28 Apr 2026
Photo by Nick Fewings The UK government must develop a strategic framework for managing competing demands on its coastal and offshore waters, a cross-party parliamentary committee has concluded, warning that fishing communities have lost confidence in the department responsible for supporting them. The Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (EFRA) Committee published its report, Resetting the relationship […]
28 Apr 2026
Photo by Roman Manshin A major new report has concluded that the UK’s whales, dolphins and porpoises are being let down by legal protections that exist on paper but not in practice, with the North Sea, one of the most important cetacean habitats in UK waters, identified as a particular area of concern. The […]
31 Mar 2026
Photo by Rogue Li The Crown Estate has announced plans for a new offshore wind seabed leasing round targeting around 6GW or more of capacity, predominantly off the north-east coast of England. Offshore Wind Leasing Round 6 is scheduled to launch in the first half of 2027, with sites expected to be in water depths suitable […]
24 Feb 2026
Photo by Maxwell Andrews The Orkney Islands Regional Marine Plan has been formally adopted by Scottish Ministers, establishing a statutory framework for managing marine activities out to 12 nautical miles from the coast. The plan, the second of its kind for the Orkney Islands Scottish Marine Region, sets binding policy for a wide range of sectors […]
08 Sep 2025
Photo by David Trinks Sobering projections reveal accelerating pressures Human impact on the world’s oceans will double by 2050, according to groundbreaking research published in the journal Science that provides the most comprehensive projection yet of future marine environmental pressures. The study, led by UC Santa Barbara’s National Centre for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis, reveals an […]
20 Jun 2023
The Crown Estate has announced that it has begun work to digitally map the seabed resource needed to meet future demand as well as the enhanced co-ordination of future activities out to 2050. The work is a response to growing demands on the finite resources of the seabed. In collaboration with a wide range of organisations […]
28 Mar 2017
The Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO (IOC-UNESCO) and the Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries of the European Commission (DG MARE) adopted today a “Joint Roadmap to accelerate Maritime/Marine Spatial Planning processes worldwide”. The roadmap identifies common challenges and proposals for actions to be implemented in the coming years, reaching out for collaboration with other UN bodies […]
30 Aug 2016
A valuable update including: Statements of public participation published Call for issues with supporting evidence: survey and workshop Sustainability appraisal scoping report published South marine plan – public consultation Decision maker workshops Improving systems And more What a marine plan will do’ page: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/marine-planning-in-england
