08 Jun 2021

The UK’s Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) is a co-leader of a new global partnership to elevate Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) as a key tool in addressing the twin crises of biodiversity loss and climate change. Ahead of the UN climate change (COP 26) and biodiversity (COP 15) conferences scheduled later this year, Chile, Costa Rica, France, […]

01 Jun 2021

The appointment of Richard Benyon as Defra minister in the House of Lords has prompted a rethink within the NFFO on its approach to the management of marine protected areas. In a long blog post, NFFO sets out its views and concerns: “To this point, our approach has been to challenge the Government’s shift from […]

09 Jan 2021

New report finds bottom trawling taking place in 98% of UK’s offshore Marine Protected Areas Date posted: 6 January 2021 Marine Conservation Society ‘We’ve released our Marine unProtected Areas report which found that bottom trawling is taking place in a worrying 98% of the UK’s offshore Marine Protected Areas designed to protect the seabed. As a result of […]

15 Dec 2020

Guardian ‘Auditors slam EU for ‘marine protected areas’ that fail to protect ocean Only 1% of the 3,000 supposedly protected areas in the Mediterranean ban fishing Europe’s marine protected areas (MPAs), set up to prevent biodiversity loss at sea, are failing to protect the oceans according to an excoriating report from auditors. Click here to […]

08 Dec 2020

New sites to offer protection for iconic species.  Minke whale, basking sharks and Risso’s dolphins will be among a wide range of biodiversity and geological features to be safeguarded following the designation of four new Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). A further 12 sites have been given Special Protection Area status, providing additional protection to Scotland’s […]

27 Oct 2020

Managing fishing in marine protected areas MMO ‘Our seas have a great variety of marine life and habitats, many of which are rare and of national importance. Marine protected areas (MPAs) help make sure that these are guarded from the increasing pressures of human activity. There are over 175 MPAs in English waters. These include […]