08 Apr 2025

Image description: A survey boat passing in front of a row of offshore wind turbines. Image by Bente Jønsson / Pixabay.   UK fisheries being ‘squeezed’ out  Evidence presented to the recent Environmental Audit Committee revealed increasing concern from Members of Parliament and industry observers over the cumulative impact of UK government marine policy on […]

08 Apr 2025

Image description: A fishing boat at sea during sunrise.   EU push to link fisheries with broader political deal The transitional agreement on fisheries is due to expire in mid-2026, triggering concern that the EU may attempt to leverage access to shared waters in exchange for concessions elsewhere. The UK government has so far rejected […]

03 Apr 2025

It has been more than four years since the UK set up its own chemicals regulatory regime post-Brexit, however senior campaigner at Chem Trust Chloe Alexander notes that the UK has failed to restrict a single substance since it departed from the European Union (EU). In fact, despite more than four years of regulatory analysis […]

25 Mar 2025

Today (March 25) the Commissioner for Fisheries and Oceans, Costas Kadis, is hosting an event to launch an EU-wide campaign about aquaculture in the EU.   Image description: A row of seven fish farming nets in the sea. Image by Tapani Hellman from Pixabay   The campaign is running under the title “EU aquaculture. We […]

11 Mar 2025

The European Commission has published evaluations of two directives on the protection of EU seas: the Marine Strategy Framework Directive and the Bathing Water Directive. The laws, in place since 2008 and 2006, respectively, have been assessed to measure their achievements so far and identify any gaps and any potential for simplification. The evaluation has found […]

25 Feb 2025

The dispute over sandeel fishing in the North Sea marks the first time the UK and EU have been to court since Brexit in 2020. The outcome of the case could be hugely significant for seabird populations along the east coast and for UK-EU trade relations. A tribunal under the post-Brexit Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) […]

21 Jan 2025

Back in early 2024 the UK and Scottish Governments introduced a ban on sandeel fishing in Scottish waters and English waters of the North Sea in a move conservationists hailed as critical for saving the UK’s globally important seabird colonies. Now a challenge from the EU on the ban is set to be heard in […]

22 Dec 2024

EU countries have updated their goals for the deployment of offshore renewable energy up to 2050 in each of the EU’s 5 sea basins, with intermediate objectives to be achieved by 2030 and 2040. At an online meeting of the Directors-General of the Ministries of Energy in the respective countries today, non-binding agreements were reached […]