Image: The largest known coral in the world, Pavona clavus coral, was recently discovered by accident and is visible from space. Photograph: Manu San Felix/National Geographic Pristine Seas/AFP/Getty Images
Welcome to OCF’s insights from the marine and coastal sector. This week we have summarised the most relevant stories for you from a range of Marine and Coastal Sectors, including: Fisheries; Offshore Wind; Offshore Industries; Conservation; Climate and Marine Pollution and more.
Fisheries
Oceana has launched their roadmap to ending overfishing and restoring ocean health, following on from the eNGO’s 2023 report showing that half of the UK’s key fish populations were either overfished or critically low. The new report calls for a legally binding deadline to end overfishing in UK waters, with recent polling showing widespread public concern around overfishing. However, the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation have accused Oceana of creating ‘fake-news’, and ‘wasting everyone’s time’.
The European Union and neighbouring countries agreed on important measures in favour of sustainability of the Mediterranean and the Black Sea, during the 47th annual meeting of the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM) in Rome. Areas of agreement included measures to continue developing important multiannual management plans (MAPs) in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea to advance specific sea basin management strategies for the shared stocks. It is hoped the newly adopted conservation and control measures will help level the playing field between all operators and secure a sustainable future for the fleets by improving the status of the fish stocks.
The Sea Fisheries Protection Authority (SFPA) has released an updated system for the completion of take-over declarations for fishery products – the Fisheries Information Notice (FIN) titled “Take-Over Declarations”.
The International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) has issued updated guidance on sustainable catch levels for North Sea herring (Clupea harengus), replacing earlier 2025 advice in light of updated stock assessments, advising a maximum catch of 410,707 tonnes for 2025 under the Maximum Sustainable Yield (MSY) approach.
Fish stocks along the West African coast have declined significantly over the past five decades, threatening food security and the livelihoods of the fishing communities that depend on them, according to a study by the ICTA-UAB in collaboration with Fundação Maio Biodiversidade (FMB). The new research documented changes in the catches of small-scale fisheries, highlighting a significant decline not only in volume of catches, but also in the size of fish for key local species. Alarmingly, due to “Shifting Baseline Syndrome” younger groups believe that fish stocks are not in decline despite reporting significantly smaller catches and fish sizes than older generations.
At a “Whale Forum” event that took place in Taiji, Japan, the Japanese whaling industry officially set its ambitions toward profitability and efficiency. The head of the Japan Whaling association told the assembly of drew whalers, brokers, scholars, politicians, and whale chefs “our battle is no longer for global understanding, but rather to spread whale food culture within Japan”. Buffet tables were laden with premium whale sashimi from large species such as fin whales, Bryde’s whales, and sei whales, including dishes such as whale bacon, whale soup, and fried whale. One particular focus of the whale industry is increasing the amount of whale meat served to children, often through school lunch programs that periodically feature traditional Japanese meals.
Offshore Wind
ScottishPower has awarded Siemens Gamesa with a £1-billion (US$1 billion) contract for a turbine supply agreement for its East Anglia TWO offshore wind farm in the southern North Sea. Situated almost 33 km off the Suffolk coast, East Anglia TWO will be designed to generate up to 960MW of electricity for UK power markets.
In a major boost for energy security and the shift to clean power, Ofgem approved five major new undersea energy links which will further harness the vast potential of North Sea wind and help power millions of homes. The new underwater connections will give the UK access to nuclear power from France and hydroelectric stations in Norway. Two of the projects will also create Great Britain’s first ever Offshore Hybrid Assets (OHAs) which can directly feed energy generated by offshore wind farms into both UK and European grids. The news comes after the amount of wind and solar energy generated plunged in the past two weeks, due to high pressure weather systems in a phenomenon called ‘anticyclonic gloom’. The new projects are all expected to be complete and operational by the end of 2032.
A £2bn subsea and underground cable which will power millions of UK homes has received final funding approval. The 196km-long Eastern Green Link 1 (EGL1) cable, which will be primarily laid under the North Sea, is expected to bolster the UK’s energy security and reduce customer bills by £870m per year.
North Sea Farmers announced the world’s first commercial-scale seaweed farm (NSF#1) within an offshore wind farm is now fully operational. The final deployment step within the offshore wind farm ‘Hollandse Kust Zuid’ (HKZ) was completed one week ago by deploying the seeded substrate, in collaboration with Simply Blue Group, Van Oord, Algaia, and Amazon.
