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Living seas

© Chas Spradberry

Our seas are unbelievably rich in wildlife - like exotic anemones, dazzling cuttlefish and superb seals - but they’re under threat and need or help.

Plastic rubbish is choking our oceans, hurting and killing fish, seabirds and mammals. Certain practices like trawling and anchoring are destroying sensitive habitats on our Solent seabeds, including the lush green seagrass meadows that support so many species. Meanwhile over-fishing is sending fish stocks into decline, rocking the food chain but also our local economy.

Plastic litter in our oceans

Plastic litter in our oceans © Shutterstock

Action on plastics and litter

Globally some 8 million tons of plastic rubbish ends up in the ocean every year, often choking or killing animals like fish, dolphins, and birds as it is mistaken for food or entangles them. We've campaigned to reduce plastic litter on land, in our rivers and at sea.

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The Needles Lighthouse on the Isle of Wight

© Linda Priestley

Marine Conservation Zones

With you our members, we’re leading a campaign for the government to recognise and protect marine sanctuaries off the Solent coast. These Marine Conservation Zones would allow sustainable use of these areas, while giving the wonderful wildlife within them the time and space to recover

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Hill Head Shoresearch © Amy Marsden

Hill Head Shoresearch © Amy Marsden

Surveying local wildlife

We are lucky to have some stunning seagrass beds just off our coast. They fill the air we breathe with oxygen, and are a vital nursery ground for commercially important fish species. Through our annual seagrass surveys, we are gathering data which has helped inform local bye-laws to protect this vital habitat.

We will also be recruiting local volunteers to help us collect data about marine and coastal wildlife through Shoresearch surveys as part of our upcoming Secrets of the Solent project.

More on our work on marine issues