Consultation outcome

UK Marine Strategy Part One Update 2025

From:
Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs, Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (Northern Ireland), The Scottish Government and Welsh Government
Published
20 June 2025
Last updated
7 April 2026 — See all updates
This consultation has concluded

Read the full outcome

Summary of responses and government response

PDF, 1.04 MB, 87 pages

This file may not be suitable for users of assistive technology.

Request an accessible format.
If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need a version of this document in a more accessible format, please email defra.helpline@defra.gov.uk. Please tell us what format you need. It will help us if you say what assistive technology you use.

Detail of outcome

As a result of Good Environmental Status assessments carried out ahead of the consultation, and the responses to the consultation itself, we have published an update to the UK Marine Strategy Part 1.

Detail of feedback received

We received 31 responses from a range of sectors, including: 

  • environmental non-governmental organisations (NGOs) 
  • marine industries 
  • commercial fisheries 
  • the energy industry 
  • marine researchers  
  • members of the public

18 responses were submitted through Citizen Space, and 13 came by email.

Original consultation

Summary

We're seeking views on the UK’s updated assessment of Good Environmental Status (GES) for UK Seas and the proposed objectives, targets and indicators to be used for the next 6-year cycle.

This consultation was held on another website.

This consultation ran from
to

Consultation description

The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra), the Department of Agriculture Environment and Rural Affairs Northern Ireland, the Scottish Government and Welsh Government are seeking views on the update to UK Marine Strategy (UKMS) Part One.

This sets out:

  • our assessment of progress made towards achieving the targets set for Good Environmental Status (GES) in the Marine Strategy Part One in 2019
  • proposals for updated high level objectives, targets and indicators to be used for the next reporting cycle

Where possible, we have based our assessments on those completed for the OSPAR Convention for the Protection of the North East Atlantic Quality Status Report (QSR 2023).

We want to know what you think about our assessments and what they tell us about the state of our seas. We are also asking for your views about the individual targets we are setting for each component of the UKMS.

Updates to this page

Published 20 June 2025
Last updated 7 April 2026 show all updates

  1. Added the summary of responses and government response.

  2. Added detail of feedback received. We received 31 responses. We will publish a government response in due course.

  3. First published.

Sign up for emails or print this page