Offshore wind experts acknowledged Trump’s well-known personal hostility to wind power, but also suggested potential economic and industrial growth can boost the industry’s chances of survival under the incoming administration. A coalition of trade union groups called on the states of Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut to sharply increase their goals for developing offshore wind power over the next 15 years to help meet climate goals and boost their economies. There are legitimate concerns Trump could deeply wound offshore wind plans, which rely on a federal policy that offers billions of dollars in grants, subsidies and tax incentives, by cutting off funding. California’s energy blueprint envisions massive offshore wind farms producing 25 gigawatts of electricity by 2045, and five offshore wind companies have already paid the U.S. Treasury $757 million to lease five tracts in the deep ocean off Humboldt County and Morro Bay. Meanwhile, Massachusetts is similarly worried about the 2,400 MW that have been authorised but not yet procured.
The Connecticut Wind Collaborative announced the launch of a new supply chain study to be conducted by The Pew Charitable Trusts and the leading energy transition firm Xodus Group under the title, “Connecticut Offshore Wind Industry Study”. The study has two key aims; to call attention to the state’s leadership role in the US offshore wind industry; and to come up with recommendations for coordinating supply chain resources on a regional basis, with the potential for a ripple effect nationwide.
The European Environment Agency has released a briefing titled ‘harnessing offshore wind while preserving the seas’, which highlights the need for informed planning to meet climate goals and safeguard marine biodiversity. The EEA briefing concluded that understanding trade-offs involved in placing turbines in sensitive and vulnerable coastal waters, coupled with an integrated planning approach when expanding marine protected areas, can help to mitigate potential negative environmental impacts.
As the offshore wind sector grows, so do the cyber threats against it. DNV and Siemens Energy recently took an important step on cybersecurity for offshore wind by launching a joint industry project that aims to make it easier to continue and accelerate offshore wind’s contribution to global clean energy production.
Offshore Industry
Planet Tracker’s new research, summarised in their report ‘Race to the Bottom’, reveals that deep sea mining provides minimal financial gains for governments and high environmental costs. Even the most optimistic scenarios contribute just $6.25 million USD annually in corporate income tax, an insignificant contribution to government revenues for almost all countries, while actual income may be negligible. Planet Tracker simultaneously released a second report, Mining for Trouble, highlighting deep sea mining would negatively affect countries mining precious metals on land and the associated $560 billion in annual export earnings.
Conservation
Forty-four per cent of reef-building coral species globally are at risk of extinction, the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™ revealed following a global assessment announced at the ongoing COP29 UN climate conference in Azerbaijan. The report confirmed climate change poses the main threat to reef-building coral species.
Scientists have begun “biobanking” coral sperm from reefs during their annual spawning, to later be used for “coral IVF”, however much of this research has been done without consultation with, or permission from, the traditional custodians of the sea Countries of origin. New research investigated how things could be done in a different and more respectful way by involving traditional custodians in decision-making and action.
Puerto Rico recently gained a new marine protected area off the island’s central north coast. Named Jardines Submarinos de Vega Baja y Manatí, the MPA spans 202 square kilometres and is the culmination of a 16-year effort by a coalition of local communities and NGOs.
Deep sea miners’ efforts to limit the right to protest at sea were rejected today by an appeals court in the Netherlands. The Amsterdam Court of Appeal dismissed a legal appeal from Nauru Ocean Resources Inc (NORI) against Greenpeace International. NORI were seeking a 500-metre zone excluding protest around a vessel the company has been using to lay the groundwork for deep sea mining.
Vietnam has announced the launch of the new plan, which sets out to prevent and bring environmental pollution and degradation under control; to restore and improve environmental quality; and to prevent environmental decline but also enhance biodiversity. The plan reportedly aims to establish protected areas and conserve nature and biodiversity, while developing a sustainable socio-economic model following green, circular, and low-carbon economy principles.
When a North Atlantic right whale is detected in areas subject to management measures, fishing using non-tended fixed gear, traps and pots are prohibited around the area for 15 days. However, the “grey zone” where right whales were spotted on November 4 has unique management challenges, as both Canada and the United States claim sovereignty over this area, potentially putting right whales at risk.
Climate
A second Atlantic Blue Crab has been found in Brighton this year, raising the alarm over the invasion of non-native species into UK waters. The species’ native distribution is the western Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico, and while the first crab was found dead, the second was still a live specimen. Invasive Non-Native Species (INNS) are considered the second largest threat to biodiversity, but how the Atlantic Blue Crab found its way into UK waters is currently unknown.
A crucial judicial review into Rosebank and Jackdaw oilfield licenses , approved by the previous Conservative Government, has begun in the Scottish Court of Session in Edinburgh. The new UK government has already admitted that the decision to approve Rosebank was unlawful and dropped their defence, however the oil companies have decided to go to court. The Financial Times revealed just days before the court case that the oil companies involved have conceded that the development consents for the controversial oil and gas fields are unlawful because they were waived through without assessing the full impact of their emissions.
