfathering" certain areas to allow fishermen time to adapt.
He emphasised that the Marine Spatial Plan is a "live document" that will evolve as new research becomes available.
Deputy Renouf, however, warned against short-term thinking, arguing that marine protected areas benefit the medium- and long-term economic outlook for fishing.
He called for "a sustainable, long-term vision for the future of fishing in Jersey" that protects sensitive habitats while supporting the industry's transition away from destructive practices.
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