Marine Biodiversity and fisheries chains

The threat to marine biodiversity is increasingly regarded as an urgent problem. Seas and oceans are inhabited by a rich variety of life-forms. A very large part of the world's marine biodiversity is to be found in the sea, but unlike land-based biodiversity, the regime to protect it is very limited. Marine biodiversity encompasses fish, shellfish and crustaceans, a vital global source of protein for humans and a source of income for fisheries. Many other marine organisms are also important to humans, for example because of their aesthetic or pharmaceutical value. In fact, new forms of marine life are constantly being discovered. However, the pressure on marine biodiversity is steadily increasing due to overfishing, discards and disturbance of the sea bed by fishing vessels, but also owing to pollution, disturbances and climate change caused by many other human activities.

One of the visible effects is a decline in fish catches. On the high seas, in the Exclusive Economic Zones and in coastal areas, fishermen in both developed and developing countries face declining catches as a result of unsustainable management. In coastal areas in particular, there is a very strong correlation between the exploitation of marine resources, the protection of vulnerable areas and local economic and social development. This means that the protection of such areas as mangroves and coral reefs, deltas and estuaries is important for the preservation of biodiversity, fish stocks and local economic activity. The policy framework for the protection and sustainable use of marine biodiversity has not yet been given a statutory basis in the Netherlands through the extension of the effect of the Nature Protection Act beyond the Dutch territorial waters. Compared with the land, the number of marine areas designated as protected and managed are few. There is international recognition that this needs to change, and the Dutch government wants the Netherlands to make an active contribution in this regard.

The added value of the policy programme with respect to marine biodiversity lies in the greater coherence that can be achieved through closer cooperation between ministries and actors in society in policy areas where there are often conflicting interests (fishery policy, fishery conventions, exploitation of marine resources, protection of the marine ecosystem, market access for fishery products, poverty alleviation, costal development). The measures to be taken are based on the principle that international efforts should be consistent and coherent with relevant regional and European policy (and vice versa) and with the Dutch government's efforts within the Kingdom