In 2022 the Marine Management Organisation's (MMO) corporate plan set out our commitment to England's marine area and all those who use it for the next three years. This included a new vision for the Marine Licensing Service. In it, …
This week we’re putting the spotlight on some of the interesting species found within our coastal waters and marine protected areas (MPAs). In particular, we’d like to share more information about sea-pen and burrowing megafauna communities, including what they are …
It’s World Seagrass Day and we’re eager to highlight the conservation work that’s underway to protect this vitally important habitat at Studland Bay in Dorset. The United Nations General Assembly has proclaimed 1 March as World Seagrass Day. Their resolution …
Why do reefs need protection? Most people are unaware of the many vitally important habitats which lie offshore beneath the surface of English coastal waters. Rocky and biogenic reefs are two of these important habitats, which need our consideration and …
A new community interest company, Lyme Bay Fisherman’s CIC, has recently been formed, supported by funding through the UK Fisheries and Seafood Scheme from Marine Management Organisation. This week, Fishing News has shared an article about the project where the …
We’ve launched the next stage in our ambitious project to manage all fishing activities and protect valuable marine habitats in England’s Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) by 2024. On 17 January 2023, we launched our Stage 2 formal consultation, to seek …
Following on from my blog in 2018 regarding the initiation of Torbay Cleaner Coasts Initiative and our work to encourage the commercial Brixham fishing fleet to recycle their HDPE nets, I am pleased to say that there has been some …
Through marine licensing, the MMO plays a key role in providing advice and making decisions on what happens in England’s seas. There are many things to consider when handling marine licence applications, from protecting the marine environment to helping the …
In June MMO colleagues visited 21 ports stretching from Kent to Cornwall to speak with commercial fishers about their experiences of fishing for non-quota species (NQS, also known as non-pressure stocks) – and their aspirations for future management of these …
It’s really encouraging that so many vessels across our English inshore have installed their onboard I-VMS devices and received the grant funding to re-imburse their costs, but we realise there is still much work to do. We have now hit …
We are supporting industry to meet the requirement to have an I-VMS device installed and operational before the introduction of the Statutory Instrument (SI), scheduled for late 2022. I-VMS will help us understand individual and fleet fishing patterns and ultimately …