20 Sep 2022
New research has been published in Marine Policy which assessed the extent to which the fishing activity of vessels using bottom-contacting mobile gears (trawls, dredges and demersal seines) were impacted by the construction of 12 offshore windfarms in the UK EEZ. The paper, ‘Windfarms, fishing and benthic recovery: Overlaps, risks and opportunities’, by Frith Dunkley and Jean-Luc […]
13 Sep 2022
A new peer-reviewed research paper in the Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science journal has found that Feature-based MPAs in the UK may not be not fulfilling their potential to recover biodiversity. The paper, authored by researchers from the University of Plymouth and the Government of Jersey, found that removal of bottom-towed fishing from whole-site Marine […]
06 Sep 2022
Greenpeace UK has placed 18 limestone boulders on the seabed in the South West Deeps (East) Marine Conservation Zone with the aim of disrupting industrial fishing. The environmental group dropped the boulders into the ocean about 200 miles (322km) off Cornwall from its ship Arctic Sunrise. It aims to create a barrier making […]
30 Aug 2022
A new study released which focusses on the scale of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) needed to protect large mobile marine animals. MPAs, particularly large MPAs, are increasing in number and size around the globe in part to facilitate the conservation of marine megafauna under the assumption that large-scale MPAs better align with vagile life histories; […]
19 Jul 2022
The whole-site management of a Marine Protected Area (MPA) can increase the total abundance of reef species within its borders by up to 95%, according to new research. This is in contrast to regions where only known features are conserved, with species abundance increasing by just 15% in those areas compared to others where human […]
12 Jul 2022
The UK government has announced the opening of a consultation on five potential Highly Protected Marine Areas (HPMAs) in England. As we covered on 21 June 2022, the Guardian leaked the five sites in advance of Defra’s announcement. Defra said in its press release: ‘HPMAs will have the highest levels of protection in our seas. […]
12 Jul 2022
Thursday 14th July will mark the start of a two month-long Festival celebrating the 50th anniversary of the country’s first Marine Protected Area at Lundy. The Lundy Marine Festival is being organised and run by Robert Irving, a marine biological consultant who has been involved with Lundy and the management of its MPA for 40 […]
21 Jun 2022
The Guardian has reported that it has been given consultation details about the next generation of marine nature reserves in England. The Guardian report states: ‘Five highly protected marine areas (HPMAs) could be created by the government to ban all fishing and rewild the sea, the Guardian has learned. The new generation of marine nature […]
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