A new report from the House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee published today is calling for Government action to “stop using seas as a sewer” and warning that the Government’s ‘out of sight, out of mind’ treatment of the oceans is putting marine resources at great risk.

Environment Secretary Michael Gove is today setting out plans to create more than 40 new Marine Conservation Zones across the UK – safeguarding almost 12,000 square kilometres of marine habitats and marking the most significant expansion of the UK’s ‘Blue Belt’ of protected areas to date.

Twenty-three new areas along the UK coast have been announced as the latest Marine Conservation Zones (MCZs) to be awarded environmental protection by the government.