The sea is no one’s turf. Though technically our territorial waters are owned by the Crown, in practice the scramble to profit from them has been a free-for-all. With no overall control, the resulting confusion has left the oceans in a sorry state.

As human populations swell, increasingly we look to the sea for resources. Our waters have become a battleground for the conflicting interests of shipping, oil and gas, wind farms, wave generators, industry, fisheries and conservationists. Currently our maritime policy treats such uses as though they were separate, unconnected activities, in a throwback to a time when the bounty of the sea seemed infinite. We know now that even the ocean has limits.

Take the battle between fishermen and conservationists: both want robust fish stocks, but a lack of coordination has meant the sea running at 5 per cent of its potential output, and highly destructive bottom dredging is still occurring in many special areas of conservation. As a result both sides are gnashing their teeth.

A central pillar of the new marine legislation is the establishment of a network of marine conservation zones to link ecosystems around the UK.

Properly enforced, these have the potential to boost the productivity of our seas many times over while also protecting valuable biodiversity. Both fishermen and conservationists could one day be smiling.

For too long the story of the sea has been that of the tragedy of the commons, with no one in charge and everybody losing out. As our island increasingly turns to the sea for its power, protein and wellbeing, we need to plan, manage and protect it as though it was an extension of the land itself. Our sea should be our turf.

The Marine and Coastal Access Bill is a giant leap in that direction.

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