Caroline is involved in a number of marine issues, inspired by Gosport's peninsula location and the potential for the wider Portsmouth Harbour area for driving jobs, skills and economic prosperity through marine expansion.
She has taken part in the influential Marine Sector Advisory Group, and was instrumental in the formation of the Gosport Marine Scene group, which seeks to highlight Gosport's status as a world class destination for sailing & yachting. In 2019 this was expanded to Portsmouth Harbour Marine Scene to encompass the wider area and you can find out more about them here.
Caroline welcomed Sir Ben Ainslie's £90m Americas Cup Race Team HQ to the area, and sees the plans for a multi-million pound investment into Haslar Marina, (extending the marina, creating a powerboat centre and a new home for Alex Thomson Racing( as key to creating a centre of excellence in our region.
Caroline has met with successive Transport Ministers to make the case for necessary improvements to legislation governing the use of Personal Water Craft (PWC), such as jet skis and RIBs. Existing legislation fails to protect the users of PWCs and other water users, as was clearly demonstrated by the death of Ryan McKinlay, a Gosport resident tragically killed in a PWC collision in the Solent, in 2015. Caroline's most recent meeting with the current Minister, Nusrat Ghani MP, proved positive and the Minister advised that a consultation on alcohol limits would be included in a wider consultation later this year.
Caroline believes, that is vital that our marine habitat is protected and she is delighted that plans have been set out to create 41 new Marine Conservation Zones across the UK, safeguarding almost 12,000 square kilometres of marine habitats. Our local seas also fall under Marine Protection Areas.
As an MP for a coastal constituency Caroline sees for herself on a daily basis the devastating impact of plastics in our oceans and on our beaches that is why she has taken part in two #GiveUpPlasticForLent pledges and supported the ‘Plastic-Free Parliament’ campaign.
She is a keen supporter of local groups who carry out beach cleans, such as Surfers Against Sewage and can regularly be seen supporting the events. Caroline has also organised a beach clean with the Marine Conservation Society.
Caroline also supported the worlds most comprehensive ban on microbeads to tackle the large number of plastics choking our marine life.
