Every year brings exciting and interesting observations of marine life and environmental conditions that help us to understand how the marine environment ‘works’, how it is changing and whether management of human activities and impacts is making a difference to the health of our seas. Topics covered range from the marine heat wave, blooms of jellyfish, sand tiger sharks, more humpback whales to the roll out of MPAs, fisheries management plans and the ongoing pollution of our seas by sewage and plastics. Capturing and interpreting those observations and activities is what the group of specialists reporting in the ‘South-West Marine Ecosystems in 2023’ do. Their report on 2023 has just been published.

Some key points:

• This is the tenth report in this series
• The South-West is the only English region currently to produce such a report covering all aspects of the  marine environment
• The report includes detailed chapters on oceanography and storms, plankton, the seashore and seabed, fish and turtles, coastal birds, seals, whales, dolphins and porpoises. Management chapters include fisheries, marine planning, marine protected areas, water pollution and plastics pollution.
• Webinars on these topics for 2023 can be viewed on the SWME YouTube channel
• The report reflects the work of both hundreds of volunteer citizen scientists and professionals working in the south-west.

Images from the cover of the SWME Report for 2023: