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 […]

21 Jul 2026

Photo Credit: AdobeStock   A new byelaw prohibiting anchoring across the entire Allonby Bay Highly Protected Marine Area (HPMA) will come into force on 30 July, the Marine Management Organisation has confirmed. The measure covers all 28 square kilometres of the site, which sits off the north-west coast of Cumbria in the Irish Sea, and […]

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 […]