08 Jun 2021

A new tranche of monitoring and progress reports from the Skomer MCZ has been added to the NRW website.  In addition to the 2019 Annual Report, the  Project Status Report 2019-20 lists 42 MCZ monitoring projects (mostly biological but including hydrography and human activities), summarises some of these and provides detailed updates on several others.  There […]

08 Jun 2021

Liabhán chor gréine, or the Great Fish of the Sun, more prosaically known as basking sharks, occupy Irish territorial waters and its EEZ throughout the year. The global population of breeding individuals has been estimated at approximately 8,000-10,000 worldwide, a high proportion of which may at times be present in Irish waters. Basking sharks are protected in […]

08 Jun 2021

Hundreds of fishing fleets that go ‘dark’ are suspected of illegal fishing.  In a global case study of possible AIS avoidance, vessels primarily from China switch off their tracking beacons to evade detection while they engage in possible illegal fishing.  Click here and here.

03 Jun 2021

Ofwat ‘Executive summary Facing into the future We face an immediate challenge. Our water sector needs to tackle demands from climate change, customers’ increasing expectations for service and the treatment of the environment, and the pressures on people’s ability to pay. Climate change threatens resilience, both of our networks and our water supply. We’re already […]

03 Jun 2021

Guardian ‘ Conservation watchdog given boost after decade of funding cuts that left it at ‘crisis point’ Natural England, the government’s conservation watchdog, is to receive a 47% increase in government funding this year as its role expands to support a “green recovery” and provide environmental scrutiny of the government’s controversial “Project Speed”. The dramatic […]

03 Jun 2021

The long pause in the Environment Bill has prompted more ideas for what might be included and several of these have been incorporated into the Bill – notably on sewage pollution from storm overflows and state of nature targets for wildlife. Defra Environment Bill continues through Parliament ‘New amendments will include legally-binding 2030 species target […]

03 Jun 2021

Anglian Water ‘Future Fens Integrated Adaptation will deliver resilience to the impacts of climate change, unlock housing growth and job creation, allow for upgraded transport links, improve biodiversity and support new opportunities for tourism. The project is the first of its kind anywhere in the UK. The initiative is a collaboration between Anglian Water, Water […]