Governing the marine environment

Whilst balancing economic and environmental demands is important, it is critical to ensure a balance between climate action and nature recovery, particularly in enabling offshore renewable energy developments to meet net zero targets without compromising marine biodiversity. Achieving sustainable marine governance that ensures marine protection requires effective, cross-government coordination. Marine governance is inherently complex. However, it is essential that the Government adopts a joined- up approach to marine decision-making, ensuring coherence across departments and policies to deliver meaningful outcomes for the marine environment. We are deeply concerned that contrary to this, responsibilities are blurred, resulting in poor coordination and a lack of accountability. (Conclusion, Paragraph 16)

Given the lack of coordination, we recommend that one department must act as the lead authority for marine governance and the coordination of marine policy. This department should be responsible for engaging with other departments and bodies, including The Crown Estate, to ensure their needs are considered alongside competing demands. However, ultimate responsibility and accountability for determining how these priorities are balanced should rest with the lead department. This will enable the Government to address and support the diverse ambitions of various sectors while ensuring the protection of marine nature and sustainable use of the marine environment. The Government should confirm the lead department and identify its coordination responsibilities by January 2026. (Recommendation, Paragraph 17)

A more streamlined and transparent approach to marine governance, underpinned by effective stakeholder engagement, is essential for the Government to meet its marine protection commitments and to ensure a balanced approach to managing the economic, social, and environmental demands placed on the marine environment. (Conclusion, Paragraph 22) 49

Engaging stakeholders in a meaningful way is essential to ensure that decisions are inclusive, transparent, and responsive to both environmental and societal needs. For engagement to be effective, it must occur through appropriate forums, begin early in the decision-making process, and be maintained consistently throughout. Poor stakeholder engagement leads to the risk of the Government taking decisions without a full understanding of the consequences on them. It also contributes to low public awareness and may undermine support for policies that could otherwise deliver significant local and national benefits. While public bodies such as the Marine Management Organisation have taken steps to improve engagement, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs must ensure that stakeholder engagement is strengthened across all areas of marine policy. (Conclusion, Paragraph 23)

We recommend that the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) develops a comprehensive framework for engaging a diverse range of stakeholders, particularly coastal communities and underrepresented voices, early-on in marine decision-making and outline the responsible organisation for leading the engagement across areas of marine policy. This framework should identify a range of stakeholder engagement activities appropriate to the scale and impact of different decisions (e.g. roundtables, workshops, participatory mapping or advisory councils). The framework should also ensure that adequate resources and expertise are allocated to facilitate effective and inclusive stakeholder engagement, which will also help raise public awareness and understanding. Additionally, the Government should be transparent about decision-making processes and acknowledge the implications of these decisions for stakeholders. DEFRA should publish this framework by January

The current Marine Policy Statement is outdated, not fit for purpose and no longer reflects Government policy or pressures on the marine environment. It therefore must be updated at the earliest opportunity. (Conclusion, Paragraph 33)

We urge Ministers to issue a revised Marine Policy Statement no later than January 2026. The updated statement should reflect the current and evolving pressures on the marine environment, clearly outline the Government’s priorities for marine usage, and set out by which decisions on the balance between marine exploitation and marine protection will be made. (Recommendation, Paragraph 34) 50

Clear and strategic spatial planning direction from the Government is necessary to guide decision-making, minimise conflicts, and ensure that marine space is allocated in a way that supports both environmental recovery and sustainable economic development. The Government’s proposed Marine Spatial Prioritisation Programme has the potential to deliver this. However, the Committee is concerned that there is confusion or obfuscation about when and how this Programme will be delivered. (Conclusion, Paragraph 37)

We ask the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) to clarify the objectives and planned timeline for outputs from the Marine Spatial Prioritisation Programme and explain how it contributes to the Department’s aims for “clean, healthy, safe, productive and biologically diverse oceans and seas”. We recommend that the programme sets out a framework for marine spatial planning that is adaptable to future pressures and follows the guidance set out in an updated Marine Policy Statement, which we have also recommended. This framework should direct activity toward areas of least environmental sensitivity, fully integrate the fisheries sector to avoid conflict and support co-location, and explicitly address the cumulative impacts of multiple marine uses. This will support the sustainable management of marine resources and reduce pressure on ecologically valuable areas. (Recommendation, Paragraph 38)

It is critical that the use of marine resources is sustainably governed through marine spatial planning and prioritisation. However, changes to the use of marine space will lead to direct consequences, including the displacement or reduction of activities, on certain marine industries and it is important that these affected industries are supported. (Conclusion, Paragraph 40)

We call on the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) to publish an assessment on the impact of changes in marine spatial use on specific sectors. Affected sectors and associated stakeholders should be central to the assessment and planning of the transition. (Recommendation, Paragraph 41)

The Government should publish a plan to secure a just transition for those affected by changes through targeted support, skills development, identification of long-term opportunities and associated funding. The support should reflect both traditional and emerging marine sectors, to ensure the retention of existing expertise while supporting the adoption of more sustainable practices within those industries. The plan for a just transition should be published in a report within six months of an updated Marine Policy Statement. (Recommendation, Paragraph 42) 51 Marine Protection and Recovery

