tag:theconversation.com,2011:/uk/topics/english-channel-11467/articlesEnglish Channel – The Conversation2022-01-19T12:43:35Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1751152022-01-19T12:43:35Z2022-01-19T12:43:35ZSending in the Royal Navy is not the answer to small boat migration in the Channel<p>The Home Office has announced a plan to <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-60021252">bring in the Royal Navy</a> to take charge of policing the English Channel after the number of migrants attempting the crossing in small boats tripled in 2021. Full details of the plan have not been revealed, but appear to involve the navy taking a <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/priti-patel-boris-johnson-royal-navy-labour-channel-b1994773.html?r=72263">leadership and planning role</a>, as well as possibly providing additional vessels to augment the Border Force cutters already at sea. </p>
<p>Certainly, at first glance, the navy has the potential to bring more resources to the problem. Border Force currently operates five cutters and six coastal patrol vessels, whereas the navy has many more ships suited to maritime security tasks. These include 16 <a href="https://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/the-equipment/ships/patrol-and-minehunters/archer-class">Archer class patrol vessels</a> and eight of the larger and more capable <a href="https://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/the-equipment/ships/patrol-and-minehunters/river-class">River class offshore patrol vessels</a>. </p>
<p>Yet numbers can be deceiving. The Archers and Rivers are already in high demand. Two of the Rivers, HMS Tamar and HMS Spey, are <a href="https://www.navalnews.com/naval-news/2021/09/royal-navys-river-class-opvs-begin-5-year-indo-pacific-deployment/">forward deployed</a> to the Indo-Pacific. Others are assigned to areas of <a href="https://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/news-and-latest-activity/operations/united-kingdom/overseas-patrol-squadron">longstanding UK interest</a>, such as the Caribbean and the Falklands, or now patrol the UK’s fishing waters following Brexit. Likewise, two of the Archers are deployed to the <a href="https://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/news-and-latest-activity/operations/mediterranean-and-black-sea/gibraltar-squadron">Gibraltar Squadron</a>, another two assigned to security duties at the <a href="https://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/news-and-latest-activity/operations/united-kingdom/faslane-patrol-boat-squadron">Faslane nuclear submarine base</a> in Scotland, while the others play important roles with <a href="https://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/our-organisation/bases-and-stations/training-establishments/university-royal-naval-units">University Royal Naval Units</a>. </p>
<p>With so many vessels already in use elsewhere, it seems unlikely that the Admiralty will welcome new deployments to the Channel -– especially so soon after an <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/channel-crossings-border-force-fleet-to-get-200m-upgrade-nph6pwnmp">announcement</a> that Border Force is receiving money for an upgraded fleet of cutters. </p>
<h2>Pushing back on pushbacks</h2>
<p>But even if capacity could be found, it’s unclear how naval involvement could help to change the situation in the Channel.</p>
<p>The Home Office’s ambition has been to “push back” small boats – that is using ships to prevent access to British waters and waiting for the French coastguard to return the vessels. Perhaps there is a hope that the Royal Navy will put some backbone into this policy, especially given that Border Force’s union has recently <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2021/nov/27/border-force-staff-union-joins-fight-to-block-to-priti-patels-pushback-plans">threatened strikes</a> if pushbacks are implemented.</p>
<p>Any such hopes are likely to be in vain. There is a duty within international law for a ship to attempt the rescue of persons at danger at sea. This is enshrined in <a href="https://www.un.org/Depts/los/convention_agreements/texts/unclos/unclos_e.pdf">Article 98</a> of the United Nations Convention of the Law of the Sea and <a href="https://www.imo.org/en/KnowledgeCentre/ConferencesMeetings/Pages/SOLAS.aspx">elsewhere</a>. The Royal Navy is just as bound by the law of the sea as Border Force.</p>
<p>When navies in other countries have ignored their duties to International Law, tragedies have followed. Thailand’s Royal Navy, for example, has been <a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2017/09/22/thailand-needs-stop-inhumane-navy-push-backs">widely pilloried</a> for its policy of pushing back Rohingya refugees, with hundreds thought to have <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-asia-migrants-boat-idUSKBN0O31SH20150518">died</a>. </p>
<p>The navy has already indicated that it has <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jan/17/military-to-be-used-to-stem-channel-crossings-as-johnson-seeks-to-stay-pm">little appetite</a> for such pushbacks, and any extra capacity it can bring is most likely to be deployed in search and rescue tasks. </p>
<p>Indeed, saving lives at sea is ingrained in the navy’s ethos and operational history. It played a key role in UK maritime search and rescue until 2015 and <a href="https://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/careers/why-navy/humanitarian-aid">humanitarian assistance</a> remains one of its core missions. During wartime, Royal Navy ships regularly rescued the stricken crews of sunken enemy warships where they could, including many from the <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5577205/Newly-uncovered-photos-German-sailors-sinking-German-battleship-Bismarck.html">Bismarck</a>.</p>
<h2>What the navy can do</h2>
<p>If the navy cannot easily contribute vessels or engage in pushbacks, its primary contribution may be to share information and help monitor the Channel. In this way, it could serve as part of wider maritime security architecture in which each agency plays its own role in preventing either the crossings or tragedies from occurring.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A Royal Navy training boat in the Solent" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/441473/original/file-20220119-23-68c8gt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/441473/original/file-20220119-23-68c8gt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=389&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/441473/original/file-20220119-23-68c8gt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=389&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/441473/original/file-20220119-23-68c8gt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=389&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/441473/original/file-20220119-23-68c8gt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=489&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/441473/original/file-20220119-23-68c8gt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=489&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/441473/original/file-20220119-23-68c8gt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=489&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Royal Navy Archer class patrol vessels could be part of the Channel operations.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/portsmouth-uk-26th-sep-2018-royal-1526616638">Kevin Shipp / Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
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<p>But the announcement, by the UK home secretary, Priti Patel, comes as a surprise because that is exactly what’s already happening. </p>
<p>Since 2010, the UK has invested <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/03071847.2021.1981777?journalCode=rusi20">considerable effort</a> in creating an integrated maritime security structure. The Joint Maritime Security Centre, established in 2020, coordinates the UK’s maritime assets and helps different agencies to work together at sea. Hosted by the navy, it enables cross-agency information sharing through its <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/joint-maritime-security-centre">Maritime Domain Awareness programme</a>.</p>
<p>In essence, the navy is already having an operational impact. It is difficult to see how it can move beyond this or would want to do so. The UK needs to move beyond populist announcements on the small boat problem and develop a response along three lines. </p>
<p>First, it should continue its efforts to develop the maritime security architecture that facilitates interagency working. Second, it needs to foster closer cooperation with France and Belgium to help manage this shared problem of human desperation and misery. </p>
<p>Finally, it should recognise that policing at sea can only address <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-are-more-small-boats-crossing-the-english-channel-and-why-are-border-forces-struggling-to-stop-them-144466#comment_2306486">symptoms rather than causes</a> of increased Channel crossings. A long-term solution requires the reestablishment of humane and accessible refugee and migration routes into the UK.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/175115/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Timothy Edmunds receives funding from the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC). Grant no. ES/S008810/1: Transnational Organised Crime at Sea: New Evidence for Better Responses.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Scott Edwards does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The Home Office wants the navy to take charge of migrant crossings, but there’s not much value they can add.Timothy Edmunds, Professor of International Security at University of Bristol and Director of the Centre for Global Insecurity, University of BristolScott Edwards, Research Associate, Transnational Organised Crime at Sea, University of BristolLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1726392021-11-26T15:55:08Z2021-11-26T15:55:08ZChannel deaths: the UK has clear legal responsibilities towards people crossing in small boats<p>At least 27 people have drowned in the English Channel attempting to cross in a small boat. There were three children, seven women, one of whom was pregnant, and 17 men. </p>
<p>Although a joint search and rescue operation was seemingly launched in the narrow maritime area between the UK and France (which is only 20 miles wide), the highly equipped authorities of both coastal states were not able to intervene in time to save the victims.</p>
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<p>The British government has responded to these deaths by calling on France to <a href="https://twitter.com/BorisJohnson/status/1463973204456878080?s=20">take back anyone who attempts the crossing</a>. </p>
<p>Speaking in parliament following the tragedy, Home Secretary Priti Patel placed heavy emphasis on the French government’s responsibility for the tragedy, which she said was <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KVfW2jO5JXc">“not a surprise”</a>.</p>
<p>Regardless of how these people got there, the UK has clear legal responsibilities to anyone who finds themselves in trouble in the Channel. However much French authorities bolster their own efforts, the UK is obliged by multiple international conventions to maintain robust search and rescue operations in the area. </p>
<h2>What are the UK’s obligations?</h2>
