08 Sep 2026
Photo by Arnaud Mariat First Minister John Swinney used the Programme for Government 2026 to 2031, published on 1 September, to confirm plans to fold several of Scotland’s environmental regulators into a single body, prompting swift but carefully worded responses from the organisations affected, and sharper questions from MSPs and unions in the days since. […]
08 Sep 2026
Photo by Tania la Vaullee The Government of Jersey has significantly expanded its Marine Protected Area (MPA) network, increasing the proportion of territorial waters protected from dredging and trawling from 6.5% to 21.7%, The Fishing Daily reported. The new rules, which took effect on 1 September, mean the area of sea protected from trawling and […]
08 Sep 2026
Photo by Martin Bennie New research from the University of St Andrews has found that disturbing seabed sediments through trawling could cause significant losses of carbon stored in Scotland’s sea lochs, adding fresh evidence to calls for the Scottish Government to introduce protective measures before its forthcoming consultation on marine protected areas. A vulnerable carbon store […]
08 Sep 2026
Photo by Soren Funk An estimated one billion plastic pellets, known as nurdles, entered the River Tyne and North Sea after a collision between two vessels at the Port of Tyne on 19 July, and have since washed up on beaches across north-east England. Six weeks on, the port’s chief executive has joined calls […]
08 Sep 2026
Photo by Tim Morgan Puffin numbers at one of the UK’s largest colonies have fallen by around 30% in two years, according to a new burrow count carried out by NatureScot and the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH) on the Isle of May National Nature Reserve in the Firth of Forth. A sharp decline […]
08 Sep 2026
Photo by Mitili Mitili Nearly 20 tonnes of rock armour carrying thousands of young European flat oysters have been deployed on two cable crossings in the Dutch North Sea, as part of a pilot project testing whether cable protection infrastructure can double as a tool for reef restoration. The trial is led by grid […]
08 Sep 2026
Photo by Juanma Ciemente Alloza More than 40 species of shark live in British waters, yet scientists know remarkably little about most of them. A new three-year research project, led by Dr Lucy Hawkes and Dr Matthew Witt at the University of Exeter, aims to close that gap for three of the most vulnerable: […]
01 Sep 2026
Photo by Paul Chambers Crown Estate Scotland has opened the seventh round of its Sustainable Communities Fund, making more than half a million pounds available to grass-roots projects across the country, the largest funding pot the scheme has offered since it launched in 2020. The fund has distributed over £2.25 million to date. Two grant streams […]
