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About Us

Our Impact on Marine Conservation

Blue Marine has achieved major campaign successes, established a model of sustainable fishing and secured commitments to protect over four million square kilometres of ocean.​

In its fourteen years of existence, Blue Marine has achieved a huge amount of impactful ocean conservation. Here are some of our achievements:

Key achievements

2010
Blue Marine, with support from the Bertarelli Foundation brokered a deal to enable the creation of what was then the largest marine protected area (MPA) in the world around Chagos in the Indian Ocean.
2012
Blue Marine partnered with the government of Belize and the Bertarelli Foundation to protect the Turneffe Atoll in Belize, an area rich in biodiversity and CO2 absorbing mangroves.
2015
Blue Marine and the Great British Oceans coalition secured a government manifesto commitment to create a “Blue Belt” around all 14 UK overseas territories, hailed as “the greatest conservation commitment by any government ever”.
2015
The Great British Oceans coalition, of which Blue Marine is an active part, secured a UK government commitment to create the world’s largest marine reserve around Pitcairn in the Pacific.
2015
Blue Marine launched Reserve Seafood – an innovative label to celebrate the success of sustainable fishing in Lyme Bay and help fishers earn more from their catch.
2015
Blue Marine’s research on bass resulted in EU-wide measures to protect the stock.
2016
Blue Marine secured the creation of a no-take zone in 52.6 per cent of Ascension Island’s waters.
2017
As part of the Great British Oceans coalition, secured an even stronger manifesto commitment from the UK Government ahead of the June 2017 election to protect over four million square kilometres of oceanaround the UK overseas territories.
2017
In the summer of 2017, broodstock oysters in Blue Marine’s Solent Oyster Restoration Project spawned, releasing millions of larvae into the Solent.
2017 - 2018
Blue Marine spearheaded a social media campaign to encourage the public to tweet and email their MPs, resulting in 285 MPs from eight political parties signing up to the Blue Belt Charter by the end of 2018.
2018
The UK Government announced a target of 30 per cent of ocean protected by 2030, aligning with Blue Marine’s long-term strategy.
2018
Azerbaijan declared the first MPA in the Caspian Sea, the largest inland body of water on the planet. The new MPA will seek to protect six significant marine species on the brink of extinction.
2019
Blue Marine published its ground-breaking four-year Potting Study, commissioned by Defra, which evidences sustainable potting levels in Lyme Bay as a model for crab and lobster management UK-wide.
2019
Following Blue Marine’s #StopElectricFishing campaign, undertaken in collaboration with Bloom Association, the European Parliament’s Committee on Fisheries voted to ban electric pulse fishing in EU waters.
2019
With support from Blue Marine, 100 per cent of the waters around Ascension Island were designated a marine reserve, creating the largest fully protected marine reserve in the Atlantic, an area nearly the size of France.
2020
Blue Marine instigated a social media campaign to encourage people in England to eat local fish in support of small-scale fishers impacted by the Covid-19 crisis.
2021
Destructive bottom trawling banned in four offshore areas, including Dogger Bank, following threat of legal action by Blue Marine.
2021
A byelaw, supported by Sir David Attenborough and Blue Marine through the Help our Kelp coalition, protected 300 square kilometres of seabed off the Sussex coast from damaging trawl fishing
2022
Ground-breaking report released, illuminating the levels of unauthorised fishing by EU vessels in Indian Ocean Coastal States’ Waters
2022
Following legal intervention by Blue Legal, the government adopted new byelaws banning bottom trawling in four offshore MPAs including the Dogger Bank SAC
2022
Blue Legal joined an appeal concerning the Hinkley Point C nuclear power station and successfully opposed EDF’s plans to proceed with the plant without appropriate mitigation or compensation measures in place for the marine environment
2023
UK government u-turned to support a moratorium on deep sea mining following a Blue Marine media and policy campaign.
2023
Blue Marine formed part of a ten-partner collaboration to launch the Solent Seascape Project - the first whole ecosystem restoration project in the UK.
2023
The Jersey government proposed plans to secure 27 per cent of its waters, supported by Blue Marine research and campaign.
2023
Blue Marine helped secure support from the Greek state for the first Greek permanent no-fishing reserves and seasonal fishing closure around Amorgos, spearheaded by local fishers.
2023
In partnership with Dutch Caribbean Nature Alliance, Blue Marine advocated increased marine protection across the Dutch Caribbean to the Dutch and Island Governments. Aruba formally committed to creating an EEZ-wide MPA covering 25,199 km2 at the Our Ocean conference.

How to help

By working together, we can turn the tide on overfishing and the destruction of biodiversity. By supporting Blue Marine, you can help to create marine reserves around the world.

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