18 Aug 2026
Photo by Michael Grant Scotland’s marine minister has confirmed that a consultation on new fishing restrictions across more than 160 inshore Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) and sensitive habitats will launch “in the coming weeks”, with the consultation period extended to 16 weeks to allow fishing communities more time to respond. Jim Fairlie MSP, minister […]
18 Aug 2026
Photo of Maunsell Forts in the Thames Estuary, by James Boreham UK waters have been gripped by a marine heatwave since February, with the southern half of the country still experiencing category I-III conditions in mid-August and pockets of the Dorset coast reaching category IV, “Extreme,” the most severe classification on the scale. Scientists […]
18 Aug 2026
Photo by Bob Brewer Scotland’s seabirds remain in long-term decline, with average numbers now around half what they were in the 1980s, according to new statistics published by NatureScot on 13 August. A steep long-term fall The Scottish Biodiversity Indicator for Seabirds, which draws on data from the UK Seabird Monitoring Programme, assessed 19 of the 24 […]
18 Aug 2026
Photo by John Mark Strange The Welsh Government has granted Section 36 consent to the Llŷr Wind Farm, a floating offshore wind test and demonstration project in the Celtic Sea off Pembrokeshire, in what it describes as the first major offshore wind approval issued by the new Welsh administration. The consent, announced on 7 August, clears […]
18 Aug 2026
Photo by Julia Taubitz Up to 180 new jobs are being created at Maraen Port of Nigg in the Scottish Highlands to support construction of the 3.6GW Dogger Bank Wind Farm, the world’s largest offshore wind farm currently under construction, located more than 80 miles off England’s north-east coast. The roles were announced ahead of […]
18 Aug 2026
Photo by Gabe Fender Bathing has resumed on part of Blyth South Beach in Northumberland after a week-long precautionary advisory following reports of a possible fuel or oil spill, though the investigation into the source of the pollution continues. A strong-smelling substance found on the sand The Environment Agency logged a pollution incident on its water […]
18 Aug 2026
Photo by Torsten Dederichs The Antarctic krill fishery closed on 12 August after vessels reached the 620,000-tonne precautionary catch limit set by the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR), the second consecutive year the fishery has shut early. Harvesting vessels operated by Aker QRILL Company, the harvesting arm of Norwegian firm Aker […]
11 Aug 2026
Photo by Saul Brotheridge A public consultation on the Jackdaw gas field, east of Aberdeen, closed on 10 August, with a consultation on the neighbouring Rosebank oil field, off Shetland, set to close on 17 August. Both consultations covered updated environmental impact assessments for the two fields, and attention now turns to Prime Minister […]
