UK Marine Strategy Part Three: Programme of Measures

Overview

Defra, the Northern Ireland Executive, the Scottish Government and the Welsh Government are seeking views on the updated programme of measures for the UK’s seas for each of the UK Marine Strategy descriptors.

The UK Marine Strategy Regulations 2010 require the UK to take the necessary measures to achieve or maintain Good Environmental Status (GES) through the development of a UK Marine Strategy. This consultation sets out our proposals for updating the UK Marine Strategy Part Three, published in 2015. It shows the programme of measures the UK intends to use to achieve or maintain GES for UK seas over the next 6 years.

The consultation does not cover the assessment of the state of the UK’s seas and GES characteristics, targets and indicators.  These were covered in a previous consultation, this is documented in Marine Strategy Part One published October 2019 (https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/921262/marine-strategy-part1-october19.pdf). 

This Consultation does not cover the monitoring programmes we use to measure our progress towards Good Environmental Status across UK seas. These were covered in the updated Marine Strategy Part 2, published in 2020: (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/marine-strategy-part-two-uk-marine-monitoring-programmes) 

Our target audiences are groups or individuals who use the sea for whatever purpose, or have an interest in it, business users of the sea, national and local interest groups, and governments in other OSPAR contracting parties.

The aims of the Strategy are consistent with the UK government and devolved administrations’ vision of “clean, healthy, safe, productive and biologically diverse oceans and seas”. This requirement to monitor and assess the state of the UK seas is enshrined in UK legislation and demonstrates the combined commitments of the four UK Administrations to work together to monitor and protect what are some of the most biologically diverse and productive seas in Europe. We will also continue to collaborate internationally with those countries that share our seas, particularly through OSPAR, our regional seas convention, to protect and conserve the marine environment of the North-East Atlantic. 

What happens next

The consultation received 16 responses. A summary of responses will be published in due course.