Category Archives: Marine

Fish discards banned – but what’s the catch?

Fish discards banned – but what’s the catch? This post is by Katherine Maltby, an MBiolSci Biology with Conservation and Biodiversity student at the University of Sheffield. Her research interests span marine ecology and fisheries management, with a particular focus … Continue reading

Posted in Birds, EU, Marine | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Innovations in Marine Education

Innovations in Marine Education This blog is by Jen Cooper, who was a BES Undergraduate Fellow in 2012. She recently completed a BSc Honours in Marine Biology at the University of Liverpool and will be starting a PhD at Sheffield … Continue reading

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Checking the Progress of Government on the Natural Environment

The Government could try harder on the natural environment. That was the conclusion of ‘Nature Check 2012′, an overview of the Government’s progress against the commitments made in the Coalition Agreement, launched by Wildlife and Countryside Link, and endorsed by … Continue reading

Posted in Agri-Environment Scheme, Agriculture, BES, Common Agricultural Policy, Conservation, Defra, Environment, Event, Government, Marine, Marine Act, National Planning Policy Framework, Planning Policy, Science Policy, UK, Wildlife and Countryside Link | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

UK Special Areas of Conservation and Special Protected Areas Network is complete

The announcement last month by the Natural Environment Minister, Richard Benyon (Defra), that a 330km stretch of marine habitat between Studland and Portland in Dorset is to be designated a Special Area of Conservation (SAC) will complete the UK SAC … Continue reading

Posted in Conservation, Defra, Ecological Networks, Marine, Marine Act, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Tracking DNA to stop illegal fishing

Despite international policy regulations and ‘eco-labelling’, illegal, unreported or unregulated (IUU) fishing is still thriving worldwide. To tackle this problem a group of international researchers came up with a possible tool based on genetic testing. The results of their research … Continue reading

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Where is the water coming from that cause current sea-level rise?

Sea-level rise is a well-studied climate change phenomenon. General explanation is that thermal expansion of water and water from melting ice caps and glaciers are responsible for the rise. Global sea-level rose about 1.8 millimetres every year in the last … Continue reading

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Fish might become “fearless” as a result of ocean acidification

The rising level of atmospheric CO2 has led to several studies focussing on changes in terrestrial and water ecosystems that might occur as a consequence. Ocean acidification, which is caused mainly by the increasing amount of CO2 dissolved in sea … Continue reading

Posted in Biodiversity, Climate Change, Conservation, Marine, Ocean Acidification, Research | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Clear indications that climate change is affecting fish stocks

The Marine Climate Change Impacts Partnership (MCCIP) launched its latest Report Card on 8th May at the World Fisheries Congress in Edinburgh. It focuses on how climate change is affecting the fish and shellfish we find in our seas, providing … Continue reading

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Consultation is now open for the Marine Strategy Framework Directive

Defra together with the Northern Ireland Executive, the Scottish Government and the Welsh Government launched the consultation on the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) in March. One and a half months are left to submit thoughts on the implementation … Continue reading

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Your help needed to develop ‘Climate Change Impacts Report Cards’

A new project to develop a series of ‘Climate Change Impacts Report Cards’ for the terrestrial and freshwater environments has started under the Living With Environmental Change programme, supported by Defra and NERC. These report cards will be accessible, high … Continue reading

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