<p>It is not legal to send boats crossing the Channel back to France. Pushbacks are illegal (regardless of whether smugglers use smaller or larger vessels to transport migrants), and states have an obligation under the <a href="https://onboard-aquarius.org/uploads/2018/08/SAR-Convention-1979.pdf">International Convention on Maritime Search and Rescue</a> to disembark everyone rescued or intercepted at sea at a place of safety, which can only be on <a href="https://wwwcdn.imo.org/localresources/en/OurWork/Facilitation/Documents/MSC.167%20(78).pdf">dry land</a>.</p>
<p>The UN Special Rapporteur for the Human Rights of Migrants has <a href="https://undocs.org/en/A/HRC/47/30">concluded</a> that this is because every person has a right to have their protection claim individually assessed before removal. And in January 2021, the <a href="https://www.ohchr.org/en/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=26691&LangID=E">UN Human Rights Committee</a> established that Italy was liable for failing to cooperate in saving the lives of more than 200 people who drowned in waters that fall into Malta’s search and rescue jurisdiction, because Italian authorities had knowledge of the distress event and did not intervene in due time.</p>
<p>The UK has responsibilities towards people coming towards its shoreline on boats. According to Article 98(1) of <a href="https://www.un.org/depts/los/convention_agreements/texts/unclos/unclos_e.pdf">the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea</a>, nations have a duty to provide assistance to people in distress. It states that they should “proceed with all possible speed to the rescue of persons in distress, if informed of their need of assistance”.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.imo.org/en/About/Conventions/Pages/International-Convention-on-Maritime-Search-and-Rescue-(SAR).aspx">International Convention on Maritime Search and Rescue</a> states that a rescue operation can be effectively considered concluded only when the shipwrecked are disembarked at a place of safety.</p>
<p>The duty under this convention is one without qualification. Any person in distress “regardless of [their] nationality or status […] or the circumstances in which they are found” should be rescued.</p>
<p>Crucially in the case of the UK, Article 98(2) of the <a href="https://www.un.org/depts/los/convention_agreements/texts/unclos/unclos_e.pdf">UN Convention on the Law of the Sea</a> requests states to promote the establishment, operation and maintenance of effective search and rescue services. “Every coastal state” is obliged to do this and is responsible for its violation if the inadequacy or inefficiency of its search and rescue service contributes to loss of life at sea. </p>
<p>Therefore, regardless of whether France boosts its shoreline patrols to prevent people from entering the water in the first place, the UK must continue to rescue people at sea.</p>
<p>The English Channel is a highly <a href="https://ecre.org/channel-uk-practices-pushbacks-as-france-ngos-and-the-un-deem-turn-around-tactics-unsafe-and-unlawful/">monitored area</a>. On top of naval patrol, it is subject to aerial surveillance. Drones operate in the area and thermal cameras are deployed to seek out people. Once the maritime rescue coordination centre of a coastal state has knowledge of a distress event at sea, it has a duty to intervene – a duty, which exists even if the boat calls from the outside of its territorial waters or search and rescue areas.</p>
<p>Once a boat enters UK territorial waters, the UK’s primary responsibility for search and rescue is triggered. Nor is there any grey area when it comes to the Dover Strait – the narrowest part of the Channel across which most flimsy migrant boats travel. Here, there are no international waters. France and the UK are so close that as soon as vessels leave French waters, they enter UK waters. The UK’s primary responsibility is triggered the moment a boat leaves French waters. </p>
<h2>A duty to work together</h2>
<p>The UK and France also have a duty of cooperation under the <a href="https://www.imo.org/en/About/Conventions/Pages/International-Convention-for-the-Safety-of-Life-at-Sea-(SOLAS),-1974.aspx">International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea</a> and the Search and Rescue Convention to prevent loss of life at sea and ensure completion of a search and rescue operation. This includes a responsibility on both sides to contact the other’s authorities as soon as they receive information about people in danger and to cooperate on search and rescue operations for anyone in distress at sea.</p>
<p>Despite media coverage, European countries, including the UK, are not facing a migration crisis comparable to that of <a href="https://www.unhcr.org/news/latest/2015/12/5683d0b56/million-sea-arrivals-reach-europe-2015.html">2015</a>, when more than a million refugees reached Europe by sea. Even if they were, and even during a public health emergency, their discretion in determining how to react is not absolute.</p>
<p>A duty to protect life exists for governments, not only under refugee and human rights law, but also under the law of the sea on search and rescue. Whatever the political pressures at home, the UK has signed up to multiple conventions that require it to cooperate to provide prompt assistance, save lives, and deliver the shipwrecked to a place of safety.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/172639/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Schumann Fellow and a WiRe (Women in Research) Fellow at Münster University</span></em></p>Talk of sending people back distracts from the UK’s clear responsibilities towards anyone who attempts the crossing.Mariagiulia Giuffré, Reader (Associate Professor) in Law, Edge Hill UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1444452020-08-19T09:55:18Z2020-08-19T09:55:18ZHow the coronavirus pandemic may be shaping our feelings about people crossing the Channel in small boats<p>Ice cream company Ben & Jerry’s recently engaged in an unlikely exchange with the British government. In a <a href="https://twitter.com/benandjerrysUK/status/1293214277621489666">series of tweets</a>, the company pleaded with the home secretary to show more compassion towards immigrants who take on the dangerous journey across the English Channel to seek asylum in the UK, stating that “<a href="https://twitter.com/benandjerrysUK/status/1293218782668881930">people cannot be illegal</a>”.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1293218782668881930"}"></div></p>
<p>In response, Home Office insiders branded the ice cream an “<a href="https://news.sky.com/story/ben-jerrys-tackle-home-secretary-over-migrant-crossings-and-get-a-chilly-response-12047420">overpriced junk food</a>”. The exchange emerged as <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8359253/Priti-Patel-wants-new-powers-curb-illegal-migrants-sneaking-UK-calls-law-change.html">the home secretary</a> called to change the UK asylum laws to help deter future Channel crossings. </p>
<p>Politicians are not the only ones who are concerned about the Channel arrivals. Major news outlets such as the <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-53704809">BBC Breakfast team</a> and <a href="https://news.sky.com/story/terrified-migrants-who-paid-thousands-for-boat-to-uk-left-stranded-in-channel-after-running-out-of-fuel-12046511">Sky News</a> provided a detailed coverage of the migrants arriving on British shores in small boats. </p>
<p>Given the ongoing coronavirus crisis across the UK, what is behind the sudden interest in asylum seekers entering the country? After all, the 4,000 crossings made this year represent <a href="https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/populationandmigration/internationalmigration/bulletins/migrationstatisticsquarterlyreport/august2019#:%7E:text=In%20the%20year%20ending%20March%202019%2C%20612%2C000%20people%20moved%20to,since%20the%20end%20of%202016.&text=For%20the%20past%20year%2C%20net,EU8%20citizens%20leaving%20than%20arriving">less than 2%</a> of total migration to the UK in 2019. It may have something to do with the recent economic crisis in the UK caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Research on the subject, <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1057/s41269-017-0067-8">including my own work</a>, shows that economic insecurity and rises in unemployment can lead to negative attitudes towards immigrants and other minority groups. In short, both politicians and the news outlets are taking advantage of a wider trend among the UK population. </p>
<h2>Why do crises increase prejudice?</h2>
<p>According to the Office for National Statistics, the UK entered the largest economic recession on record between April and June, when its economy <a href="https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/grossdomesticproductgdp/articles/coronavirusandtheimpactonoutputintheukeconomy/june2020">shrank by 20.4%</a>. The government’s <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/chancellor-extends-furlough-scheme-until-october">job retention scheme</a> is also due to end in October, so unemployment is expected to rise by a staggering <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/uk-unemployment-level-coronavirus-impact-bank-england-survey-a9598701.html">3.5 million people</a>. With businesses struggling even after the lockdown restrictions were eased, economists warn that recovery will take a long time.</p>
<p><a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s40878-019-0127-5#ref-CR4">Academic research</a> shows that economic downturns lead to negative views of those who do not belong to our social groups. There are two main explanations for this. <a href="https://academic.oup.com/esr/article/18/1/17/435155">The first theory</a> claims that crises lead to economic competition between social groups and increases hostility between them. In times of high unemployment and economic uncertainty, like the one caused by the coronavirus pandemic, people worry that they might have to compete with migrants and asylum seekers for limited resources, such as jobs, benefits or health services. During the pandemic, the number of jobs has sharply decreased and the access to health care has been limited. This competition could drive hostile attitudes towards migrants crossing the Channel. </p>
<p>The second theory states that people displace their fear and frustration caused by the crisis onto a more vulnerable group, treating them as scapegoats. When people feel unsafe, they look for worldviews that are simple and uncomplicated to restore a sense of order in their lives.</p>
<p>Black-and-white thinking of this kind is often encouraged by more nationalist and patriotic groups who believe that some people are less deserving of living in a particular country than others. This theory is particularly convincing because we also know that, in times of crisis, people are worried about more than economic competition – they also worry about the cultural impact of migration. That has little to do with how many jobs are available or how strained health services might be, so it instead reflects this sense of finding an outlet for fear. </p>
<p>Regardless of which theory we prefer to explain the rise in prejudice in times of economic crisis, many studies confirm that economic downturns lead to an increase in negative views of immigrants. These findings are also reflected in a recent <a href="https://yougov.co.uk/topics/travel/survey-results/daily/2020/08/11/f4dc7/1">YouGov poll</a>, which shows that 49% of the British population have little or no sympathy for migrants attempting to cross the Channel. This is in comparison to 44% of Britons who feel some or a great deal of sympathy for the migrants.</p>
