Calls for independent regulator to protect Jersey's marine life

Environmental campaigners are calling for an independent regulator to be appointed in Jersey to help protect the island's marine habitats

Save Our Shoreline Jersey says high traces of metal have been found in local shellfish, as a result of decades worth of toxic materials - including asbestos and incinerator ash from Bellozanne - spilling into the sea.

Much of this material has been buried in pits under the recycling centre at La Collette or was previously spread across the beaches along the Waterfront on the island's south coast.

Results from the organisation's ten-yearly shellfish surveys found sharp increases in traces of metals including lead, cadmium and chromium in species such as cockles, limpets and oysters.

SOS Jersey says an independent regulator could support the government's Environment Department in strengthening safeguards for coastal areas - particularly in terms of development on the Waterfront itself.

A spokesperson for the environment department responded:

The organisation says extra funding is 'vitally necessary' to support the environmental protections required.