We were concerned by Government failure to effectively manage gaps in the network of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). Deficient management and gaps in the network are allowing damaging activities to take place within MPA boundaries. (Conclusion, Paragraph 61)

We call on the Government to ban seabed damaging practices, such as bottom trawling, dredging and mining for aggregates, within offshore Marine Protected Area boundaries. (Recommendation, Paragraph 62)

Long-term data collection is critical to scientific analysis of the effectiveness of marine protection measures such as whole-site protections and their impact on ecosystem recovery. We are concerned that funding for Lyme Bay has stopped, and this will lead to a gap in long-term data collection and undermine marine conservation efforts. (Conclusion, Paragraph 66)

We recommend that the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) reinstates funding to ensure the long-term data collection and monitoring at Lyme Bay is sustained to enable scientific analysis of the benefits of whole-site approaches for marine protection. We urge DEFRA to make this decision urgently to ensure the continuous data collection at this site is not compromised. (Recommendation, Paragraph 67)

Marine habitats are interconnected, and the health of one area impacts the entire ecosystem. Scientific research has provided evidence to demonstrate the effectiveness of a whole-site approach to marine protection, which is enabled in Highly Protected Marine Areas (HPMA). Therefore, it is critical for the Government to deliver whole-site marine protection in more marine areas by designating more HPMAs to facilitate effective marine conservation and enable faster recovery for habitats at risk. (Conclusion, Paragraph 71)

We urge the Government to expand the network of Highly Protected Marine Areas (HPMA) to 10% of UK waters by 2030 to meet 30by30 targets, based on the evidence of their effectiveness in enabling marine nature recovery. The Marine Recovery Fund should be used to assist the establishment of new HPMAs. To ensure consistent progress across the UK, the Government should also consider using the UK Marine Policy Statement to set indicative targets or expectations for HPMA coverage within each devolved administration. This would help ensure that the 30by30 target is met through coordinated contributions from all nations. The plan for designating more HPMAs should be published in a report by January 2026. (Recommendation, Paragraph 72)

Nature recovery and restoration is a long-term process. It is of utmost importance that sites dedicated for marine protection maintain their status to allow habitats and ecosystems to recover and be effectively protected. 52 Whilst the expansion of offshore renewable energy development, like offshore wind farms, are critical for net zero ambitions, the need to protect nature is also essential and should not be compromised by targets for renewable energy. (Conclusion, Paragraph 76)

We call on the Government to maintain the status of designated Marine Protected Areas and ensure the expansion of the MPA network to cover vulnerable sites of comparable biodiversity to maximise its effectiveness. (Recommendation, Paragraph 77)

We recommend the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) coordinate with The Crown Estate to ensure that offshore wind developments are developed away from the most sensitive and biologically diverse sites. This should be done by clearly setting out marine spatial areas (e.g. Marine Protected Areas and Highly Protected Marine Areas) where nature restoration is a priority, and habitats have long-term protection, so they are not compromised by future developments. (Recommendation, Paragraph 78)

We recommend that compensatory measures through the Marine Recovery Fund (MRF) should be directed to priority areas, particularly nature restoration initiatives, to ensure long-term nature recovery. (Recommendation, Paragraph 79) International Marine Treaties and Global Marine Protection

As a result of climate change, species are increasingly migrating into the high seas and global oceans. The movement of marine species beyond national jurisdictions poses significant challenges to conservation and sustainable management efforts highlighting the need for effective governance and protection of these areas. We are disappointed that the Government has not found time in the legislative timetable to introduce primary legislation to ratify the Agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction—the Global Oceans, or High Seas, Treaty. (Conclusion, Paragraph 87)

We urge the Government to set a clear timeline for introducing the necessary primary legislation to ratify the Global Oceans / High Seas Treaty to send a clear signal of prioritising global marine protection. The timeline for ratifying this should be published within a month of this report and the treaty should be ratified no later than 20 September 2025, two years after the UK signed it. (Recommendation, Paragraph 88) 53

Elements of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Seas’ advisory opinion are authoritative and binding on the UK. (Conclusion, Paragraph 91)

We call on the Government to set out how it will align its policies with the advisory opinion issued by the International Tribunal for the Law of the Seas, including recognising greenhouse gas emissions as marine pollution and implementing measures to prevent, reduce, and mitigate such pollution based on the best available science. The Government should publish its position within two months of the publication of this report. (Recommendation, Paragraph 92)

The UK Government’s funding for programmes that enable local communities in Overseas Territories (OTs) to deliver marine conservation initiatives is critical for global marine protection, given the vast marine areas that are part of the UK’s OTs, and for empowering local communities. It is vital for the UK Government to demonstrate international leadership in marine protection to reinforce the UK’s commitment to sustainable marine governance globally. (Conclusion, Paragraph 97)

The UK Government should commit to continued and enhanced funding to deliver marine conservation initiatives through its Biodiversity Challenge Funds and Blue Belt Programme, which have delivered excellent marine conservation objectives globally. If the Government is to continue to prioritise climate action and marine conservation in Overseas Territories, despite cuts to Official Development Assistance spending, it must set out as a matter of urgency how it will do this. The Government should publish this explanation in its response to this report. (Recommendation, Paragraph 98) 54