06 Apr 2021
06 Apr 2021
Two blogs on Environmental Principles – Greener UK
Greener UK ‘Earlier this month, the government launched a consultation on its draft policy statement on five environmental principles intended to place environmental considerations at the heart of policy making. While we welcome this intent, there are concerns that the statement, as drafted, will limit rather than enhance environmental ambitions. It contains multiple qualifications on […]
06 Apr 2021
UK shellfish farmers threaten legal action over ban on exports to EU
The environment secretary, George Eustice is facing a threat of legal action from shellfish farmers over claims that the government has misled the industry over its post-Brexit arrangements with the EU. Live mussels, cockles, oysters and other shellfish caught in most of the UK’s waters are no longer allowed to enter the EU following Britain […]
06 Apr 2021
National Marine Parks. A vision for British Seas
Of the 15 National Parks in Britain today, only a few include the coast and none include the sea. Over the past few decades, scientists have understood much more about the value of the ocean and the importance of the marine environment to the health of the planet. Britain has designated fragile places with an […]
06 Apr 2021
Protecting marine mammals around Scottish aquaculture farms
Animals and Wildlife (Scotland) Act, included a ban on licensed shooting of seals to protect farmed salmon within aquaculture facilities. Also included within the Act (Section 15) was a requirement on the Scottish Parliament to report on the aquaculture sectors use of Acoustic Deterrent Devices (ADDs). ADDs emit sound with the intention of scaring away […]
06 Apr 2021
BMW, Volvo, Google and Samsung join calls for a moratorium on deep sea mining
Dozens of ventures, most of them government-backed, have been exploring vast areas of the Pacific and Indian Oceans to assess their viability for mining and several companies have developed prototypes of “nodule collectors”, giant robotic machines that would drive over the seabed, gathering the rocks and piping them up to ships at the surface. Claudia […]
06 Apr 2021
Seaweed Cultivation in Scotland
Over the last 18 months there has been a rapid increase in interest in seaweed cultivation in Scotland’s inshore waters. Licence applications have been submitted for seaweed farms from Moray Firth to Argyll. To some observers this is the dawn of a sustainable form of aquaculture which could provide much-needed diversification of coastal employment, end […]
30 Mar 2021
Minister Pow promises to introduce new legal duties to reduce the harm from storm overflows
Measures to reduce harm from storm overflows to be made law Defra ‘New legal duties on water companies and government will reduce sewage discharged into waterways. Measures to reduce sewage discharges from storm overflows will be put into law, the government confirmed today (Monday 29 March), as part of an ambitious agenda to build back […]
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