14 May 2024

‘Deeply concerning’ failures to properly implement regulations designed to protect rivers, lakes and coastal waters in England mean key targets for improvement will be missed, a report by the Office for Environmental Protection (OEP) has found. The OEP has carried out a review of the key legislation regarding water quality – the Water Framework Directive […]

14 May 2024

A record number of swimming spots in England have been designated as bathing sites, the UK government has confirmed. There has been widespread coverage, including in BBC, ITV, The Guardian, Independent and Sky, of the government’s announcement that 27 new bathing water sites will be designated across England. The decision follows a public consultation last year. The Environment Agency […]

14 May 2024

The UK government has announced a package of new technologies are to be deployed on fishing vessels from this summer to help tackle the risk of over-fishing. Remote Electronic Monitoring (REM) technologies involving camera, gear sensors, and GPS units are to be deployed to make sure catches are accurately recorded and fish are not unlawfully […]

06 May 2024

Research has uncovered that nearly half of the world’s estuaries have been directly altered by human activities. Estuaries, vital transition zones between freshwater and marine environments can be called ‘nurseries of the sea’ as not only animals but also humans commonly rely on them for nesting and breeding as well as tourism, fisheries, and recreational […]

06 May 2024

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DAERA) has published a consultation on the review of Northern Ireland’s Marine Protected Areas strategy. Since the publication and implementation of the original Marine Protected Area (MPA) Strategy in 2014, several key strategic policy drivers have been developed at global, UK and Northern Ireland levels relating to […]

06 May 2024

A recently released report titled “Legacy Plastics” suggests that community driven beach cleanups could be a more cost-effective strategy to removing large, macroplastics compared to trials testing novel technologies. However, preventing plastics from entering the environment must be a policy priority. The report, released by the Royal Society at the same time as the latest […]

06 May 2024

To coincide with the Our Ocean conference, a new report, co-authored by Marine Conservation Society, Seas At Risk and Oceana, shows that in the seven countries analysed, 4.4 million hours of apparent bottom trawling was allowed in MPAs between 2015-2023 – equivalent to more than 500 years’ worth of trawling. Using data compiled by Global Fishing Watch, the breadth and […]