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Devon Maritime Forum – September newsletter

  • by JW

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Devon Maritime Forum News Bulletin – Sept. 2021




EVENTS; let you have a look at the latest RESEARCH + REPORTS coming out of our own world class institutions and elsewhere; and provide a round-up of notable marine and coastal related REGIONAL + LOCAL NEWS.


North Devon Climate Summit
FREE online event for North Devon residents and businesses organised and hosted by Selaine Saxby MP.  With a range of distinguished local and national speakers including: Lord Deben (Chair of the UK’s independent Climate Change Committee); Katherine Fletcher (PPS to Alok Sharma, COP26 President) and Andy Bell (Director of the North Devon Biosphere Reserve).  Includes a ‘Blue Carbon’ panel session.  (18.09.21) 

MCS’s Great British Beach Clean
Lots of beach cleaning events taking place on North, South and East Devon beaches this weekend and throughout next week as part of the Marine Conservation Society’s Great British Beach Clean.  If you haven’t taken part in a beach clean before why not give it ago this weekend!  (17.09.21 – 26.09.21)

Seas the Day
FREE, family-friendly all-day event 
at the National Marine Aquarium.  In the morning there’s a series of talks from world-leading experts from the University of Plymouth’s Marine Institute who’ll be sharing their expertise on the issues of marine plastics and climate change, and in the afternoon there are a number of hands-on activities exploring the marine environment and why it’s important. (25.09.21)

Network event: supporting the shift to clean marine propulsion and charging
FREE event organised and hosted by Maritime UK SW and partners with the ambition of pioneering a non-fossil fuelled marine ecosystem in Plymouth and South Devon. The event will provide technical and market information, examples of market solutions already available, expert support, and will establish a peer network to enable businesses to make informed decisions around making the shift, now or in future to electric or hybrid motors and installing charging points. (03.11.21)

Ocean Film Festival – Exeter
The Ocean Film Festival World Tour is back for autumn 2021 with a brand-new selection of the world’s most captivating ocean films!  (29.09.21 + 30.09.21)

Shoresearch Training Day at Wembury Beach
Join Devon Wildlife Trust’s Wembury Marine Centre and Green Minds for a FREE Shoresearch training day at Wembury Beach!  (08.10.21)

Coastwise and Exploring the North Devon Coast
A chance to find out more about Coastwise North Devon and their activities to explore, appreciate and survey the North Devon Coast. FREE online event.  (08.10.21 – Evening)

South West Aquaculture Network AGM & Conference 2021
The South West Aquaculture Network is holding its first AGM and conference at Kingston Maurward College, Dorset.  Organised by the Dorset Coast Forum, this FREE to attend event will be a mixture of presentations and panel discussions. (28.10.21)


POST Notes – Blue Carbon and Local Nature Recovery Strategies
A couple of recent informative research briefings from The Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology (POST) 

Blue Carbon a New Frontier for Conservation? Conference Report
Picking up on the Blue Carbon theme, here’s the recently published summary report of the Blue Marine Foundation organised Blue Carbon Conference, which was held back in June immediately prior to the G7 summit.

An Ocean Health Index+ assessment for South West England
The final report of this innovative University of Exeter led project was published a few months ago and provides a ‘data-driven update on the state of our region’s seas’.  It’s the first report of it’s kind in the UK and provides an invaluable baseline assessment of where we are across a range of ocean related goals. The South West peninsula as a whole scored 65 out 100 for ocean health.  Here in Devon our 3 sub-regions of North Devon, South-West Devon and South-East Devon scored 67, 69 and 60 respectively.  Much room for improvement! 

South-West Marine Ecosystems (the state of south-west seas) Report for 2020
Also recently published and adding to the SW evidence base is this report from  Keith Hiscock, Bob Earll et al.

Marine Protected Area status can boost fish populations by almost 400%
Researchers from the University of Plymouth, who have been monitoring the impact of the Lyme Bay MPA since it was designated in 2008, found that the number of different fish species inside the controlled zone is now more than four times (430%) greater than found outside the MPA’s boundaries.

New model accurately predicts how coasts will be impacted by storms and sea-level rise
Scientists at the University of Plymouth have developed a simple algorithm-based model which accurately predicts how coastlines could be affected and – as a result – enables communities to identify the actions they might need to take in order to adapt.

Three year technical report[s] on the South Inshore and South Offshore Marine Plan
Report[s] from Defra/MMO discussing  the progress that has been made in meeting the aims of the South Inshore and Offshore Marine plans and the UK marine policy statement.  (The South Marine Plans’ inshore area has a coastline that stretches from Folkestone in Kent to the river Dart in Devon).

Switching Gears: Achieving Climate Smart Fisheries
Report from the MCS, WWF and RSPB which undertakes a comprehensive review of the existing knowledge around fisheries, climate change and blue carbon within the UK and urges UK governments to futureproof our fisheries with a world-leading climate-smart strategy.

Fisheries and Climate Change
The All Parliamentary Party Group (APPG) on Fisheries have published a Policy Brief covering Fisheries Climate Resilience. This explores a variety of case studies for building resilience to climate change into fisheries management and coastal communities.

Devon Climate Emergency Newsletters
Neither research, nor a report, nor specifically marine related, but well worth keeping abreast of what’s going on in Devon in the run-up to COP-26.


International + National News
£24 million for cutting-edge science and fisheries (GOV.UK)Licence to krill: the destructive demand for a ‘better’ fish oil (The Guardian)Environmental campaigners and small-scale fishing boat skippers have declared a “state of emergency” due to the impact of industrial trawlers in UK waters (Sky News)Thriving seal population shows Thames is ‘full of life’ (Evening Standard)English waters among the least healthy in Europe, and climate change will make this worse (The Wildlife Trusts)
Regional + Local News
The MMO introduces the Studland Bay Marine Conservation Zone Habitat Protection Strategy to sensitive seagrass and seahorses (GOV.UK)New vision sees Plymouth and South West as global centre for ocean technologies  (Business LiveCouncil Leader pledges support for Nature Recovery Declaration (North Devon District Council)  Councillors support North Devon Biosphere Nature Recovery Plan (Torridge District Council)Huge crowds welcome round-Britain paddler Brendon Prince home after record-breaking journey (Devon Live)Scallop divers off Devon and Dorset coast forced into more dangerous waters by fishing ban  (Devon Live)Working with and for nature: creating new habitat at Cotehele quay on the River Tamar (National Trust)


D&S IFCA – ‘Have your say’  on the Size of Vessels Byelaw (Closes: 24th September 2021)

DEFRA – MPA compensation guidance consultation (Closes: 30th September 2021)

DEFRA – Consultation on the UK Marine Strategy Part Three: Programme of Measures (Closes: 29th November 2021)
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Devon Maritime Forum News Bulletin – Sept 21