Environmental Protection: Marine

Marine Protection - Further information

• Protecting the quality of our seas and coastal waters
• Control of marine construction works and disposal of waste at sea
• Controlling pipeline discharges
• Regulating drilling and mining
• Controls on radioactive waste
• Improving the quality of estuarine waters
• Maintaining the balance of marine ecosystems through control on fishing
• Funding research and development
• Leading the way on international control

Protecting the quality of our seas and coastal waters

The seas around the UK support an immense variety of plants and animals and are a plentiful source of food and fuel. Yet marine life and the food chain can be put at risk by pollution and overfishing.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) helps to protect our seas and coastal waters through strict controls and monitoring. Each year, Defra spends around £21 million on science relevant to fisheries and the marine environment.

Control of Marine Construction Works and the Disposal of Waste at Sea

Defra controls the deposit and placement of materials in the sea and other tidal waters both during construction activities and for the purpose of their disposal by means of licences issued under the Food and Environment Protection Act 1985. Such licences are administered by the Marine Consents and Environment Unit (MCEU) and are only granted after detailed scientific assessment of the potential environmental impact, with particular regard to the need to safeguard marine conservation sites. Detailed information about the Unit and its responsibilities, the statutory licensing regime and how to apply for a licence is available from the MCEU website - www.mceu.gov.uk.

Approval of Marine Construction Works

A licence is required in respect of construction which encompasses a broad range of works that include:

• new harbours and marinas
• marine structures / piers
• outfalls
• pontoons and jetties
• offshore windfarms / energy facilities
• land reclamation
• flood defences sea walls.

This also applies to 'soft-engineered' coast protection works, such as beach nourishment, and associated groynes and revetments.

Disposal of Waste at Sea

The disposal of waste at sea can pose a threat to marine life if not properly controlled. Sensitive habitats may also be damaged through indiscriminate construction and development. It is Defra's policy that no waste be disposed of at sea if there is a safe and practical land-based alternative.

Since the end of 1998 the disposal at sea of most types has been prohibited: the main exception being material dredged from ports and harbours. Even this is strictly controlled and only allowed where it is not possible to use the material beneficially - for example to replenish beaches or protect mud flats.

Under international rules, a few other types of material, including fish waste from processing plants, may also be considered for disposal at sea but this will only be agreed to after careful assessment and under strict conditions.

Defra has brought to an end the disposal at sea of most types of waste:

• Disposal at sea of radioactive waste stopped at the end of 1982.
• Burning of waste at sea has not been permitted since 1990.
• Dumping of industrial waste stopped at the end of 1992.
• Dumping of sewage sludge stopped at the end of 1998.

Controlling pipeline discharges

The Environment Agency consults Defra when it sets conditions for discharging liquid industrial waste. Defra carries out an extensive programme of monitoring and research to advise on the effects these liquid effluents have on fisheries and the marine environment.

Regulating drilling and mining

Similarly, Defra advises the authorities which regulate off-shore drilling for oil and gas and dredging for sand and gravel, giving guidance on the possible impact on the marine environment and fisheries.

Controls on radioactive waste

Defra is consulted on the authorisation of all discharges of radioactivity from nuclear sites into the sea. To support this role, Defra funds an extensive monitoring programme which checks for radioactivity in the seas around the UK. Special emphasis is given to areas close to nuclear sites and where waste was dumped in the past, to ensure that radioactivity levels remain well within internationally agreed levels. Results are published annually.

Improving the quality of estuarine waters

Since the 1960s, there has been a dramatic improvement in the quality of waters around our estuaries. Previously, these were heavily polluted by industrial and domestic waste. Containment levels today are well inside internationally agreed limits.

However, there is no room for complacency. Defra is actively working to identify whether contaminants are having any effect, whether chemical or biological on the marine environment so that their sources can be found and appropriate controls applied.

Maintaining the balance of marine ecosystems through control on fishing

Within the European Union's Common Fisheries Policy, Defra acts to encourage the sustainability of fishing. The actions taken to this end include restrictions on the amount of fishing, through quotas; rules on the mesh size of nets, to allow smaller fish to escape; rules on fish landing sizes; the operation of a restrictive licensing policy; and a reduction in fishing activity through decommissioning fishing vessels.

Funding research and development

Defra's research programme funds important work such as:

• The effect of endocrine disrupters on the marine environment
• The link between pollution and fish disease
• Transport of contaminants in the Irish sea and elsewhere
• The environmental impact of fishing on the marine environment

Defra also funds an extensive monitoring of the health of the sea around England and Wales, including levels of contaminants and the state of commercial fish and shellfish stocks.

This research and monitoring work has led, among other things, to a number of chemicals becoming universally regarded as hazardous and to their greater regulation. For example, MAFF research confirmed that the pesticide TBT, used internationally to prevent the build-up of fouling organisms such as barnacles on boats, could affect the growth of commercial oysters. Through restrictions on TBT use, residues of the chemical in the sea have fallen significantly. Many affected species are recovering.

Leading the way on international control

Marine pollution is a world-wide problem. No one state can 'ring-fence' its waters. Defra works towards improved protection internationally. For example, Defra took a prominent role in developing the 1996 London Convention Protocol - a new global initiative to strengthen control over dumping at sea. The UK has been one of the first countries to ratify the Protocol.

Defra funds research, monitoring and assessment programmes in the North and South Atlantic, as well as closer to home in the North Sea, Irish Sea and English Channel. During 1998, a National Monitoring Programme survey of the quality of UK coastal waters was published, the data from which is contributing toward quality status reports being prepared for the whole North-East Atlantic area.

For enquiries to Marine & Waterways branch, please call 020 7238 6558.