09 Dec 2025

Photo by Anatol Rurac   The German government has launched a €20 million support scheme to permanently reduce its North Sea fishing fleet, acknowledging sustained pressure from declining quotas, offshore wind expansion and marine protected areas. The Federal Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Homeland announced the programme will provide public funding to support vessel decommissioning, offering what it describes […]

09 Dec 2025

Photo by Paul Einerhand   The Marine Management Organisation has published its annual UK Sea Fisheries Statistics for 2024, revealing modest growth in landings alongside a continued long-term decline in fishing effort. The report provides a comprehensive overview of fishing activity across all UK fishing authorities. In 2024, UK vessels landed 745 thousand tonnes of sea fish with a […]

09 Dec 2025

Photo by Andrés Dallimonti   Air defence radar technology on wind turbines has been successfully demonstrated at Aberdeen Offshore Wind Farm, marking a significant milestone in the UK’s efforts to balance clean energy expansion with national defence priorities. The work was completed by LiveLink Aerospace in collaboration with Vattenfall and the Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult. When […]

09 Dec 2025

Photo by Lisha Riabinina   The UK will require seafood exporters to provide new information to generate illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing documentation through the Fish Export Service from the evening of 8 January 2026. The change comes slightly earlier than the EU’s requirement, which takes effect on 10 January, with the UK choosing this date […]

04 Dec 2025

Distance Learning – Delve Deeper Delve Deeper, the Distance Learning Course in Marine Biology at Newcastle University, is a six-month online course, with practical experience delivered through the five day residential field course in May. Registration is now open for 2026 BOOK NOW This course is suitable as Continuing Professional Development for those in the […]

02 Dec 2025

Photo by Kilian Murphy   The UK Government published its North Sea Future Plan on 26 November 2025, confirming an end to new exploration licences whilst introducing Transitional Energy Certificates allowing limited drilling adjacent to existing fields. The plan implements government manifesto commitments to manage existing fields for their lifespan and not issue new licences to explore new fields. […]

02 Dec 2025

Photo by Gustavo Quepóns   The UK Government published its revised Environmental Improvement Plan on 1 December 2025, setting out a roadmap for restoring England’s environment through ten long-term goals covering restored nature, air, water, chemicals and pesticides, waste, resources, climate change, environmental hazards, biosecurity and access to nature. The cross-government plan commits to “cleaning up our rivers, lakes […]

02 Dec 2025

Photo by Samuel Costa Melo   COP30 in Belém, Brazil, elevated the ocean, bringing it closer to the heart of the global climate agenda, but the deep sea representing roughly 90% of the ocean stayed buried in the margins, with the world’s biggest natural carbon sink not receiving mention in the final decision texts. Brazil announced today at COP30 […]