Earlier this year four men, including champion free divers, were convicted over a major poaching operation in the Calanques National Park near Marseille, France. They were caught fishing in protected no-fishing zones. Whilst this activity may not be unexpected, a big difference is the landmark civil case this winter, where a court will make the […]
The 2015 MCCIP Report Card on marine biodiversity legislation showed that climate change is likely to have significant impacts on the UK’s marine protected areas and their features but identified a lack of advice on how protected features should be managed to build resilience to climate change. MCCIP has therefore worked with some of the UK’s […]
Following a small-scale trial last year, native oysters are being reintroduced to the Dornoch Firth, an area where they were fished to extinction more than a century ago. Dr Bill Sanderson, Associate Professor of Marine Biodiversity at Heriot-Watt, said: “This is the first time anyone has tried to recreate a natural European oyster habitat in […]
A row has broken out over who should foot the £11m bill to improve flood defences at Aberystwyth. Plans for the Victorian promenade include an extra defence wall to protect properties. The seafront was devastated by a storm in January 2014 and the sea wall is viewed as “old, tired and brittle”. The Welsh Government […]
Researchers from Princeton University measured nitrogen in coral skeleton samples collected in the open ocean about 620 miles east of the North American continent near the island of Bermuda, a region thought to be strongly influenced by airborne nitrogen released from U.S. mainland sources such as vehicle exhaust and power plants. The team found no […]
The latest climate change assessment from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is out. It says that Limiting global warming to 1.5°C would require rapid, far-reaching and unprecedented changes in all aspects of society, including land, energy, industry, buildings, transport, and cities. There are clear benefits to people and natural ecosystems from limiting global […]
The water industry has submitted plans to Ofwat that detail how companies intend to address the shortcomings identified in their handling of the “Beast from the East”. A Water UK report can be accessed here and Thames Water’s report is available here. It follows widespread disruption to the network in the aftermath of the freeze/thaw […]
The EU Water Conference was held in Vienna in late September. The aim was to review progress on the implementation of EU water legislation. The event made the case for more integrated water management and found that the overall picture of Europe’s waters today is mixed. Much more needs to be done to achieve the objectives […]