The Guardian reports, 19th December 2016: Southern Water has been fined a record £2m for flooding beaches in Kent with raw sewage, leaving them closed to the public for nine days. The Environment Agency called the event “catastrophic”, while the judge at Maidstone crown court said that Southern Water’s repeat offending was “wholly unacceptable”. The […]
» 2016
- Southern Water fined £2m for gross sewage pollution of Kent beaches
- Many CFP 2017 fishing limits set too high, says ClientEarth
- Radioactive levels around Bradwell, Essex, may not be safe says scientist
- Marinet suggests that new discharge permits for Bradwell, Essex, would be unlawful
- Defra proposes a “tranche three” of MCZs, as Marinet questions their value
- MMO allows aggregate dredging in Kingmere MCZ, and Marinet questions the decision
- BBC Earth reports on dredging risk to Goodwin Sands rMCZ
- UK supermarket takes immediate action to ban microbead plastics
- Mediterranean swordfish recovery plan too weak, says Oceana
- EU fish stocks could double if they are managed sustainably
- UK’s first electricity from waves to be supplied from site off Cornwall
- Seabirds eat plastic because it smells like food, say scientists
- Will the MMO declare the Goodwin Sands rMCZ a WWII War Grave?
- Scallop dredging in Cardigan Bay SAC to recommence, amidst continued opposition
- Fair Isle’s seas gain MPA status
- Sea levels have risen more than earlier thought, says NASA report
- Shipping industry to cap sulphur in its fuel by 2020
- EU Commission proposes closure of Atlantic sea bass fishery and other measures for 2017
- Agreement on Antarctic marine park signed
- Marinet publishes proposals for the UK fishing industry following Brexit
ClientEarth, the legal consultancy, reports, 14th December 2016: Over-fishing remains a serious threat to the ocean and to industry, as EU Fisheries Ministers once again set quotas with little regard for the law or scientific advice. The annual limits (quotas, also known as Total Allowable Catch/TAC) cover fish in the North East Atlantic and North […]
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Dr. Chris Busby writes in The Ecologist, 2nd December 2016, with a commentary on the safety of levels of radioactivity in the Blackwater estuary, Essex, where the decommissioned Bradwell nuclear power station is currently seeking a permit to discharge additional radioactivity: “Magnox has applied to dissolve spent nuclear fuel canisters and release the liquid into […]
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Marinet has made a submission, dated 4th December 2016, to the Environment Agency in connection with the public consultation on whether Magnox Limited, the owner of the decommissioned nuclear power station at Bradwell, Essex, should be allowed to discharge waste radioactivity, heavy metals and nitrates from its existing and new pipeline into the Blackwater estuary. […]
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CMS Marine and Coastal News reports, 21st November 2016: The Government’s scientific advisors have provided proposals on where a final set of Marine Conservation Zones (MCZsMCZ Marine Conservation Zone) are needed around England. Leading marine conservation charities, the Marine Conservation Society and The Wildlife Trusts are excited about the plans, which are a positive step […]
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In a letter dated 14th November 2016, the MMO has written to inform Marinet of its decision to approve the dredging for aggregate — sand and gravel — from the seabed in the Kingmere Marine Conservation Zone (MCZMCZ Marine Conservation Zone), off the West Sussex coast. The Kingmere MCZ hosts the spawning and nursery areas […]
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BBC Earth reports, 21st November 2016: A serene sandbank off the Kentish coast is the hidden home of more than 1,000 sunken ships . . . . and a war grave. Six miles off the coast of Deal in East Kent, England, seal pups frolic on the ever-changing, intricately-patterned sands that are exposed at low […]
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The Guardian reports, 24th November 2016: Tesco will have phased out microbeads from all its own brand cosmetics and household cleaning products within a month, it was announced on 24th November. While UK ministers recently said personal care products containing these tiny pieces of plastic will be banned from sale by the end of 2017, […]
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An Oceana Press Release, 21st November 2016, states: The International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) has finalised its one-week long negotiations between 51 countries. ICCAT has finally agreed on a recovery plan for the severely depleted Mediterranean swordfish, which has been overfished for over 30 years. The plan includes a modest reduction […]
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Oceana Press Release, 14th November 2016: Fish catches in European waters could increase by 57% if fish stocks were exploited sustainably and based on scientific advice, according to a new research released by Oceana. The study was led by renowned fisheries expert Dr. Rainer Froese at the GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research in Kiel […]
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The Daily Mail Online, 7th November 2016, reports: Britain’s first wave farm to be built in Cornwall: Site will provide electricity for 6,000 homes each year by 2020. The system will provide 1MW to the grid by 2018, and 15MW by 2020 Technology is different to other wave power as it’s completely underwater The government […]
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The Guardian reports, 9th November 2016: Algae on drifting plastic waste gives off a sulphur compound which smells similar to the krill many marine birds feed on, researchers have discovered. The findings could explain why certain birds — including albatrosses and shearwaters — which rely on their sense of smell for hunting, are particularly vulnerable […]
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The Marine Management Organisation (MMO) is conducting a second stage in its public consultation over the Dover Harbour Board’s application to dredge 2.5 million cubic metres of sand from the southern section of the Goodwin Sands for use as infill material in the reconstruction of the western dock at the Port of Dover. This application […]
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The Welsh Assembly Government has announced, 31st October 2016: The Cabinet Secretary for the Environment and Rural Affairs, Lesley Griffiths, has announced new management measures for the Scallop fishery in Cardigan Bay following an extensive consultation. The consultation followed a two-year programme of wide-ranging research by Bangor University, in collaboration with the fishing industry, within the […]
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Shetland News reports, 26th October 2016: The community of Fair Isle is rejoicing after a campaign lasting around quarter of a century has finally resulted in the waters around the island being designated as a marine protection area (MPA). Scottish environment secretary Roseanna Cunningham made the announcement at the Marine Conservation Society’s annual conference in […]
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Alphr.com reports, 2nd November 2016: Previous estimates were that global sea levels rose by around 5.5in [14cm] over the 20th century, but researchers from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the University of Hawaii at Manoa now believe that is “highly unlikely,” and the true figure is closer to 6.7in [17cm]. By applying established sea-level estimates […]
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The Guardian reports, 28th October 2016: The International Maritime Organisation (IMO) agreed on Thursday to set a cap on the sulphur content of marine fuels, in a move that campaigners predict will save millions of lives in the coming decades. At a meeting of the IMO’s environment protection committee shipping officials agreed to cap the […]
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The Guardian reports, 27th October 2016: The European Commission has proposed closures on commercial fishing for sea bass in the Atlantic, and whiting in the waters west of Scotland from next year, in order to prevent a collapse in fish stocks. Also the total allowable catch (TAC) for cod in the Celtic Sea will also […]
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The Guardian reports, 28th October 2016: More than 1.5m sq km of the Ross Sea around Antarctica will be protected under the deal brokered between 24 countries and the European Union. It means 1.1m sq km of it — an area about the size of France and Spain combined — will be set aside as […]
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Marinet has assessed, October 2016, where the UK fishing industry currently stands in terms of the size of UK stocks which are severely depleted from a historical perspective, and in the context of the unsustainable nature of fishing practices brought about by the dominance of large fishing vessels abetted by the introduction of the quota […]
