UK Energy Secretary Grant Shapps has outlined a package of measures aimed at speeding up the offshore wind consenting process whilst also protecting the marine environment. He has proposed a total of five actions as part of a policy statement on its offshore wind environmental improvement package. The Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy […]
The world’s oceans were the warmest on record for the fourth year in row in 2022. A study by an international team of scientists from sixteen institutes worldwide found that the five hottest years for oceans all happened in the past six years and that the speed at which oceans are warming is getting increasingly fast. Published […]
The latest stage of proposed measures to protect further valuable marine habitats and manage harmful fishing activity in England’s Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are unveiled today (17 January 2023) by Defra and the MMO. The news follows the announcement from the UK Government on 13 April 2022 regarding a ban on bottom trawling from four […]
Enhancing the ocean’s ability to remove CO2 particles from the atmosphere will be crucial in the fight against climate change, according to a new research paper led by Heriot-Watt University. At present, around 25% of all CO2 emitted to the air is absorbed by the oceans. When these molecules enter the water they cause acidification, […]
The discovery of a dead sunfish on a Norfolk beach is “incredibly important” to scientists studying the biggest bony fish in the world and potential climate change links, an expert said. The juvenile fish, measuring about 1.5m (5ft), appeared on North Beach in Great Yarmouth recently. Adults can grow to 4m (13ft) and weigh up […]
Single-use items such as plastic cutlery, plates and trays are to be banned in England in a bid to reduce pollution, the government has confirmed. Plastic items relating to takeaway food and drink, including food containers and cutlery, make up the largest share of litter in the world’s oceans, according to research, the Guardian has reported. Now the […]
A new project is hoping to create seagrass meadows on the Tees for the first time in more than a century, according to local news outlets. The plant, which only grows in seawater, used to exist around the Tees estuary but has not been recorded there since 1906. Permission has been applied for to create […]
Entanglement is the biggest identified cause of death due to human activity for minke and humpback whales, and the extent of the issue has not been well understood. Whales and other marine animals can become entangled in fishing equipment, including the ropes linking creels (also known as pots), which are set around Scotland’s coasts to […]