Protected areas are set to cover one-third of oceans by 2030 yet rigorous empirical estimates of the relative performance of different marine protected area (MPA) types are few, so states a new study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). The study compares the benefits from no-take vs. multiple-use MPAs, providing insights […]

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An investment of €233m to fund 12 European environmental and climate projects was announced by the European Commission on 22 February 2024. As part of the EU’s long-term LIFE programme, Ireland is to receive €15.14m of funding to expand and enforce a network of marine protected areas (MPAs) with its waters. The 12 Europe-wide strategic […]

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  The government of South Georgia & the South Sandwich Islands has announced plans to introduce significant enhancements to marine protection in the Southern Ocean. The announcement of an additional 166,000km2 of ‘No Take Zones’, covering an area eight times the size of Wales, will result in 449,000km2of highly biodiverse marine habitat being closed to all […]

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The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) is seeking feedback on policies to update guidance on Marine Protected Area (MPA) assessments. In July 2021, Defra consulted on best practice guidance for developing compensatory measures in relation to MPAs.  The UK government department are now consulting on draft policies to inform updated guidance using this […]

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A Marine Management Organisation (MMO) byelaw to protect valuable marine habitats and species in 13 English offshore marine protected areas (MPAs) will come into force on 22 March 2024. Following formal consultation in 2023 and an official announcement on 31 January 2024 as part of Government’s 1 year on Environmental Improvement Plan progress update, management measures […]

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The National Oceanography Centre (NOC), working with the University of Southampton and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), recently completed a Fully Autonomous Marine Protected Area Seafloor Survey. This survey will help us understand the suitability of using autonomous underwater vehicles for UK offshore marine monitoring and establish to what extent such systems […]

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