December 2025
In writing the new Environmental Improvement Plan (EIP), the Government seems to have forgotten that England’s seas cover almost double the area of its land. While there are over 20 actions under the restoring nature goal in the EIP specific to land, with several specific to recovering terrestrial species, there are just four actions specific to recovering marine nature, and none related to marine species.
Of the concrete actions in the plan, most are focused on Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). There is a renewed commitment to complete fisheries management measures for MPAs. This is a bright spot in plans for marine nature and will mean huge areas protected from the most damaging forms of fishing. It’s just a shame this will not come until the end of 2026, 2 years after commitments in the previous EIP.
Other measures for MPAs are delayed until 2028 and 2030, leaving MPAs little time to recover ahead of the deadline for the 30by30 target. A proposed review of MPAs will not conclude until 2028 and there is no detail on what this will involve. There is a risk it becomes an excuse to kick the can down the road or, worse, weaken the MPA network to allow offshore wind to expand. The slight change to the interim target to allow 5% of MPAs to be in poor condition in 2030 (rather than all MPAs targeted to be in good or recovering condition by 2028) is more realistic. But the explicit admission this is to allow for offshore wind expansion is a worrying indication the Government is happy for renewable energy to come at the expense of marine nature.
Whilst the OEP has previously made clear that these existing, and now delayed, action on MPAs will not be enough to put the Government on track to restoring MPAs, the remaining 60% of our seas outside of MPAs receive even less. There is a vague promise to work towards Good Environmental Status (GES), even though the OEP is investigating the Government for lack of progress towards GES. There is also a commitment to increase saltmarsh and seagrass area by 15% by 2043 (accounting for roughly 6,500 hectares of increase). This stands in stark contrast to the bold commitment to restore or create a total of 250,000 hectares of a range of wildlife-rich habitats outside of protected sites by December 2030. These actions will not be enough to stop the steady decline in our seas which left GES met for only two out of 15 indicators in 2025, compared to four out of 15 in 2019.
While expansion of offshore wind is necessary to reach net zero, the EIP shows there is no credible plan to reduce other pressures at the same time to allow our seas to recover. The section on fishing does not commit to ending overfishing, with only a vague action to “negotiate with our international fisheries partners to seek to increase the overall number of stocks fished at sustainable levels”. There is no mention at all of marine net gain, which would have been the only mechanism for channelling large amounts of new money into marine recovery. And while in 2024 seals and cetaceans received a whole section, there is not a single commitment or action on tackling threats facing marine species, such as bycatch. Finally, there are no longer commitments to expand Highly Protected Marine Areas, leaving these fully protected spaces covering just 0.42% of English seas.
Those working on marine nature recovery will not be surprised that the sea seems to be have been forgotten in the EIP, or by the quiet admission that a steady decline of the seas will be allowed to keep the economic engine turning. But we cannot accept it. Newly published figures highlight that marine natural capital dependent on living ecosystems is worth £120 billion. A slow decline in marine nature not only means fewer puffins, dolphins and seals it also means a slow decline in everything the sea provides for people. We need to see a change in the Government’s thinking from one of managed decline to rapid recovery.
The opinions expressed in this blog are the authors' and not necessarily those of the wider Link membership.
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