<p>With this in mind, it is worth remembering that the sudden increase in interest in the Channel crossings might have little to do with the scale of migration. Instead, it likely reflects the level of uncertainty and insecurity felt by the British people in the wake of an unprecedented health and economic crisis.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/144445/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Barbara Yoxon does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>At times of economic crisis, our feelings towards migrants can become hardened.Barbara Yoxon, Lecturer in Politics, University of YorkLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1444662020-08-14T13:06:09Z2020-08-14T13:06:09ZWhy are more small boats crossing the English Channel – and why are border forces struggling to stop them?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/352783/original/file-20200813-14-mi2sjg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=41%2C41%2C3919%2C2595&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source"> Kirsty O'Connor/PA</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The number of migrants crossing the English Channel in small boats has increased significantly – up to <a href="https://news.sky.com/story/revealed-channel-migrant-crossings-five-times-higher-than-last-year-12047812">4,343 this year compared with 857</a> in the same period last year. The number of lurid headlines calling for action has also increased significantly but the issue is not always well understood. Calls to strengthen UK border security at sea often misapprehend the tensions and difficulties involved.</p>
<p>There is a reason more boats are suddenly arriving now. It is a direct consequence of a series of disruptions to the established routes, both legal and illegal, by which refugees and asylum seekers have sought to enter the UK. Legal options have been curtailed with the reported suspension of the <a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/refugee-crisis-coronavirus-resettlement-scheme-home-office_uk_5f2d1621c5b64d7a55f1d6e6">refugee resettlement scheme</a> due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Clandestine routes have also been disrupted by pandemic restrictions, with less freight being moved between France and the UK and fewer flights taking place.</p>
<p>For migrants fleeing often extreme insecurity or deprivation, getting to the UK offers a chance of security. When safer routes have closed or become more difficult, small boats have become the most viable option for desperate people. They offer <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2020/aug/09/if-i-die-that-is-ok-calais-refugees-nowhere-to-turn">a solution of sorts</a>, albeit one that is fraught with danger.</p>
<h2>A testing time for maritime security</h2>
<p>The crossings highlight the different problems at play in UK maritime security and the difficult and sometimes contradictory demands these place on UK government agencies.</p>
<p>The first of these is humanitarian. The English Channel is one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world, and vulnerable people attempting to cross it in small and overcrowded boats do so at considerable risk to their lives. </p>
<p>The UK has both moral and legal obligations to protect the safety of lives at sea in its extensive maritime <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/593127/mca_uksar.pdf">Search and Rescue Zone</a>. Such tasks are the responsibility – indeed the whole mandate – of the <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/maritime-and-coastguard-agency">Maritime and Coastguard Agency</a> and <a href="https://rnli.org/">Royal National Lifeboat Association</a> (RNLI) among others.</p>
<p>The second is the need to patrol the UK’s borders – a <a href="https://yougov.co.uk/topics/politics/articles-reports/2020/08/13/support-RAF-Navy-English-Channel-migrant-crossing">politically charged</a> issue in recent years. The arrival of these small boats places fresh strains on cash strapped local authorities responsible for looking after the people who come in on them at a time when demands on their resources are already high. Border policing at sea is the responsibility of <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/border-force">UK Border Force</a> in collaboration with local police forces and other agencies.</p>
<p>The third pressure is organised crime. While migrants themselves are the most visible people in this situation, their movements are often facilitated by <a href="https://homeofficemedia.blog.gov.uk/2020/03/05/media-factsheet-small-boats/">organised criminal groups</a> in the UK, Belgium and France. These groups provide the boats and instructions to the migrants. In places like the Mediterranean, the networks smuggling people also smuggle <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/smuggling-probe-focuses-on-fuel-tankers-trail-1457576358">illicit goods</a>. There is concern this could also happen in this case.</p>
<p>So any maritime security enforcement that targets migrants also needs to be backed up by investigations into the criminal networks that enable these movements. The National Crime Agency leads <a href="https://www.nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk/what-we-do/crime-threats/organised-immigration-crime">Project INVIGOR</a> to tackle this problem.</p>
<p>UK maritime security agencies face the difficult task of navigating between these three problems: protecting lives at sea, policing UK borders and addressing the organised networks that facilitate these movements. Doing so is not easy, not least because each of the organisations involved may be working on a different problem with different priorities. </p>
<p>Anecdotally, such differences have led to tensions between agencies and problems of coordination. Adding the navy to the mix, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2020/aug/08/alarm-fingerprinting-custody-channel-migrants-uk">as has been proposed</a>, may add some extra capacity, but will do little to resolve these underlying tensions.</p>
<h2>What should be done?</h2>
<p>Maritime security and policing has historically been neglected in the UK and there are <a href="http://www.safeseas.net/brexit-how-the-uk-is-preparing-to-secure-its-seas-outside-the-eu/">key capacity gaps</a> that need addressing in the context of the country’s exit from the EU and evolving challenges at sea. </p>
<p>There is a need to invest in new patrol and surveillance assets, not just for search and rescue at sea and policing the UK’s borders, but also to counter other maritime threats and <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0308597X20300270?via%3Dihub">blue crimes</a> such as illegal fishing or narcotics trafficking by sea. Strengthening coordination and trust building between agencies is critical in order to manage these demands.</p>
<p>Cooperation with EU partners, particularly France, is also vital both in handling the problem of small boats at sea, but also to tackle the criminal networks that facilitate these movements. Despite his Darth Vader-like job title, the new <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/home-secretary-appoints-small-boat-commander">Clandestine Channel Threat Commander</a> is in actual fact a well-respected civil servant with significant cross-agency maritime experience and sensitivity. His appointment shows that the UK is taking maritime security more seriously.</p>
<p>Either way, the UK’s moral and legal responsibilities to protect life at sea must not be compromised by politically driven demands to strengthen maritime borders. Historically, the UK has a proud record in maritime search and rescue, but the risk of a tragedy is real if crowded and unsafe boats are forcibly turned away at sea. </p>
<p>Between 2014 and 2018, the Mediterranean became a graveyard for an estimated <a href="https://data2.unhcr.org/en/situations/mediterranean">19,000 people</a> attempting to make it to Europe by sea. The same thing must not happen in the English Channel.</p>
<p>Even so, maritime security responses alone cannot substitute for sustainable migration policy. In the absence of such measures and legal options for entering the UK, desperate people will continue to do desperate things and adaptive criminal networks will help them to do so. In essence, any long-term solution to the problems posed by migration at sea is ultimately likely to lie on the land.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/144466/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Scott Edwards receives funding from the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC). Grant no. ES/S008810/1: Transnational Organised Crime at Sea: New Evidence for Better Responses.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Timothy Edmunds receives funding from the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC). Grant no. ES/S008810/1: Transnational Organised Crime at Sea: New Evidence for Better Responses.</span></em></p>With normal routes disrupted by the pandemic, more people are driven to dangerous tactics.Scott Edwards, Research Associate, University of BristolTimothy Edmunds, Professor of International Security at University of Bristol and Director of the Centre for Global Insecurity, University of BristolLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1093062019-01-03T11:26:11Z2019-01-03T11:26:11ZWhat Britons get wrong about immigration – and why politicians need to tell them the truth<p>Immigration led the headlines again over the holiday season. Around <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/news/sajid-javid-s-deal-on-migrants-is-too-weak-say-tories-ccvtjmh50">100 migrants</a> were found on beaches or rescued from boats in the English Channel, sparking talk of <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-46706381">a “crisis”</a> and “major incident” and leading the home secretary, Sajid Javid, to cut short his Christmas break to chair a meeting with senior officials at the Border Agency and National Crime Agency.</p>
<p>It’s yet another example of how coverage of migration in the media and political rhetoric run way ahead of the reality, and fuel misperceptions about the scale, nature and impact of the issue.</p>
<p>This has real consequences, not just for how people feel about migration, but for nationally vital issues like Brexit, given that just about all analyses put concern about immigration <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/brexit-latest-news-leave-eu-immigration-main-reason-european-union-survey-a7811651.html">at or near the top</a> of the reasons why a majority of UK voters supported leaving the EU.</p>
<p>Misperceptions about migration are so commonplace they’re often accepted with a shrug. But they shouldn’t be – they should make us determined to do better in countering them and making a positive and, more importantly, truthful case for immigration.</p>
<p>I’ve been studying misperceptions for 15 years, and immigration is one of the areas that people in the UK are most wrong on, in many different respects.</p>
<h2>We get a lot wrong</h2>
