18 May 2026
Photo by Jacqueline Heron Wray A new study of Scotland’s South Arran Marine Protected Area has found that nearly a decade of protection from bottom trawling and dredging has produced striking ecological recovery, with highly protected seabeds recording around three times the abundance of marine life and twice as many species compared with nearby […]
21 Apr 2026
Photo by Mitili Mitili More than 15 million juvenile oysters are to be released into the North Sea off the coast of Orkney, in one of the largest rewilding projects ever undertaken in UK waters. The scheme, run by the Green Britain Foundation, the Nature Restoration Fund, Marine Fund Scotland and North Bay Innovations, will use […]
21 Apr 2026
Photo by Michael Ziegler The North Sea is at a critical inflection point. A vast number of ageing oil and gas structures are reaching the end of their operational life and will require decommissioning, while hundreds of new offshore wind turbines are being deployed. As the basin becomes increasingly geopolitically contested, and with future considerations […]
24 Feb 2026
Photo by Ekaterina Boltaga A major new report from the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO has identified critical gaps in scientific understanding of the ocean’s carbon cycle that could be significantly undermining global climate predictions and the policies built upon them. The Integrated Ocean Carbon Research Report, prepared by 72 authors across 23 countries, reveals […]
05 Aug 2025
Photo by K. Mitch Hodge Northern Ireland’s Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) has launched a £3.25 million Marine Environment and Fisheries Fund, providing immediate financial support for fishing, aquaculture and marine stakeholders across the region. Minister Andrew Muir announced the scheme opening on 29th July 2025, emphasising the urgency of applications […]
22 Oct 2024
The Saltmarsh Code is a voluntary standard enabling the verification and sale of carbon sequestered through saltmarsh restoration. Saltmarsh carbon can be sold to buyers seeking to voluntarily compensate for their emissions, generating additional revenues to accelerate saltmarsh restoration and deliver other social and environmental benefits, such as biodiversity gains, flood alleviation, and nutrient remediation. The […]
20 Sep 2024
The UK has become the first nation to map and estimate the amount of carbon stored in its seabed habitats, including in Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). The Blue Carbon Mapping Project, completed by the Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS) on behalf of WWF, The Wildlife Trusts and the RSPB, reveals that 244 million tonnes […]
11 Jun 2024
Limited understanding of basic ocean processes is hindering progress in marine carbon dioxide removal, with the on-going commercialisation of some approaches “premature and misguided”, say a group of international scientists. In a new paper researchers review the climatic effectiveness of four ‘nature-based’ techniques using marine biological processes. These involve shellfish cultivation, seaweed farming, coastal blue […]