The Biden-Harris Administration and NOAA released the National Marine Carbon Dioxide Removal Research Strategy to advance safe and effective research on the benefits, risks and trade-offs of marine carbon dioxide removal. The strategy outlines how the U.S. government can accelerate marine carbon dioxide removal (mCDR) research in a way that is safe and effective and will help to determine if the emerging approaches are viable climate solutions.
Science
The world’s largest known coral, visible from space, has been discovered in the waters of the Solomon Islands. Spotted from the surface during a National Geographic expedition, observers initially thought the structure resembled a shipwreck, however discovered it was in fact a 300 – 500 year old Pavona clavus coral with a circumference of 183 metres. The newly discovered coral was likely able to grow so large due to a combination of favourable oceanographic conditions as well as its location in a well-protected, extremely remote area near the Solomon Islands in the southwest Pacific Ocean.
New Zealand scientists have named a tiny snowflake-like crustacean after a Wellington brewery, in an attempt to boost the public’s interest in local marine life. Its new scientific name, Pentaceration forkandbrewer, was awarded as a prize to the brewery Fork and Brewer, after it won the best beer competition during the 10th International Crustacean Congress, held in Wellington in 2024. It is believed to be the first time a scientific name has been inspired by a brewery.
Researchers in California have discovered a new species of sea slug off the Pacific coast in an area of deep sea known as the midnight zone, more than 2,600 m deep. The researchers published their findings about the creature, the Bathydevius caudactylus, in December after more than 20 years of research to “prepare the most comprehensive description of a deep-sea animal ever made”.
For the second time this year, a rarely seen deep sea oarfish washed up on the California shoreline was reported by The Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego. Historically considered a harbinger of doom, Oarfish have only been documented washing up in California 20 times since 1901, however changes in ocean conditions and increased numbers of oarfish might be behind the sightings.
Scientists believe an “unprecedented” number of dead jellyfish, Pelagia noctiluca, that stranded along the Cornish coast may have been caused by a cold snap.
Marine Pollution
Denmark is set to ban the discharge of scrubber water from ships in its territorial waters starting July 1, 2025, joining countries like Belgium, Norway, and Germany, which have already imposed such restrictions. The Danish government also plans to tighten regulations for “closed-loop scrubbers,” which store the used water for disposal at port facilities. Ships will need to use low-sulphur fuel or manage scrubber waste more responsibly.
A new report claims that if policy makers implemented just four policies acting across the plastic lifecycle (from production to use and disposal), according to the researchers, we could reduce plastic pollution by 91%. The four high impact policies identified include: requiring that new products be made with 40% post-consumer recycled plastic; capping new plastic production at 2020 levels; investing significantly in expanding waste management infrastructure, especially in lower-income parts of the world; and implementing a small fee on plastic packaging. The research is meant to support the United Nations (UN) in the finalisation of the international treaty on plastic pollution.
Manatees along Florida’s Atlantic coast are eating less seagrass, traditionally their primary food source, and more algae than in decades past, mirroring a period of extensive seagrass decline. It is believed untreated sewage and fertiliser runoff threaten the Florida manatee’s main food source, contributing to malnutrition and posing an emerging threat to their survival.
The vessel Vitória Régia will deliver messages against environmental pollution to the G20 summit authorities in Rio de Janeiro during the Oceans 20 Summit. The small sailboat embodies the power of ocean culture, the purity of childhood, and the hope for preserving Brazilian seas.
The pollution of micro– and mesoplastic (MMP) in the Eastern Indian Ocean (EIO) remains poorly understood, however a new study has revealed MMP levels in nekton significantly increased between 2021 and 2022. The rise in predominant polymers—polypropylene (PP), rayon (RA), and polyester (PES), may suggest increased pollution from face masks and home textiles along coastal regions.
Take 3 for the Sea, the Australian environmental organisation founded on the Central Coast, is celebrating its 15th anniversary of driving global awareness and action against plastic pollution.
Marine Media
Explore what it takes to measure an Ocean in Motion, in this article detailing a 28-day expedition to map the flow and properties of the Labrador Coastal Current.
A new podcast episode details why Canada’s decision to lift a ban on cod fishing in Newfoundland after 32 years is controversial.
Discover why crabs walk sideways!
Opportunities
Aqua Nor 2025 will take place in Trondheim, Norway, from 19 to 21 August. It will include a Scottish pavilion attended by Scotland’s aquaculture supply chain businesses. If your business is considering a presence at Aqua Nor 2025 and you would like to be part of the Team Scotland delegation, the deadline is 30 November.
Are you a decision-maker, applicant or advisor in any of England’s marine plan areas? Do you have experience of using the Marine Plans in another capacity, or a strong interest in marine planning in England? If so, the Marine Management Organisation want to hear about your experience of using the Marine Plans. Please respond before Monday 27th January 2025.
Defra invites the public, community and environmental groups, farmers, businesses and local authorities to share views on modernising bathing water regulations.