Solent Seascape Project launched to restore marine habitats. It will see 10 organisations work together on four types of habitat – seagrass meadows, oyster reefs, saltmarsh and seabird nesting sites. They aim to develop a plan to protect and restore “at least 30% of the Solent’s seascape”. The Solent is recognised as an internationally-important wintering […]
The ‘EU Fish Market’ is a comprehensive analysis of the global and EU fishery and aquaculture market. Three highlights of the 2022 edition: 1. Continuation of covid-19 effects on consumption of fish and seafood In 2021, European citizens continued to consume more fish and seafood products at home. The household expenditure on fish and seafood in […]
A £3m funding scheme to support the fisheries, marine and aquaculture sectors is now open for expressions of interest, Minister for Rural Affairs Lesley Griffiths has announced. The funding is available over two years and replaces the previous European Maritime and Fisheries Fund. The aim of the Welsh Marine and Fisheries Scheme is […]
Record number of plastic nurdles found on beaches as environmental groups call for tougher laws. A survey has now found a record number on beaches around the world and campaigners want new laws in place to help reduce spillages. Nurdles are tiny pellets of plastic used by industry to produce nearly all of our plastic […]
97.1% of bathing waters in England have passed water quality standards following testing at over 400 designated sites carried out by the Environment Agency (EA). The results show that for the 2022 bathing season, 72.1% of beaches and inland waters met the ‘Excellent’ standard, the highest since new stringent standards were introduced in 2015. 92.8% of […]
The Our Seas coalition, a group of 135 organisations, have written an open letter to the BBC suggesting that the BBC TV series Trawlermen ‘has missed a vital opportunity to explore urgent sustainability issues, as well as failing to reflect the important diversity of the fishing industry.’ The coalition says that the new series launched in […]
For two years the Local Government Association Coastal Special Interest Group (LGA Coastal SIG), in partnership with the Coastal Group Network (CGN) have been working together under a “call to arms” to better understand the challenge of coastal landfill and its impact on the coast. This summer they circulated a survey to their membership to […]
Scientists have identified a population of endangered oceanic manta rays off the coast of Ecuador that is 10 times larger than any other known population. The discovery offers hope for the future of the species, experts say. “This is a rare story of ocean optimism,” Joshua Stewart, an ecologist at Oregon State University’s Marine Mammal […]