07 Oct 2024
The annual update from Wildlife and Countryside Link (WCL) into progress in England on the target to protect 30% of land and sea for nature by 2030 (the “30×30 target”) has been published. Campaigners are calling for a rapid rescue package for nature – including designating more English waters as Highly Protected Marine Areas (HPMAs). The annual […]
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 […]
03 Sep 2024
A new scientific assessment has reported steep declines in the UK’s seabird populations over the last 25 years. Five new species have joined the “red List”, which denotes the highest category of conservation concern and means a risk of local extinction: Leach’s storm-petrels, common gulls, great black-backed gulls, Arctic terns and great skuas. These join the […]
19 Feb 2024
Bird flu has caused a “catastrophic” fall in the number of seabirds in the UK, a study of breeding sites by the RSPB has found. In some species the charity said bird flu had “completely reversed” previously positive trends. The number of gannet nests at Grassholm in Pembrokeshire – the main colony in Wales and […]
13 Feb 2024
English seabird populations are in decline. Breeding populations have declined by at least 20-30% since the early 1990s and without intervention these internationally important seabird populations will continue to decline. The same can be said across the UK: the latest figures from the Seabirds Count (2015-2021) shows almost 62% of seabird species in decline across the UK […]
06 Feb 2024
The UK government has vowed to end industrial sandeel fishing in English waters, a move conservationists say will be a “game changer” for saving the UK’s globally important seabird colonies. English waters of the North Sea will be closed for commercial sandeel fishing before the start of the season on 1 April. North Sea fishermen […]
25 Jul 2023
The Scottish Government has opened a consultation on proposals to close fishing for sandeel in all Scottish waters to ensure the sustainability of the sandeel stock, as well as providing wider ecosystem benefits. In a letter to stakeholders the Scottish Government said: ‘Given the importance of sandeel to the wider ecosystem and the subsequent benefit […]
18 Apr 2023
Wetlands along the east coast of England, from the Humber to the Thames, have successfully been added to the UK’s Tentative List of World Heritage sites. England’s east coast wetlands will be added to the UK’s Tentative List of World Heritage sites along with just five other new sites, the UK Government has announced. Inclusion […]
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