Most deepwater fisheries are unsustainable because individuals grow slowly and take up to 30 years to reach sexual maturity. Naturally occuring anti-fouling substances are produced by a range of marine organisms, which we may be able to use to replace existing toxic chemicals. Sediment cores going back 130,000 years show that salinity variations were directly involved in the abrupt climate changes that have occurred frequently in the North Atlantic and Western Europe. Changes in the tilt of Britain mean that the predicted sea level rise over the next 50 years is likely to be 15 cm greater in south-east England than in Scotland. A lack of iron limits biological productivity in the equatorial Pacific, and probably also in the Southern Ocean.
Icebergs scrape the Antarctic sea bed, removing all marine life.
This apparent devastation clears the sea bed for new colonisation and is a major factor in increasing biodiversity. The UK is thus responsible for the sound, scientifically-based management of a new underwater area twice the size of India. The Atlantic Frontier to the west of Scotland is currently the focus of oil and gas development. Waters are deeper and stormier than any sites previously exploited, and their marine habitats are so far relatively undisturbed. The sustainable management of fisheries, including deep sea fisheries off the UK west coast, is a key priority.