02 Jun 2026
Photo by Hans Peter Traunig The Marine Management Organisation (MMO) has allocated the 30 commercial licence authorisations for the 2026 bluefin tuna fishery following a ballot, after receiving 155 applications, more than five for every available place. The fishery, which is restricted to UK vessels of 12 metres and under using low-impact rod and reel gear, […]
02 Jun 2026
Photo by Annie Spratt Cornwall’s inshore fisheries regulator is proposing an emergency byelaw to restrict octopus potting by larger vessels, as concern mounts over the impact of an unprecedented population bloom on the region’s crab and lobster fisheries. Cornwall IFCA announced on 26 May that its members will consider the measure at a quarterly meeting […]
02 Jun 2026
Photo by Jacob Fryer Standing in a harbourmaster’s office on the Danish island of Bornholm, Tom Nielsen surveys walls lined with sepia photographs of a busier era. “We used to have 55 boats at one time, and now we have one left,” he told BBC Future. “You could walk across the harbour from one fishing […]
02 Jun 2026
Photo by Wayne Gourley Around 200 dead sharks have washed up on a beach in Carmarthenshire in what conservationists believe was likely a discarded or abandoned catch, raising fresh concerns about bycatch practices and unregulated gear disposal in Welsh waters. The net was discovered on 24 May at Pembrey Beach, also known as Cefn […]
02 Jun 2026
Photo by Rau Ling Northern Ireland’s Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) has launched a 12-week consultation on proposed fisheries management measures for three offshore Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in the Irish Sea, with restrictions on bottom trawling for nephrops among the measures under consideration. The three sites, the Pisces Reef Complex Special Area […]
26 May 2026
Photo by Low Angle New legislation came into force on 21 May, reforming the rules governing how offshore wind developers compensate for unavoidable impacts on protected marine sites. The changes, introduced jointly by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero and the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs, amend the Conservation of Habitats and […]
26 May 2026
Photo by Chris Pagan The UK is “built for a climate that no longer exists” and faces mounting threats to its coastlines, water supplies and marine ecosystems unless urgent action is taken, according to a landmark government report published last week. The Climate Change Committee (CCC), the government’s independent climate advisory body, released its Fourth Independent […]
26 May 2026
Photo by Woody Wan Chancellor Rachel Reeves has announced sweeping reforms to protect offshore wind farms, power stations and other critical clean energy projects from legal challenge, in a move that could significantly accelerate the consenting of new marine renewable infrastructure around the UK’s coastline. Under proposals published by HM Treasury on 20 May, Parliament […]
Prev