"Protecting our seas is our biggest environmental challenge after climate change and the two are closely linked" - The Minister of State, Department of Energy and Climate Change & Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Hunt of Kings Heath)

What is your perception of the Marine Bill? What are its objectives? What are the threats to the marine environment?

The Marine Bill is a good example of democracy at work - 15000 organisations have been involved in pre-legislative scrutiny, and there has been considerable debate on the print and broadcast media.

The central point is that the MB will give legislative voice to the concept of Eco-System Management. This underpins the Convention on Biodiversity (Rio) and s expressed as 'a strategy for the integrated management of land, water and living resources that promotes conservation and sustainable use in an equitable way.'

EEZ's by area Continental shelf map
TimetableCleanSeaNet
Defra Maps MMO Strategy
SeaBed Landscapes
Marine Strategy Directive Regions
University of Plymouth Law Group - abstracts
Cornish Coastal Path - Economic benefit
European marine observation and data network
European Atlas of the Sea
Bonn Agreement
CleanSEaNet
long range ship identification
ICES Journal of Marine Science on governance