05 Apr 2022

The Nippon Foundation-GEBCO Seabed 2030 Project has signed an agreement with the UK Hydrographic Office (UKHO) to map the bottom of the ocean. As part of its official partnership with Seabed 2030, the UKHO will provide bathymetric gridded map products to be used by the project within the General Bathymetric Chart of the Oceans (GEBCO) gridded bathymetric data set. UKHO will also share and promote methods […]

05 Apr 2022

Consultation on the draft Joint Fisheries Statement: Closes 12 Apr 2022 From the Defra website: We are seeking your views on the draft Joint Fisheries Statement (JFS). It has been developed by the four UK fisheries policy authorities (the Secretary of State, the Scottish Ministers, the Welsh Ministers, and the Department of Agriculture, Environment and […]

05 Apr 2022

Defra Survey ‘This short survey has been launched by Defra. The aim of this research is to help us understand your experiences and perceptions of Defra. Your answers will be used to help us improve our stakeholder engagement and communications in the future.’ This survey will take approximately 5 minutes to complete. All answers are completely anonymous and […]

05 Apr 2022

NGOs block gillnet fishing across 100,000 sq km of Great Barrier Reef In an effort to protect dugongs and other threatened species, WWF-Australia bought a commercial gillnet fishing license for a swath of ocean in the northern Great Barrier Reef, to establish a de-facto marine sanctuary spanning more than 100,000 km2 (38,600 mi2). Dugongs, turtles, […]

05 Apr 2022

Press release from Ireland’s Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage: ‘Public consultation demonstrates strong support for expansion of Marine Protected Areas The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage has today published the results of an independent review and analysis of its extensive public consultation undertaken on Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). The government aims […]

31 Mar 2022

Consultation on the Storm Overflows Discharge Reduction Plan outlines a step change in how water companies tackle the number of discharges of untreated sewage. Water companies will face strict limits on when they can use storm overflows and must completely eliminate the ecological harm any storm sewage discharges cause to the environment and significantly reduce […]

31 Mar 2022

Policy paper: The UK Government has published as final the Strategic Policy Statement (SPS) for Ofwat. The Strategic policy statement sets out the government’s priorities for Ofwat’s regulation of the water industry in England. Ofwat must carry out its functions in accordance with this statement. This is set out in Section 2A of the Water Industry Act […]

31 Mar 2022

A flood hydrology roadmap recently released sets out a vision to help scientists and practitioners better predict future flood events and improve flood resilience across the UK. The roadmap, which brings together the views of more than 100 experts from over 50 organisations, will improve hydrological data, models and science which can be used to inform […]