<p>First, surveys show Britons think around a <a href="https://www.ipsos.com/ipsos-mori/en-uk/perils-perception-2018">quarter of the population are immigrants</a>, when it’s half that, at around 13%. And they think immigration from EU countries is nearly <a href="https://www.kcl.ac.uk/sspp/policy-institute/research-analysis/the-publics-brexit-misperceptions.aspx">three times the actual level</a> of 6%. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/252236/original/file-20190102-32127-64cisv.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/252236/original/file-20190102-32127-64cisv.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/252236/original/file-20190102-32127-64cisv.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=340&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/252236/original/file-20190102-32127-64cisv.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=340&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/252236/original/file-20190102-32127-64cisv.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=340&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/252236/original/file-20190102-32127-64cisv.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=427&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/252236/original/file-20190102-32127-64cisv.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=427&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/252236/original/file-20190102-32127-64cisv.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=427&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">People overestimate immigration and EU migration.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But it’s not just the scale but the composition that people get wrong. When we asked people what <a href="https://www.ipsos.com/sites/default/files/publication/1970-01/sri-perceptions-and-reality-immigration-report-2013.pdf">type of immigrants</a> come to mind when they think of immigration, refugees and asylum seekers are the most mentioned, when they’re actually the smallest category of immigrants. People’s mental image is driven by media coverage and the tendency is to focus on the most desperate cases, not the more common categories of people who immigrate to work, study or be with family. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/252248/original/file-20190102-32130-av49f1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/252248/original/file-20190102-32130-av49f1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/252248/original/file-20190102-32130-av49f1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=340&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/252248/original/file-20190102-32130-av49f1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=340&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/252248/original/file-20190102-32130-av49f1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=340&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/252248/original/file-20190102-32130-av49f1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=427&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/252248/original/file-20190102-32130-av49f1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=427&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/252248/original/file-20190102-32130-av49f1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=427&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A very wrong view of types of immigration.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Author provided.</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Most importantly, people in the UK are most wrong on the impact of immigration. Large proportions think that immigration increases crime levels, reduces the quality of the NHS and increases unemployment among skilled workers – when the <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/migration-advisory-committee-mac-report-eea-migration">best available evidence</a> shows none of those are true. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/252249/original/file-20190102-32142-1qr6ju0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/252249/original/file-20190102-32142-1qr6ju0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/252249/original/file-20190102-32142-1qr6ju0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/252249/original/file-20190102-32142-1qr6ju0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/252249/original/file-20190102-32142-1qr6ju0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/252249/original/file-20190102-32142-1qr6ju0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/252249/original/file-20190102-32142-1qr6ju0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/252249/original/file-20190102-32142-1qr6ju0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Wrong on the negative impacts of European immigration.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Author provided.</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Given British people’s mistaken belief in the link between immigration and crime it’s no surprise they think immigrants make up more of the prison population than they actually do. Those 1,000 people in our survey guessed 34% of prisoners are immigrants, when the reality is 12%, in line with their share of the population.</p>
<p>I’m very aware of the limitations of using facts to correct misperceptions, having written a book on <a href="https://atlantic-books.co.uk/book/the-perils-of-perception/">why we get so much so wrong</a> – and there are two key points to bear in mind.</p>
<p>First, we know that there is a complex relationship of cause and effect in our misperceptions. We overestimate what we worry about as much as the other way round. So our overestimates of immigration levels are as much a signal of our concern as a carefully calibrated estimate of reality. Our view of reality is coloured by our emotions, and this means that <a href="https://theconversation.com/stephen-frys-brexit-mythbusting-video-repeats-remains-2016-mistakes-108127">simple myth-busting</a> alone will have limited impact.</p>
<p>Second, many have argued that the underlying driver of concern around immigration is not a cost-benefit calculation but <a href="https://policyexchange.org.uk/why-culture-trumps-skills-public-opinion-on-immigration/">a broader cultural concern</a> that British society is changing too fast. So correcting the misreading of these facts by showing that immigration is actually good for our economy, public finances and services may miss the point.</p>
<h2>Don’t avoid the facts</h2>
<p>But neither of these are an excuse for not taking on these misperceptions with a positive, fact-based case. People are entitled to be concerned about the cultural impacts of immigration, but this does not mean politicians should avoid talking about the evidence of other benefits. The real issue has been the lack of political courage in making this case, and this extends back many years into previous Labour governments.</p>
<p>The approach in the 2000s was to say as little as possible about immigration and hope people didn’t notice – but it was disastrous. One of the few unifying factors in immigration attitudes was that British people felt it wasn’t being talking about enough: by 2011, <a href="https://www.ipsos.com/ipsos-mori/en-uk/more-people-think-were-talking-about-immigration-too-much">only 11%</a> of the public thought we were talking about it too much. This was epitomised in 2010 when Rochdale pensioner <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2010/apr/28/gordon-brown-gillian-duffy-transcript">Gillian Duffy</a> raised her immigration concerns with then-prime minister Gordon Brown. His initial response was to try to avoid the discussion and link the concern to bigotry.</p>
<p>But it’s not impossible to build a positive case, as the first minister of Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon, has increasingly done in recent few months, appealing to “<a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-42610539">national self-interest”</a> by focusing on the contribution that immigrants make, particularly to an ageing society. Of course, there are limitations to this, as chancellor <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2018/07/03/what-you-need-to-know-about-germanys-immigration-crisis/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.4583d201628a">Angela Merkel found</a> from taking a similar line in Germany.</p>
<p>But the UK as a whole is more characterised by an absence of any major political voices making the case at all. The tragedy is that this does not reflect the reality and variety of public opinion in Britain, which is more <a href="http://www.britishfuture.org/articles/national-conversation-final-report/">nuanced, balanced</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/new-poll-shows-british-people-have-become-more-positive-about-immigration-95813">increasingly positive</a> about immigration than the loudest voices would lead you to believe. It’s time to tell the truth and trust the people.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/109306/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Bobby Duffy does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>It’s time to tell the truth about immigration.Bobby Duffy, Professor of Public Policy and Director of the Policy Institute, King's College LondonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1029282018-09-10T11:48:12Z2018-09-10T11:48:12ZClimate change conflicts are here – and ‘scallop wars’ are just the beginning<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/235579/original/file-20180910-123116-1hrrhrp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Stormy seas ahead.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/detail-stormy-sea-on-windy-day-628687130?src=WUFO0E16scBb81_NEZZ_lQ-1-1">Simona Dibitonto/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>As the planet warms, species are <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/environment/fish-migrate-climate-change-north-seafood-fishermen-cod-sea-bass-king-crab-a8354861.html">moving further north</a> to climate zones which are closer in temperature to what they originally evolved in. The <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/09/12/science/earth/ocean-warming-climate-change.html">oceans have absorbed</a> most of this temperature increase, and so many marine species, including commercially fished scallops, are under particular stress to migrate northwards to cooler waters. </p>
<p>In the face of this disruption, legal boundaries for fishing fleets could become increasingly irrelevant. As the fish stocks they once contained move out, conflict is likely to arise between countries exploiting neighbouring fishing grounds.</p>
<p>As a result, the ongoing “<a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-45411941">scallop war</a>”, which has seen tense physical confrontations between French and British scallop fishers over access to these prized molluscs, may be a taste of worse to come.</p>
<h2>Shellfish behaviour</h2>
<p>The habitat ranges and migration patterns of commercial species in the ocean have been <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/9780470693919.ch4">carefully studied throughout history</a>, so that fishing fleets can exploit them more efficiently. This understanding has informed the division of fishing grounds according to who has the right to harvest them.</p>
<p>French scallop fishers were incensed over their British counterparts’ alleged <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/scallop-wars-britain-france-fishing-rights-english-channel-history-a8512871.html">pillaging</a> of scallop stocks, as smaller British boats aren’t bound by a French law that prohibits dredging in the Baie de Seine from October 1 through May 15, to allow scallop populations to recover.</p>
