An intriguing story in today’s Times points out that a company owned by the UK government’s own chief scientific advisor is lobbying against the creation of a massive marine reserve proposed by … err … the UK government. What exactly is going on here?
Well last year the Foreign Secretary, David Miliband launched a consultation on the possibility of making the Chagos Archipelago (also known at the British Indian Ocean Territory or BIOT) a huge marine protected area. “This is a remarkable opportunity for Britain to create one of the world’s largest marine protected areas, and to double the global coverage of the world’s oceans that benefit from full protection,” said Miliband. (It’s also an opportunity to get some much needed good PR over Chagos, but that is another story entirely.)
Miliband outlined three options identified by the government: no fishing anywhere in the area, fishing only in certain zones at certain times for certain fish, only protecting ‘high value’ waters such as reefs.
At this point it is probably worth noting that a scientific workshop in Southampton cited “sufficient scientific information to make a very convincing case” for making the BIOT a marine protected area.
So where does chief scientific advisor John Beddington fit into all this?
As the Times notes, Beddington founded the company Marine Resources Assessment Group back in 1986, and this company has the current contract to manage the fishing in the BIOT.
And the company does not want the highest level of protection – no fishing ever – applied to the region.
“If the whole area was declared closed there could be potentially negative consequences. Shark-finning is banned completely, unlike elsewhere in the Indian Ocean. If you close the fishery those boats will be displaced to areas where there is less control,” Chris Rees, the company’s development director, told the paper.
While Beddington has handed over control of the company to others he maintains a majority shareholding, with his wife owning the rest of the company, says the paper. “The concern is that he has the potential for informal influence over this decision,” Norman Lamb, a Liberal Democrat MP, told the Times.
However a spokesman for Beddington told the paper:
[Beddington] had not been involved in the management of MRAG and had not discussed related issues with the Foreign Office. Not all science related to government business passed his office, the spokesman said, but he did oversee other chief scientific advisers.
Nature has asked the Beddington to comment. A spokesperson for the Government Chief Scientific Advisor said:
Professor John Beddington declared the interest and that of his wife when he applied for the position of Government Chief Scientific Advisor. Upon announcement of his appointment in October 2007 Professor Beddington stepped down as Director’s of MRAG, with his wife stepping down shortly after.
Since taking up the position, Professor Beddington has not been involved in the management of any MRAG-related companies and has not discussed with the FCO or any other Government Department / Agency fishing issues which MRAG, or its associated companies, is involved.
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