26 Feb 2018

The Department for Exiting the EU has published proposed legal text to underpin the Implementation Period for when we have left the EU, a significant step towards an agreement in March. This includes comments on the text for fisheries.   A Defra spokesperson said:   Our proposal makes clear that when the UK leaves the EU on 29 March 2019, […]

26 Feb 2018

COAST: ‘As Fiona Gell recently wrote in The Guardian, it is ordinary people who are driving the future of conservation, the government is recognising this, and starting to listen to what coastal communities have to say.   Many Scottish people and communities have been making an extraordinary difference to the protection of our seas during these […]

26 Feb 2018

4th Special Report – Plastic bottles: Turning Back the Plastic Tide: Government Response to the Committee’s First Report  The Environmental Audit Committee publishes the Government response to the Environmental Audit Committee’s report, Plastic Bottles: Turning Back the Plastic Tide. Download the Government response: Plastic bottles: Turning Back the Plastic Tide (PDF 174 KB) Read the […]

26 Feb 2018

By Roger Harrabin BBC environment analyst: ‘They have been urging for a new global treaty to tackle the problem. But a new report – to be presented to a Royal Geographical Society conference on Tuesday – says littering the sea with plastics is already prohibited under existing agreements. The report urges those governments that are […]

26 Feb 2018

Guardian More than half the world’s oceans are being fished by industrial vessels, new research reveals. The maps based on feedback from more than 70,000 vessels show commercial fishing covers a greater surface area than agriculture, and will raise fresh questions about the health of oceans and sustainability of trawler fishing. The data, published in […]

26 Feb 2018

Bob Earll: The piece contains two articles, the first from SARN in response to their call for support for an inquiry and the second which looks at the evidence sessions to the inquiry. 1. Salmon Aquaculture Reform Network Scotland An especially BIG thank you to those of you who wrote to the ECCLR Committee voicing your concerns. […]

21 Feb 2018

The charm offensive goes on with major speeches from Michael Gove and David Davis. Just as with Boris’s speech last week they are very thin on the detail of what trade deal they want. It is the detail and content that people need now as the NFU President outlines. Below Defra are spending £245m more […]

21 Feb 2018

Background Working with Natural Processes (WWNP) to reduce flood and coastal erosion risk (FCRM) involves implementing measures that help to protect, restore and emulate the natural functions of catchments, floodplains, rivers and the coast. WWNP takes many different forms and can be applied in urban and rural areas, and on rivers, estuaries and coasts. Rivers […]