On behalf of Defra, the Marine Management Organisation (MMO) are administrating the final round of the Fisheries and Seafood Scheme (FaSS). Projects developing England’s catching, processing and aquaculture sectors, and those enhancing the marine environment can now apply to access the FaSS pot of £6 million match funding. The funding is available for both new […]
English fishers impacted by the recent closure of the UK pollack fisheries will now be eligible for fast tracked financial grants through the re-opened £6m Fisheries and Seafood Scheme (FaSS). Following EU fishery negotiations, the UK government set the pollack Total Allowable Catch (TAC) for 2024 to zero following concerns about the population stocks, permitting […]
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) is seeking feedback on policies to update guidance on Marine Protected Area (MPA) assessments. In July 2021, Defra consulted on best practice guidance for developing compensatory measures in relation to MPAs. The UK government department are now consulting on draft policies to inform updated guidance using this […]
The Seabed User & Developer Group (SUDG), an informal grouping of the UK’s key marine industries, have called on the UK government to put in place a moratorium on the biodiversity metric for intertidal habitats. Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) is a policy set out in the Environment Act 2021 and on 12 February 2024 it […]
A Marine Management Organisation (MMO) byelaw to protect valuable marine habitats and species in 13 English offshore marine protected areas (MPAs) will come into force on 22 March 2024. Following formal consultation in 2023 and an official announcement on 31 January 2024 as part of Government’s 1 year on Environmental Improvement Plan progress update, management measures […]
’30by30′ is a commitment in the Global Biodiversity Framework agreed at the COP15 biodiversity summit last December, whereby “30% of areas of degraded terrestrial, inland water, and marine and coastal ecosystems are under effective restoration.” Defra has outlined its approach to how the target on land in England will be met. This includes a set […]
The first five Fisheries Management Plans have been published. The plans set out how the UK government aims to work with the fishing industry and other stakeholders to support the long-term future and sustainable management of the UK’s fish stocks. DEFRA states that these plans will help deliver the long-term economic viability of the UK’s […]
The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Steve Barclay, has written to water companies asking them to improve maintenance programmes to ensure these are not a cause of storm overflow discharges. He highlights this is a legal requirement that water companies should already be delivering and states his plans to closely follow […]