14 Jul 2026
Photo credit: Adobe Stock The regulatory system in England and Wales is the primary obstacle to restoring marine habitats at scale, according to a new report from the Blue Marine Foundation. Coastal Comeback argues that a licensing regime designed to control industrial development is being applied, largely unchanged, to projects whose purpose is ecological recovery, and sets […]
23 Jun 2026
Photo by Thimo van Leeuwen Scottish Ministers have been both non-compliant with, and ineffective in implementing, their legal duties to protect and restore the seafloor, according to a new report published on 23 June by Environmental Standards Scotland (ESS), the independent body that monitors environmental law in Scotland. The findings landed on the same day campaigners […]
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, […]
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 […]
12 May 2026
Photo by Paul Einerhand A Dutch court has ruled that bottom trawling in the Dogger Bank without permits is unlawful, in what is believed to be the first European judgment confirming that governments have a binding legal duty to regulate the impact of bottom trawling on offshore marine protected areas. The District Court of […]
12 May 2026
Photo by Kate Estes A landmark investigation has revealed that European fishing companies have quietly expanded their dominance of the Indian Ocean tuna fishery by registering vessels under the flags of coastal states – allowing them to circumvent quota restrictions at a time when key tuna species are still recovering from severe overfishing. The […]
14 Apr 2026
Image description: A puffin with fish in its beak. Photo by Tim Morgan Defra published its updated UK Marine Strategy Part One on 7 April 2026 – the first full update since 2019 and the opening of the strategy’s third six-year implementation cycle. The headline finding is stark: the UK is failing to meet Good Environmental Status in […]
07 Apr 2026
Photo by Francesco Ungaro More than a tenth of the global ocean is now officially designated as protected or conserved, marking a historic milestone in the race to safeguard marine biodiversity. The figure — confirmed at 10.01% through the latest update to the World Database on Protected and Conserved Areas — represents a significant leap from […]
