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Why are we killing the Wye, and when will we stop?

Pollution in the Upper River Wye catchment : The Causes and Lessons for Campaigners working in other UK River Catchments. Authors: Brian Morgan, Stephen Eades and David Levy – all Marinet members Introduction The river Wye and its tributaries are in serious trouble. The main cause is the intensive farming of chickens and their manure, spread […]

What Are The Dangers Of Deep Sea Mining

Deep in the ocean lie what some say are crucial resources for expanding the world’s renewable energy. The discovery of mineral riches in the deep-sea has sparked a mining mania, but also concern about environmental impact. Mining companies are hoping to gather metals and minerals called polymetallic nodules which contain manganese and cobalt, elements that […]

BBC 1 TV’s Panorama looks at sewage pollution of rivers and the sea

We provide here a link to the BBC 1 Panorama programme, 12th April 2021, which examined the nature, cause and scale of sewage pollution of the country’s rivers and sea.  

Supplementary submission to the House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee’s ‘Water Quality in Rivers’ inquiry looking at the impact of indoor intensive livestock (factory) farming

This supplementary submission to the Env. Audit Committee considers the scale and impact of intensive livestock (factory) farming in the United Kingdom, accompanied by the key questions of what happens to the animal sewage waste arising from these farms, is this animal sewage waste properly treated, and is it entering the the rivers and the […]

The Hansard record of the House of Commons Committee Stage debate and vote on Amendment 200 to amend the Environment Bill 2019-2021

The Hansard record of the House of Commons Committee Stage debate and vote on Amendment 200 to amend the Environment Bill 2019-2021 in order to create a legal requirement on water companies to address first class sewage treatment in their sewerage and drainage management plans required by the Environment Bill (Clause 76, section 3) and […]

Giant “pumice raft” encountered in the Pacific Ocean

BBC News reports, 26th August 2019: A vast “raft” of volcanic rocks stretching over 150 sq km (58 sq miles) is drifting through the Pacific Ocean, scientists say. The sea of pumice — the size of 20,000 football fields was first reported by Australian sailors earlier this month. Experts say the mass probably came from […]

Judicial Review decision : aggregate dredging may proceed at Goodwin Sands MCZ

The campaign group, Goodwin Sands SOS (Save Our Sands), has reported 11th September 2019 that their judicial appeal to the High Court has failed to secure a judgement against the granting of the licence to the Dover Harbour Board (DHB) by the Marine Management Organisation (MMO – the statutory licensing authority) to allow the dredging […]

Was the present collapse in North Sea cod stocks forecast in 2018 and ignored?

Our Fish campaigns to end over-fishing and to deliver sustainable fisheries management in EU seas.  It is an initiative of Funding Fish, a registered charity in England and Wales.  Our Fish published the following press release on 11th March 2019: A freedom of information request to the UK’s fisheries management body (the Marine Management Organisation) […]

ICES foresees the North Sea cod stock collapse in its June 2019 evaluation

 BBC News reports, 28th June 2019: The assessment by the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (Ices) says cod is being “harvested unsustainably”. It has recommended a 63% reduction to the available catch to just 10,457 tonnes and follows a 47% cut last year. A discard ban is being partly blamed which increases […]

MSC suspends North Sea cod stock‘s sustainable fishing certificate

BBC News reports, 25th September 2019: The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) said certificates for North Sea cod fisheries would be suspended as stocks were below the “safe biological level”. A “blue tick” had been awarded in 2017, meaning cod could be eaten “with a clear conscience“. The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) said the suspension was “devastating” […]

Sussex Wildlife Trust launches Sussex by the Sea conservation project

The Sussex Wildlife Trust reports, September 2019 Newsletter: This summer I went paddle-boarding off the coast of our nature reserve at Seaford Head. On the cliffs above me I could hear the calls of gulls and kittiwakes. The sea was flat and clear, and I could see crabs vying for territory, anemones swaying with the […]

New seaweed farming industry launched in Alaska

The Guardian reports 11th June, 2019: While farmers in much of the US spend the late spring patiently waiting for their crops to mature, a small band of sea farmers have taken to the cold ocean waters of Alaska to harvest the state’s newest cash crop: kelp. Huge demand for seaweed, hauled up in slimy green bunches […]

Seaweed farm at Scarborough given licence to proceed

BBC News reports, 18th June 2019: A seaweed farm off the east coast has been backed by a local authority. Scarborough company, SeaGrown, has licensed a 25-hectare site three miles into the North Sea to harvest seaweed from sunken platforms. Scarborough Council said it would act as the “accountable body” for a grant for the […]

High-Seas fish biodiversity is slipping through the governance net

With negotiations resuming at the United Nations to construct a new High Seas Treaty to supplement the UN Law of the Sea, we provide here an article by Guillermo Ortuno Crespos et al, published in Nature Ecology and Environment Vol. 3 pages 1273-1276 (2019) which seeks to cover the following issues: “States at the United […]

Ocean Acidification due to elevated atmospheric CO2 levels : an explanation

We provide here an article, based on a Smithsonian Institute background paper, which explains the process leading to the current reduction in the alkalinity of the ocean (acidification) and the related hypotheses and thinking about the consequences. This reduction in the ocean’s alkalinity is directly attributable to elevated levels of CO2 in the atmosphere, 50% […]

We’re Listening – A new perspective emerging in marine dredging

To borrow the catchphrase of Dr Frasier Crane “I’m listening” I wanted to share the experience Stephen Eades and I had on 20th June in London that brought this to mind. For years Marinet attended the East Channel Dredging Association (ECA) meetings where we constantly raised the issue about discharged dredging waters from the dredging […]

When is a Marine Protected Area real or an illusion?

Marinet reports: The UK Government has announced, 31st May 2019, that the Marine Conservation Zone Network for England — part of the UK’s “Blue Belt” programme of marine protected areas (MPAs) has been extended by 41 new sites, bringing the overall total to 91 sites. The UK government’s news release states: “With 50 zones already […]

Who owns the UK fishing industry and its fishing quotas?

Prior to the UK’s entry into the European Economic Community (EEC/EU) in 1974 and the establishment of the fishing quota system under the auspices of the European Common Fisheries Policy in 1983 UK fisheries were an open resource to UK fishermen. That is to say, UK fishermen could fish within and beyond the UK’s territorial […]

Sicily’s Aeolian archipelago should be a MPA, says Oceana

Oceana news release, 22nd May 2019: Recognition of the high biodiversitybiodiversity Biological diversity in an environment as indicated by numbers of different species of plants and animals. value of the sea surrounding the Aeolian Islands goes back decades, with the region first being formally identified by the Italian government in the 1980s as a potential […]

Deep ocean mining will destroy vital new medicines, say scientists

The Guardian reports, 20th May 2019: When Prof Mat Upton discovered a microbe from a deep-sea sponge was killing pathogenic bugs in his laboratory, he realised it could be a breakthrough in the fight against antibiotic resistant superbugs, which are responsible for thousands of deaths a year in the UK alone. Further tests last year confirmed that an […]