TO BE PUBLISHED October 2026
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This conference will consider key priorities for marine protection in the UK and next steps for managing the marine environment in the context of recent policy and regulatory developments.
Areas for discussion include progress and priorities for Good Environmental Status, the future of Marine Protected Areas and Highly Protected Marine Areas, and the way forward for marine planning and use, coordination across environmental policy frameworks, and managing pressures from offshore development, fisheries and other marine activities.
It will bring together stakeholders and policymakers to assess implications of the Government's updated UK Marine Strategy, alongside developments in the Environmental Improvement Plan 2025 and ongoing work on marine planning, including the Marine Management Organisation's development of a second-generation marine plan for English waters.
Attendees will consider key issues for policy, regulation and delivery across the UK, with discussion on monitoring, governance and marine spatial planning, strengthening protection and recovery of the marine environment, and managing competing demands on UK seas.
Marine protection, monitoring & recovery
Looking at progress towards GES in UK seas, delegates will examine priorities for strengthening marine protection, monitoring and governance. This includes what is needed to improve environmental outcomes in practice, alongside implementation of the updated UK Marine Strategy and wider environmental commitments.
Overall, areas for discussion include:
- GES: assessment, indicators and transparency - statutory targets and compliance with the Marine Strategy Regulations - priorities for future delivery
- marine protection: effective management of MPAs and HPMAs - protected-feature condition targets - outcomes from the MPA Stage 3 Consultation
- oversight: monitoring, reporting and data availability - consistency across organisations - strengthening the evidence base and use of emerging technologies
- protected sites: fisheries management measures, bottom-towed gear and byelaws - whole-site and feature-based approaches - options for measurable ecological outcomes
- habitats and recovery: approaches to restoration - resilience to climate change and cumulative pressures - addressing biodiversity decline and coastal pollution
- policy: Programme of Measures implementation - alignment with the Environmental Improvement Plan, Water White Paper and wider environmental policy - implications of the High Seas Treaty
Marine planning, competing uses & delivery
Marine planning and management will be a focus as demands on UK seas continue to evolve. Sessions will examine planning, coordination and delivery across the UK, alongside approaches to supporting marine recovery while accommodating offshore development, fisheries and other marine activities.
Overall, areas for discussion include:
- marine planning: second-generation marine plans - the Marine Spatial Prioritisation Programme - accounting for cumulative impacts and competing uses of sea space
- coordination: government, devolved administrations and delivery bodies - links between land and marine planning - engagement with stakeholders and coastal communities
- development: interaction between offshore wind, fisheries and marine protection - alignment of clean energy objectives with marine recovery - maintaining coherent protected-site networks
- compensation: Offshore Wind Environmental Improvement Package - Marine Recovery Fund and strategic compensation schemes - evidential requirements and delivery timescales
- environmental safeguards: compensation hierarchy - ecological outcomes and MPA network coherence - mitigating marine spatial pressures
- long-term priorities: delivery of the UK Marine Strategy - governance, implementation and future measures - capacity across Statutory Nature Conservation Bodies
All delegates will be able to contribute to the output of the conference, which will be shared with parliamentary, ministerial, departmental and regulatory offices, and more widely. This includes the full proceedings and additional articles submitted by delegates. As well as key stakeholders, those already due to attend include a parliamentary pass-holder from the House Of Commons and officials from the Department for Transport; Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs; Department for Energy Security and Net Zero; Climate Change Committee; Environment Agency; HM Treasury; Maritime and Coastguard Agency; Marine Management Organisation; Ministry of Defence; National Audit Office; National Wealth Fund; Office for Environmental Protection; Ofwat; Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs, NI; Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture, Isle of Man; the Isle of Man Government; the Welsh Government; and The Scottish Government.
