No Take Swim - Medway
On Saturday the 29th July Middle Brother Calum completed the second of four swims for the No Take Swim Expedition 🏊♂️
A no-take zone is an area set aside by the government where no extractive activity is allowed. Extractive activity is any action that removes, or extracts, any resource. Extractive activities include fishing, hunting, logging, mining, and drilling. In this case, for marine No Take Zones, the prohibited activities are any and all kinds of fishing, including, pole, rod, trawling etc. Inside these zones no extractive activities are taking place, therefore leaving ecosystems mostly undisturbed. Studies have found that full protection from extractive activities will likely generate greater ecological, economic and social benefits than if protection is only partial, never mind absent entirely. These zones are critical for the recovery of marine life as well as for supporting local fishing communities by creating overspill and allowing fish and shellfish stock to recover.
The second No Take Zone we wanted to swim across was called Medway No Take Zone. The River Medway Nursery Area (Prohibition of Fishing) Byelaw prohibits any fishing activity in an area of the Medway four times larger than the City of London. The no-take zone covers 12.1 square kilometres (4.6 square miles) of salt marsh and mudflat environments that are vitally important to a wide variety of fish. The shallow waters have been identified as a nursery area, as they provide a refuge for fish during their juvenile stages, allowing them to shelter from predators and storms whilst supporting an abundance of prey for them to feed on.
For this expedition, I enlisted my fiance Serena and the double dad combo of my dad, Ralph and Serena’s dad, Alan. A first for a Wild Swimming Brothers swim! Because I would be doing the swim on my own it was critical that I have boat support and advice from local experts. Paul Peel Ports the local port authority was instrumental in helping to plan the route as well as secure permission to swim through the zone, there are large commercial ships that pass through so having this in place was critical to the success of the swim. He advised I speak to expert local ship captains Paul and Emma from Red2Red who ran RIB experiences from Gillingham harbour. With them onboard we had all the right ingredients for the swim.
But when and why was the no-take zone created in the Medway?
Unfortunately, key functions of saltmarsh ecosystems are now being compromised. It is estimated that two per cent of English saltmarshes are lost to the sea every year as a consequence of sea level rise. In addition to this, human encroachment into estuarine, intertidal and saltmarsh areas has created the phenomenon of coastal squeeze, where the seaward habitat is diminished through sea level rise, whilst sea defence structures, such as sea walls, are limiting compensatory inland encroachment.
This inshore marine conservation zone (MCZ) was designated on 21 November 2013. Another feature was added to this site on 31 May 2019.
The River Medway Nursery Area No-Take Zone byelaw prohibits any fishing activity within the intertidal areas along the northern banks of the estuary, spanning from Hoo Marina to Elphinstone Point. This includes angling and netting from boat or shore, and bait digging. Anyone caught fishing within the restricted area may be liable for prosecution.
At 8.00am on Saturday 29th July, we set off on the swim. The route would be a 3km route along the length of the zone. The Medway presented some unique challenges, namely it is a tidal estuary with strong currents, mudflats, and quicksand and is a busy commercial shipping lane. The water was 17 degrees and rather choppy. My aim was to sight off the power station, something I never thought I would say on a swim. It was a challenge to swim in a straight line, with strong tidal currents pushing me in the wrong direction to start with. After some expert redirection from Paul I was back on course.
I was feeling strong but kept touching things in the water, I could feel my hand bumping into them, hoping that they were jellyfish rather than something else! It was also extra special because my dad, fiancé Serena and her Dad joined for our first ever double Dad expedition. Being in the water and looking up at the boat to see their faces felt incredible and really motivated me to push through the currents and drive through the zone. I love sharing these adventures with family and it’s truly a special feeling to be out there on the water together.
It was equally special to be swimming through the no take zone, these little known conservation areas are crucial to protecting marine life and it doesn’t get more unique that a tidal estuary with power stations, huge ships, mud flats and old World War 2 forts. I completed the 3km swim in just over 40 minutes, invigorated and inspired to continue raising awareness for these places.
With 2 swims down we only have two more to go to complete the No Take Swim 🏊♂️