<p>While on the surface it might seem that these skirmishes are anchored to specific circumstances – potentially inflamed by <a href="https://theconversation.com/scallop-wars-between-britain-and-france-are-just-a-pre-brexit-skirmish-102588">existing tensions around Brexit</a> – they highlight the enormous difficulties in clearly mapping and enforcing legal boundaries around natural habitats that are changing rapidly.</p>
<p>These disputes over resources such as food will become more frequent and intense as climate change alters the habitats and material conditions of life on Earth.</p>
<hr>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/scallop-wars-between-britain-and-france-are-just-a-pre-brexit-skirmish-102588">'Scallop wars' between Britain and France are just a pre-Brexit skirmish</a>
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</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Fisheries in flux</h2>
<p>Managing marine resources like fish has always been tricky. Each species responds differently to changes and pressures in its environment, making it difficult for anyone to predict exactly where they will be, when or how far they will migrate, and how many remain. Climate change has introduced new uncertainty. </p>
<p>The effects of rising temperatures, though variable across species, have already begun to alter the <a href="https://phys.org/news/2018-03-world-affect-fish-size-fisheries.html">sizes</a>, <a href="http://nsgl.gso.uri.edu/nhu/nhug10001.pdf">distribution</a>, and food web interactions of marine organisms. Warming seas have led to an overall <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/3841453.pdf?refreqid=excelsior%3Ae202c73ec0c05b8997b8aea43519dd28">northward movement</a> for many species, some at a pace of 2.2 kilometres per year. This includes commercial species such as the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/sep/02/fish-conservation-foreign-species-uk-waters-climate-change">Atlantic cod</a>, a trend that is observable <a href="http://science.sciencemag.org/content/333/6045/1024">among land-based animals</a> as well.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/235576/original/file-20180910-123128-1saiu62.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/235576/original/file-20180910-123128-1saiu62.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/235576/original/file-20180910-123128-1saiu62.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/235576/original/file-20180910-123128-1saiu62.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/235576/original/file-20180910-123128-1saiu62.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/235576/original/file-20180910-123128-1saiu62.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/235576/original/file-20180910-123128-1saiu62.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) populations are heavily exploited and under pressure to migrate northwards with climate change.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/species/atlantic-cod">NOAA Fisheries</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>More carbon dioxide in the atmosphere means more of it dissolves in the ocean, making seawater more acidic. This process, known as <a href="https://ocean.si.edu/ocean-life/invertebrates/ocean-acidification">ocean acidification</a>, is making it difficult for species such as scallops to grow their tough calcium-carbonate shells, threatening their growth and survival. </p>
<p>On top of all of this, we’re taking from the ocean more than it can replenish. Currently <a href="https://www.greenpeace.org.uk/what-we-do/oceans/overfishing/">over 90%</a> of large commercial fish species such as tuna and cod have already been caught, and over 70% of the world’s fisheries range from “significantly depleted” to “fully exploited”. Species unable to adapt to this pressure are likely to decline or even disappear. </p>
<h2>Building bridges over troubled water</h2>
<p>If the scallop wars end soon, climate change will continue to disrupt marine ecosystems and render political boundaries increasingly outdated. We will need to have a radical rethink of who should have rights to what, who is to have the authority in managing important areas and resources, and what constitutes a truly sustainable harvest. </p>
<p>Greater communication and collaboration between fishers, policymakers, researchers and the wider public will become essential for navigating the troubled waters ahead. </p>
<p>Perhaps it is also time to take the interests of other species into consideration in this process, by viewing the natural world and non-human life as more than mere resources or a backdrop to the unfolding human drama.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/102928/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Heather Alberro does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Confrontation between French and British scallop fishers is a warning about the resource conflicts of the future.Heather Alberro, Lecturer in Global Studies, Nottingham Trent UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1015622018-08-23T07:43:19Z2018-08-23T07:43:19ZCurious Kids: is there a place in the middle of the English Channel where the waves change direction?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/232912/original/file-20180821-149481-cx1n6b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=902%2C94%2C5330%2C3672&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/68942208@N02/41324458380/sizes/o/">tsbl2000/Flickr.</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>This is an article from <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/curious-kids-36782">Curious Kids</a>, a series for children of all ages. The Conversation is asking young people to send in questions they’d like an expert to answer. All questions are welcome: find details on how to enter at the bottom.</em> </p>
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<blockquote>
<p><strong>We live in Deal, Kent and can see the coast of France from here. The waves lap towards us onto the shore on our side of the Channel, but they also lap towards the people on the opposite shore in Calais. Is there a place in the middle where the waves change direction? – Sebastian, age 12, Kent, UK</strong></p>
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<hr>
<p>Well done for noticing this, Sebastian. This is very true, the waves lap towards England on one shore, and also lap towards France across the Channel.</p>
<p>This happens for a few reasons. First, waves are created by the wind. When the wind blows across the surface of the water, it pushes the tiny particles of water on top of the ocean away from it. Over time, the energy from the wind moving along these particles causes waves to form. The blowing wind keeps pushing the energy along the water, driving the waves away from the place where they began. </p>
<p>The same thing happens when you blow really hard across a basin full of water: the waves you have created travel away from the source (your breath) – not just forwards, but in all directions. Now, if the planet had no land and we lived in a waterworld, the waves would carry on travelling around the globe without anything to stop them. But in reality, we have land such as England and France getting in the way of the waves. </p>
<p>So, as the wind blows through the English Channel – in whichever direction – it pushes the waves away from it, towards both England and France.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/233148/original/file-20180822-149496-djrx4v.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/233148/original/file-20180822-149496-djrx4v.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=372&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/233148/original/file-20180822-149496-djrx4v.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=372&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/233148/original/file-20180822-149496-djrx4v.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=372&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/233148/original/file-20180822-149496-djrx4v.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=467&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/233148/original/file-20180822-149496-djrx4v.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=467&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/233148/original/file-20180822-149496-djrx4v.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=467&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">3D view of the seabed in the Dover Strait.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://theconversation.com/geologists-unveil-how-britain-first-separated-from-europe-and-it-was-catastrophic-75636">Imperial College London/Professor Sanjeev Gupta and Dr Jenny Collier.</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>There’s another force which causes the waves to lap against both shores. The ground at the bottom of the sea – also known as the “sea bed” – rises from the middle of the channel, like a valley, all the way up to give us the lovely beaches we have on both the coasts. </p>
<p>As the waves get closer to the land, the sea bed also rises towards the shore, causing the waves to slow down. And when they slow down, they get closer together. Think of it like this: when the traffic slows down on the motorway, the distance between the cars gets smaller and smaller as drivers all press on the brakes. In exactly the same way, the distance between one wave and the next – what scientists call the “wavelength” – gets squashed as the waves slow down. </p>
<p>But even when the waves slow down, they still contain all that energy they got from the wind. So, as the wavelength becomes shorter, and the waves have to go slower, they put that energy into growing taller instead. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/232918/original/file-20180821-149469-1ekqjlr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/232918/original/file-20180821-149469-1ekqjlr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/232918/original/file-20180821-149469-1ekqjlr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/232918/original/file-20180821-149469-1ekqjlr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/232918/original/file-20180821-149469-1ekqjlr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=565&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/232918/original/file-20180821-149469-1ekqjlr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=565&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/232918/original/file-20180821-149469-1ekqjlr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=565&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Waves crash on the shore in Wales.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/aerial-view-looking-down-on-welsh-766995769?src=SGHt2360mrvII3lhszrQtQ-5-58">Shutterstock.</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>You will be able to see this when you look out to sea: the waves coming towards the shore get taller and taller, until they’re so tall and close together that they start “breaking”. White foam forms on the top of each wave, and <em>splash</em>! They crash on the shore, transferring all the energy they’ve been carrying onto the land. </p>
<p>This breaking happens at the coastline, both here in England and also in France. If the wind is strong enough, the westward moving waves produced in the English Channel may one day even make it all the way to America. Waves break along every coastline in the world. </p>
