Marine Conservation Society
Over the last two decades I’ve watched with horror as the future of our ocean has become more and more uncertain. That’s not to say it’s not recoverable it absolutely is. But only if we can work with people just like you – who care as passionately about our seas as our team of scientists and experts do.
Dr. Peter Richardson – Head of Ocean Recovery, Marine Conservation Society
Why I Support Them
The Marine Conservation Society is a community of ocean lovers working hard to preserve and protect UK marine ecosystems and inhabitants. They do this through educational efforts about habitats, animals, plastic pollution, sustainable fishing, and marine protected areas. They work with government and businesses to make practical and policy changes for the good of the ocean. They host local events with participation from over 25,000 volunteers! And I’m a huge fan of their Good Fish Guide — great information for individuals and restaurants to use when making decisions about sourcing and eating seafood.
Thank you Marine Conservation Society for what you are doing for the ocean!
How They Help the Ocean
For more than 30 years, we’ve been the voice of the ocean, defending habitats and species. We work to protect the UK’s seas and contribute to international data and legislation wherever possible. Our goal is to recover the health of the ocean; for the sake of our wildlife, our climate and our own wellbeing.
By 2030 we’re calling for:
– A third of our seas to be truly protected, so nature can recover
– Ocean pollution levels to show a clear downward trend
– Our fish stocks to be at sustainable levels
To make this happen, we:
– Secure spaces where species and habitats can recover.
– Campaign to stop pollution entering our ocean, and our volunteer beach cleans remove and record the litter on our coastline.
– Influence politicians and businesses to make policy, legislative and practical changes. We challenge those responsible when laws are not enforced, and we influence investment and procurement decisions.
– Engage communities to get involved in our campaigns and call for action to protect our seas.
– Educate and influence people and businesses to understand the value of a healthy ocean and change their behaviour.
– Promote sustainable fishing and seafood to minimise harm. We support businesses to catch, produce and source seafood sustainably and incorporate conservation into their work.
– Carry out practical conservation activities with volunteers and partners to collect and share scientific evidence, using this data to better understand our seas and inform our work.
Why Their Work is Important
The Marine Conservation Society continues to make a difference for our ocean:
– We’ve seen a 55% drop in plastic bags on UK beaches since the 5p charge (which we campaigned for) was introduced in 2011.
– UK Marine Conservation Zones were designated using our divers’ habitat and species reports; our volunteer divers spent 100 hours underwater in 2019/20 recording species and changes in habitats.
– Evidence from our beach litter surveys helped bring in the bans on plastic cotton bud sticks, stirrers and straws.
– Our Good Fish Guide highlights the most and least sustainable fish, so people can make better seafood buying choices. In 2019 businesses that used our Good Fish Guide to inform their sourcing supplied over 20% of the UK’s seafood. That’s around 760 million seafood meals!