Noah, Jonah, and the shipwreck of St Paul were all part of a speech the Bishop of Norwich gave in the House of Lords in support of the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction Bill.
The Bill seeks to protect the world’s oceans and Bishop Graham said: “The world’s oceans support biodiversity, regulate climate, store carbon, sustain global food webs, and provide critical genetic and biological resources.”
The Bishop recalled reading medieval manuscripts in cathedral libraries and finding the margins decorated with centuries-old doodles – “little drawings of scary sea monsters.”
“These sea monsters, and the mysteries of the recesses of the deep, captured the imagination of our forebears,” he said. “Long has there been a respect for the sea, this place of chaos beyond our taming, this place of mystery with depths beyond human reach, with glimpses of its wonder reported back by travellers.
“Indeed, 32 of the 150 Psalms refer to the sea. For example, the Psalmist speaks of how, ‘Some went down to the sea in ships, doing business on the mighty waters; they saw the deeds of the Lord, his wondrous works in the deep.’ (Psalm 107).
“My Lords, those ‘wonderous works in the deep’ are under threat. We have lost a respectfulness for the high seas in favour of an exploitative attitude. Deep-sea mining, overfishing, pollution, ocean acidification, oil and gas extraction, are all threats that are faced.”
He spoke of the vital biodiversity within oceans and the sea as the largest carbon sink on the planet, slowing global warming.
If passed, the Bill will ratify an international UN agreement to protect the world’s oceans.
Bishop Graham concluded: “Protecting our oceans is vital not only for ocean health but for the stability of the entire planet and the flourishing of humanity. That is why the Government is right to be bringing forward the ratification of the High Seas Treaty, and I fully support them.”