<p><em>Hello, curious kids! Have you got a question you’d like an expert to answer? Ask an adult to send your question to us. You can:</em></p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/165749/original/image-20170419-32713-1kyojyz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/165749/original/image-20170419-32713-1kyojyz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=376&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165749/original/image-20170419-32713-1kyojyz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=376&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165749/original/image-20170419-32713-1kyojyz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=376&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165749/original/image-20170419-32713-1kyojyz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=472&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165749/original/image-20170419-32713-1kyojyz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=472&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165749/original/image-20170419-32713-1kyojyz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=472&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
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</figure>
<p><em>Please tell us your name, age and which town or city you live in. You can send an audio recording of your question too, if you want. Send as many questions as you like! We won’t be able to answer every question, but we will do our best.</em></p>
<hr>
<p><em>More <a href="https://theconversation.com/topics/curious-kids-36782?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=TCUKengagement&utm_content=CuriousKidsUK">Curious Kids</a> articles, written by academic experts:</em></p>
<ul>
<li><p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/curious-kids-what-is-fire-100490?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=TCUKengagement&utm_content=CuriousKidsUK">What is fire? – Lyra, age seven, Oxford, UK</a></em>
*_ </p></li>
<li><p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/curious-kids-how-do-sim-cards-make-a-phone-work-96273?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=TCUKengagement&utm_content=CuriousKidsUK">How do SIM cards make a phone work? – Leo, age five, Sydney, Australia</a></em></p></li>
<li><p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/curious-kids-whats-it-like-to-be-a-fighter-pilot-100563?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=TCUKengagement&utm_content=CuriousKidsUK">What’s it like to be a fighter pilot? – Torben, age eight, Sussex, UK</a></em></p></li>
</ul><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/101562/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Claire Earlie does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Waves lap against the shore on the south coast of England and the North coast of France – but the answer to this puzzle is in the wind and the land, not the waves themselves.Claire Earlie, Lecturer in Coastal Processes, Cardiff UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/904092018-01-19T17:12:18Z2018-01-19T17:12:18ZBoris Johnson’s English Channel bridge: an engineering expert’s view<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/202600/original/file-20180119-80176-l4js89.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/uk-south-coast-cliffs-view-top-618301010?src=ugigYRp3TSDh_tDSZcZn1Q-1-1">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Boris Johnson, the UK foreign secretary, <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-42743909">has proposed</a> building a bridge across the English Channel to connect England and France, to complement the rail tunnel that opened in 1994. Leaving aside the political and financial challenge of such a project, would it even be feasible to build such a long structure over the open sea and one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world?</p>
<p>For spanning long distances we use either cable stayed or suspension bridges, because they are light compared to conventional bridges and provide large areas unobstructed by pylons.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/worlds-longest-bridges/index.html">longest suspension bridge</a> built to date is in Kobe, Japan, measuring 3.9 km in total, with clear space between its pylons of almost 2km.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2343361/Worlds-longest-widest-cable-bridge-span-10km-finally-completed-seven-years-China-course.html">longest bridge with a single cable-stayed span</a> built to date is the Sutong Yangtze River Bridge near Suzhou, China. Its two pylons are separated by a 1km main span and it is 8km long in total. But it is not a completely suspended structure, with a number of densely spaced pylons on either side of the main span.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/202602/original/file-20180119-80206-cq8mea.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/202602/original/file-20180119-80206-cq8mea.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/202602/original/file-20180119-80206-cq8mea.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/202602/original/file-20180119-80206-cq8mea.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/202602/original/file-20180119-80206-cq8mea.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/202602/original/file-20180119-80206-cq8mea.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/202602/original/file-20180119-80206-cq8mea.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Sutong Bridge.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/download/confirm/682862707?src=ejZzwv7Lo7X7eyaLYZqesQ-1-0&size=huge_jpg">Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Similarly, the <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2343361/Worlds-longest-widest-cable-bridge-span-10km-finally-completed-seven-years-China-course.html">longest bridge in the world</a> is the Danyang–Kunshan Grand Bridge in China. It is mostly a conventional bridge made from columns sunk into the seabed, although it has a cable-stayed section. The bridge is 165km long (just over 100 miles) but the short distance between the columns would not do for the busy Channel. </p>
<p>A bridge over the English Channel that wouldn’t disrupt shipping would require a span of 22 miles, or 38km in total, which is an order of magnitude larger than anything else built to date. This presents a considerable civil engineering challenge for a number of reasons.</p>
<h2>Tallest bridge ever</h2>
<p>The channel is between 40m and 60m deep and some passenger ships are <a href="https://www.marineinsight.com/know-more/top-10-largest-cruise-ships-2017/">more than 70m tall</a>. So to let ships pass underneath, the pylons supporting the bridge would have to be around 150m tall. To support the cables you would have to add pylons above the deck, which would mean a total pylon height well above 500m. Again, nothing this tall has ever been built.</p>
<p>Apart from the challenge of building them, the high pylons would need a very careful assessment of how the wind would affect them and the attached cables. This would have to be supported by a vibrational analysis to prevent potential failure. As the wind hits the pylons and the cables, it causes them to vibrate. In some instances, this can grow into a phenomenon known as “flutter”, causing the entire structure to become unstable, as happened to <a href="https://www.aps.org/publications/apsnews/201611/physicshistory.cfm">the Tacoma bridge</a>, which collapsed in 1940.</p>
<p>To prevent the cables from becoming overstressed, you would need a relatively large number of pylons to hold the bridge up. But again, this conflicts with the requirement of having unobstructed space on the water for ships to pass through.</p>
<p>The cables would also have to be very strong and light cables, possibly stronger than the very expensive carbon fibre composites. To make them we would probably need to research new materials and find a way to make it affordable.</p>
<p>Another big unknown quantity is the undersea ground conditions, which would need to be carefully investigated to see if they would be suitable for the pylons’ foundations. This means we also don’t know how much the foundations would add to the cost. </p>
<h2>Possible solution</h2>
<p>Following the lead of the Danyang–Kunshan Grand Bridge in China, it may be possible to combine a cable-supported structure, for the part where a clear sailing space is needed, with a conventional column bridge style. This might ease problems of construction and cost, although it may still disrupt shipping routes to a certain degree.</p>
<p>But the only thing we can say for sure is that cost of the project would likely run into billions of pounds. It’s a project that would require a lot of further research into the properties of cable materials, not to mention a proper feasibility study.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/90409/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Wanda Lewis does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>We’d need some major innovation to bridge the Channel without disrupting shipping.Wanda Lewis, Emeritus Professor, Civil Engineering, University of WarwickLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/756362017-04-04T15:01:46Z2017-04-04T15:01:46ZGeologists unveil how Britain first separated from Europe – and it was catastrophic<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/163705/original/image-20170403-21972-gwmhxa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Artist’s impression of waterfalls pouring over the original land bridge connecting England with France.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">CREDIT: Imperial College London/Chase Stone</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>As Brexit looms, Earth scientists have uncovered evidence of Britain’s original split from mainland Europe. Almost half a million years ago, according to new data, water suddenly started cascading over the narrow strip of land that joined England and France – putting pressure on a chalk bridge. </p>
<p>Researchers show that, as a result, this ridge – a natural dam that separated the North Sea from the English Channel – was catastrophically ruptured hundreds of thousands of years later in a two-stage process, ultimately setting Britain’s insular environment in stone. Their results are reported in <a href="http://nature.com/articles/doi:10.1038/ncomms15101">Nature Communications</a>.</p>
