17 Jan 2023

A popular beach has lost its coveted Blue Flag status due to a decline in bathing water quality. Saltburn was the only beach between Whitby and Sunderland to be given the internationally recognised certification in 2022, the BBC reported. However, its bathing water quality, based on Environment Agency samples, has fallen from “excellent” to “good”. […]

17 Jan 2023

Dredging at freeport sites across the UK should be paused while a mass die-off of marine life is investigated, ministers have been told. MPs used a Commons questions session to express further concerns over the deaths of thousands of crabs and lobsters washed up on North Sea beaches, the Evening Standard reported.     The Government said it […]

17 Jan 2023

Researchers have provided a first estimate of the effect of offshore wind farms on sedimentary organic carbon stocks in the Southern North Sea. A new peer-reviewed paper published in Frontiers in Marine Science has provided the first assessment of the net impact of offshore windfarms (OWFs) on sediment organic carbon (OC) stocks over the entire […]

17 Jan 2023

From the NFFO: The Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas) and the National Federation of Fishermen’s Organisations (NFFO) have joined together to create a new industry/science forum. The inaugural meeting was held on the 30th November 2022, facilitating a more direct dialogue between the fishing industry and fisheries scientists from Cefas. NFFO Chief […]

17 Jan 2023

UK Energy Secretary Grant Shapps has outlined a package of measures aimed at speeding up the offshore wind consenting process whilst also protecting the marine environment. He has proposed a total of five actions as part of a policy statement on its offshore wind environmental improvement package. The Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy […]

17 Jan 2023

The world’s oceans were the warmest on record for the fourth year in row in 2022. A study by an international team of scientists from sixteen institutes worldwide found that the five hottest years for oceans all happened in the past six years and that the speed at which oceans are warming is getting increasingly fast. Published […]

17 Jan 2023

The latest stage of proposed measures to protect further valuable marine habitats and manage harmful fishing activity in England’s Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are unveiled today (17 January 2023) by Defra and the MMO. The news follows the announcement from the UK Government on 13 April 2022 regarding a ban on bottom trawling from four […]

12 Jan 2023

New approach to sustainable drainage set to reduce flood risk and clean up rivers, Defra has announced. A range of organisations have welcomed the move to more sustainable drainage for new developments in England. The recommendation to make sustainable drainage systems mandatory to new developments in England is the result of the Government’s review. Defra have […]