<p>So where did all the water that caused this geological disaster come from? The scientists, from UK, Belgium and France, base their conclusions on a line of deep plunge pools (basins excavated by intense waterfalls) and a network of channels cut in the sea floor south-west of the ridge line. They deduce that these were first formed some 450,000 years ago as a lake of glacial melt water to the north-east in the North Sea basin (the depression where the north sea sits today, some of which was dry land back then) spilled over into what is today the English Channel.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/163810/original/image-20170404-5739-h2ypb6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/163810/original/image-20170404-5739-h2ypb6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=451&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/163810/original/image-20170404-5739-h2ypb6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=451&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/163810/original/image-20170404-5739-h2ypb6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=451&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/163810/original/image-20170404-5739-h2ypb6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/163810/original/image-20170404-5739-h2ypb6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/163810/original/image-20170404-5739-h2ypb6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Strait of Dover map.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">wikipedia</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>However, exactly why the <a href="http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v448/n7151/abs/nature06018.html">glacial lake suddenly spilt over</a> remains unknown. One possibility is that part of its ice sheet broke off, causing a surge that prompted the water to flow over. The 33km long land bridge at Dover Strait formed part of an icy landscape at the time. According to the researchers, it looked “more like the frozen tundra in Siberia than the green environment we know today”.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/163717/original/image-20170403-21983-9vjr7r.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/163717/original/image-20170403-21983-9vjr7r.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=372&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/163717/original/image-20170403-21983-9vjr7r.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=372&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/163717/original/image-20170403-21983-9vjr7r.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=372&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/163717/original/image-20170403-21983-9vjr7r.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=467&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/163717/original/image-20170403-21983-9vjr7r.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=467&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/163717/original/image-20170403-21983-9vjr7r.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=467&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">3D view of the seafloor in the 33km wide Dover Strait showing a prominent valley in the central part.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Imperial College London/Professor Sanjeev Gupta and Dr Jenny Collier</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The loose gravel that fills the seafloor plunge pools was first noticed 50 years ago. Indeed, the channel tunnel <a href="http://www.icevirtuallibrary.com/doi/book/10.1680/egotct.20450">had to be rerouted to avoid them</a> during its construction. There has long been speculation that they were associated with the remains of the land bridge that formed an ancient route between UK and Europe – and now we finally have some evidence to back this up. </p>
<p>The plunge pools themselves are huge, drilling down some 100 metres into the solid bedrock and measuring several kilometres across. The waterfalls that formed them are estimated to have been 100 metres high, as we know the land bridge stood high above the surrounding landscape.</p>
<h2>Second sudden destruction</h2>
<p>It seems Dover Strait may have gone through two breaches. The first one, about 450,000 years ago, was rather modest and formed a smaller channel than the one we see today. But the authors suggest that a second, more catastrophic breach subsequently occurred – possibly hundreds of thousands of year later, irrevocably separating Britain from Europe.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/163716/original/image-20170403-21933-1d7xxzn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/163716/original/image-20170403-21933-1d7xxzn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=418&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/163716/original/image-20170403-21933-1d7xxzn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=418&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/163716/original/image-20170403-21933-1d7xxzn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=418&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/163716/original/image-20170403-21933-1d7xxzn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=525&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/163716/original/image-20170403-21933-1d7xxzn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=525&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/163716/original/image-20170403-21933-1d7xxzn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=525&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">3D view of an ancient large waterfall in a valley in the central part of Dover Strait. A plunge pool lies at its base.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Imperial College London/Professor Sanjeev Gupta and Dr Jenny Collier</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This final collapse of the land bridge is marked out by a larger seafloor channel named the Lobourg Channel, which cuts through the earlier structures. This appears to have been carved by a major cataclysmic flood from the North Sea into the English Channel. The timings of the two-stage erosion, including the final destruction of the connecting bridge, are uncertain, but <a href="http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=2&ved=0ahUKEwjX_7T1zIrTAhVFCcAKHRdKCQ0QFgggMAE&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.erudit.org%2Fen%2Fjournals%2Fgpq%2F1996-v50-n2-gpq1909%2F033094ar.pdf&usg=AFQjCNFVJG_iBwsLSRaZyizOfN4Z5PTn5g&sig2=Ef504VoEAcijGkdJNyyJ2A">mollusc shells found either side of the breach</a> indicate that it was complete at least 100,000 years ago.</p>
<p>The latest observations are the result of a broad marine geophysics campaign to tackle the problem. Ship-based seismic surveys of the floor of the English Channel have been combined with a type of sonar to provide an astoundingly detailed picture of the sea floor and its sub-surface. Uncertainty remains over the exact timings of each of the events, and researchers have set their sights on drilling into the sea floor to retrieve samples from the plunge pool sediments to determine their precise ages.</p>
<p>The erosion of the land bridge hundreds of thousands of years ago set Britain on its path to becoming an island nation. Subsequent changes in sea level at the end of that ancient ice age further confirmed its insularity, and Britain’s connection to mainland Europe was lost.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/75636/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Simon Redfern receives funding from the British Council and the Natural Environment Research Council. </span></em></p>Almost half a million years ago a huge flood started breaking the apart the land bridge that joined England and France.Simon Redfern, Professor in Earth Sciences, University of CambridgeLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/311352014-09-01T16:53:40Z2014-09-01T16:53:40ZCalais migrant crisis must be a problem shared between France and Britain<p>Calais might be in France, but it is the front line of Britain’s battle to control immigration. Yet the governments of both countries continue to pass the buck between each other and very little progress has been made in the decade since the Sangatte refugee camp was closed a decade ago.</p>
<p>Surveys of UK public opinion paint a mixed picture and while there is significant support for reducing migration, views about why this is important vary considerably from reality. Pollsters <a href="http://www.ipsos-mori.com/DownloadPublication/1634_sri-perceptions-and-reality-immigration-report-2013.pdf">Ipsos-Mori</a> found that more than 60% of the public believed refugees made up the largest group when it comes to immigrants entering the UK. Respondents to a survey on the subject in fact overestimated the number of refugees coming into the country by as much as four times the real figure. Most migrants to the UK are actually students.</p>
<p>This <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/prejudice-and-ignorance-skew-public-view-of-asylumseekers-1699213.html">gap between public perceptions and official immigration figures</a> is nothing new. The difference between the facts and opinion often creates distortions that make it difficult for the government to reduce migration while simultaneously carrying public support. Calais is the perfect example of this problem – its problems indicate a failure to calm public concerns about tackling immigration. </p>
<p>Now, a <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2715038/Calais-crisis-UK-bound-migrants-As-riot-police-prepare-raze-makeshift-camp-tensions-reach-boiling-point.html">crisis has erupted</a>. French riot police have stepped up their efforts to close illegal camps <a href="http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/calais-migrant-camp-nears-crisis-4008026">housing up to 2,000 foreigners</a> who mainly come from the developing world hoping to enter Britain. French officials estimate <a href="http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/calais-migrant-camp-nears-crisis-4008026">at least 35 migrants succeed</a> in crossing the Channel every day. <a href="http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/505590/French-to-unleash-immigrant-flood-from-Calais-on-UK">About 19,000 illegally</a> attempted to enter Britain from Calais last year.</p>
<p>Britain requires immigration checks to the UK to take place in Calais. This is why so many people wait to try their luck at entering illegally. While this policy makes it easier for the UK to control entry from Calais, it also creates an increasingly dangerous environment and it is not clear who should be responsible.</p>
<p>The UK government supports the status quo. A Home Office spokeswoman recently <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/special-report-an-immigration-crisison-britains-doorstep-in-calais-9129630.html">said</a>, “The conditions of any camps in France and the policing of them is the responsibility of the French authorities. If individuals have a genuine need of protection they should claim asylum in the first safe country they reach.” The view is that the camps are based in France and are therefore the responsibility of the French government. It should not direct blame to others for its own problems.</p>
<p>It is true that many people living in Calais camps want to enter the UK to claim asylum. While international law does not require refugees to seek asylum in any particular country, there is <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/libertycentral/2010/sep/21/claim-asylum-uk-legal-position">a longstanding principle</a> that an asylum application should be made at the first available opportunity. In other words, refugees may have a right to asylum but not to have full discretion about where they apply. This is consistent with the UK government’s position: if individuals in Calais wish to claim asylum, then they should do so in France and not the UK. </p>
<p>But it is also true that the UK’s policy is under pressure. Today, it is reported that lorry drivers are being ordered to avoid Calais altogether since they could end up confronting what the <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2739392/Avoid-Calais-lorry-drivers-told-confrontations-knife-wielding-immigrants-trying-to-Britain.html">Daily Mail calls</a> “knife-wielding illegal immigrants who are trying to get to Britain.”</p>
<p>The tightening of border controls by recent UK governments coupled with the razing of refugee camps by the French authorities might have contributed to a more dangerous environment as migrants attempt more desperate, and violent, measures to cross the Channel.</p>
<p>It is clear the status quo and current stand-off should not be allowed to continue. No major British political party would support lifting current border restrictions in Calais given the state of public opinion but the problem of growing unrest in Calais will not be solved by ordering drivers to avoid the area. This will only relocate the problem and may even make things worse.</p>
<h2>Burden or opportunity?</h2>
<p>It’s a difficult problem but we need to start looking at immigration as an opportunity rather than a problem. We live in a world in which states compete with each other for people and skills more fiercely than ever before. Immigrants can bring significant economic and cultural benefits to a country, as was recently <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/jan/14/immigration-beneficial-uk-economy-treasury-independent-advisers">confirmed in a report</a> by the House of Commons Treasury Select Committee. In a race for economic competitiveness internationally, it is important that every state is able to find new talent. It should have well managed immigration policies that support that goal. Better to have more than enough individuals to create jobs and wealth than too few.</p>
<p>Yet, the public continues to view immigration as a threat. UKIP’s Nigel Farage is even on record saying he’d oppose immigration <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/immigration/10555158/Id-rather-be-poorer-with-fewer-migrants-Farage-says.html">even if it hurt the British economy</a>. </p>
<p>People only seem to want policies that support their preconceptions, even if they are inaccurate in the first place. The economic case for migration is therefore rejected or ignored.</p>
<p>There is no ready solution to the crisis in Calais. But it is clear the UK government must do more than bury its head in the sand. There is a pressing need to begin a national conversation about migration control rather than continuing to develop policy on the hoof, in reaction to tabloid headlines.</p>
<p>The UK should also aim to view France as a partner and develop a common framework for managing migration across the Channel that improves access to and from Calais. This is in their shared interests and should not get lost in the pursuit of looking tough on immigration. This is a crisis that can be managed but only if there is leadership and a more constructive partnership between the countries involved.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/31135/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Thom Brooks is a member of the Labour Party.</span></em></p>Calais might be in France, but it is the front line of Britain’s battle to control immigration. Yet the governments of both countries continue to pass the buck between each other and very little progress…Thom Brooks, Reader in Law, Durham UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/291182014-07-14T05:07:33Z2014-07-14T05:07:33ZWe must rein in heavy fishing gear to allow the seas to recover<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/53666/original/3wrgny9r-1405250772.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C88%2C1142%2C816&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A dragnet that captures too much marine life.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Krabbenkutter_Ivonne_Pellworm_P5242390jm.JPG">Joachim Müllerchen</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>When the UK Environmental Audit Committee investigated the issue of protecting our marine environment last month, it concluded that there had been a <a href="http://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/environmental-audit-committee/news/marineprotectedareaspublication/">woeful lack of decisive action</a> from the government so far.</p>
<p>The committee, led by the MP for Stoke-on-Trent, Joan Walley, questioned the government’s commitment to introducing <a href="http://jncc.defra.gov.uk/mczmap">Marine Conservation Zones</a> after less than a quarter of the 127 sites recommended by independent project groups were designated as conservation areas. And even in those that were established, there are serious concerns remaining over the <a href="https://theconversation.com/marine-conservation-bid-upsets-everyone-it-aimed-to-please-21246">adequacy of the enforcement provisions</a> put in place. None of them, for example, ban the use of damaging fishing gear such as trawls and dredges, equipment that causes long-term damage to the sea bed and obliterates fish spawning areas.</p>
<p>And as an example of why that’s such an important omission, the paper we’ve published, a scientific study of commercial fishing catches in the English Channel over the past 90 years, <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0101506">reveals the true impact</a> that industrial fishing has had upon marine life.</p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/53643/original/p2m59sxt-1405096106.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/53643/original/p2m59sxt-1405096106.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=756&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/53643/original/p2m59sxt-1405096106.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=756&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/53643/original/p2m59sxt-1405096106.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=756&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/53643/original/p2m59sxt-1405096106.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=950&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/53643/original/p2m59sxt-1405096106.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=950&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/53643/original/p2m59sxt-1405096106.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=950&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Mansized Atlantic halibut once landed in the 19th century are rare as hen’s teeth these days.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Fish landings from the Channel grew from 9,146 tonnes in 1920 to 50,924 tonnes in 1970, peaking at 177,793 tonnes in 1983 and stabilising around 130,000-150,000 tonnes over the last decade. In that time the amount of cod, haddock and hake dropped from 48% to just 4% of the catch. Sharks and rays fell from 34% of catch in 1920 to 6% in 2010.</p>
<p>There’s been a huge decline in what is called white fish, those species that live near the sea bed such as cod, ling, hake and haddock which are prized for their delicious flakes of white flesh. Fish such as halibut that can grow as big as a man, and the common skate have disappeared completely off the southern coast of England and northern France. </p>
<p>When we examine the footprint of mobile fishing gear, like <a href="http://www.fao.org/fishery/geartype/305/en">beam trawlers</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gKqM3hXwcRs">scallop dredgers</a>, the reason is screamingly obvious – Britain’s sea bed is repeatedly gouged by tonnes of heavy fishing gear. It’s no wonder that the only fish left are tiddlers. Our supermarkets stock cod and haddock freighted in from Iceland and Norway, where fishing with trawls and dredges is banned in coastal waters because of the <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/feb/10/bottom-trawling-how-to-empty-the-seas">damage it does to the fishes’ spawning areas</a>. Most of the salmon, bass and bream we eat come from from fish farms, because we simply cannot catch enough of those species in UK waters to meet consumer demand.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/53645/original/zd7tjssx-1405097042.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/53645/original/zd7tjssx-1405097042.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/53645/original/zd7tjssx-1405097042.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=361&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/53645/original/zd7tjssx-1405097042.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=361&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/53645/original/zd7tjssx-1405097042.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=361&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/53645/original/zd7tjssx-1405097042.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=454&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/53645/original/zd7tjssx-1405097042.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=454&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/53645/original/zd7tjssx-1405097042.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=454&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">English Channel landings 1920–2010, showing falling white fish catch (ICES data).</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0101506">Molfese, Beare, Hall-Spencer</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The ecological balance of the seas around us has changed dramatically. Intense fishing of the English Channel by fleets from all over Europe has wiped out stocks of larger fish, allowing commercially undesirable species – the cockroaches, rats and mice of the sea – to thrive. Perversely, business is booming for the scallop-dredging fleet since scallops have tough shells and thrive in heavily trawled areas. But most of this catch is destined for the export market – it seems crazy to export what we catch and import what we eat.</p>
<p>A common misconception, one that is perpetuated by fisheries ministers throughout the European Union, is that there are too many fishermen catching too few fish. The problem is quite the opposite: there are too few fishermen catching too many fish. Large vessels manned by a skeleton crew trawl up vast quantities of sea life, burning fuel that is subsidised by the tax payer.</p>
<p>I want to see harbours bustling with small fishing vessels catching delicious food in a sustainable manner. The only way to achieve that is to prevent widespread damaging activities. We know from our own research in south-west England that marine life soon recovers once the use of mobile gear <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0308597X13002121">is stopped in inshore waters</a>. If you dive in shallow waters off the Azores or Norway, where the seabed is left alone, the seabed is teeming with life, with small fish that grow up to become the fish that feed the offshore fishing industry and, ultimately, feed us.</p>
<p>As Walley concluded: “When a rare species or biodiverse stretch of sea bed is destroyed it may be lost forever. The government must therefore act on the best available evidence and base its decisions on new marine conservation zones on the precautionary principle, rather than demanding unobtainable evidence.”</p>
<p>The scientific evidence is in. Now is the time for the government to act. Setting aside areas where marine life can recover makes sense and is the right thing to do.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/29118/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jason Hall-Spencer does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>When the UK Environmental Audit Committee investigated the issue of protecting our marine environment last month, it concluded that there had been a woeful lack of decisive action from the government so…Jason Hall-Spencer, Professor of Marine Biology, University of PlymouthLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.