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Sea the connection: National Marine Week 2024 will map people’s love of UK seas

The annual celebration of the sea runs Saturday 27th July – Sunday 11th August

This year’s National Marine Week theme is Sea the Connection, which is celebrating the diverse ways people feel connected with the sea. The Wildlife Trusts are encouraging people to share favourite seaside memories, adventures and places on an interactive map.  

From Herman Melville to Amy Liptrott, Sylvia Earle to Charles Darwin, writers, naturalists and adventurers have documented voyages, discoveries and encounters with the sea throughout history. Now The Wildlife Trusts are calling on everyone to share their stories of how the sea enriches lives.  

National Marine Week takes place from Saturday 27th July to Sunday 11th August 2024 – it spans a fortnight due to varying tidal conditions around the UK. There are celebrations and events across the country such as the family-friendly SeaFest celebration in Cumbria, a Locomation in the Ocean on the Dorset coast, and a Marine Mammal BioBlitz in west Wales.  

 Daniele Clifford, marine conservation officer at The Wildlife Trusts, says:  

“The seas around the UK matter to us all – whether it’s because they support businesses or provide a playground for us to explore and relax – we owe so much to them. The stunning coastlines and waters surrounding us host an abundance of wildlife and store vast amounts of carbon – and they have an enormous cultural impact on society too. Rocky shores, muddy estuaries and sandy beaches are wonderful places to explore and these fascinating habitats have inspired many a storyteller, artist and poet throughout history, making our lives all the richer. We want everyone to share their sea stories with us! Our research shows that people think that protecting nature at sea is the top environmental priority for the Government. Ensuring that our seas are protected will help wildlife recover with knock on benefits for fishers, as well as ensuring vast amounts of carbon remain stored in natural habitats such as mud, seagrass and saltmarsh. Better protections for our seas will mean more wildlife and healthier waters, and that helps everyone.”  

Wyl Menmuir, author and ocean advocate, says:  

“At the end of a long day, I know I can get a lift by walking along the strandline at my local beach. There’s always something interesting to find among the seaweed where the tide has turned: mermaids’ purses, by-the-wind-sailors, cork floats with goose barnacles, fascinating things that take my full attention. I pick out the plastic I find there, too, which makes me feel I’m doing some good, so it’s a win win.”  

Steve Backshall, TV presenter and supporter of National Marine Week, says:   

“We're so lucky to have waters around our Great British Isles which are teeming with life, with treasures equalling anywhere else on this planet. I distinctly remember swimming in a seagrass meadow off the coast of Cornwall with spiny seahorses bumping into my mask! Even if you don't live on the coast, you can still get involved with National Marine Week by learning about the deadly impact of pollution on our seas and doing a litter pick to make sure less plastic makes its way downstream.”  

Find the interactive map and a full list of events on The Wildlife Trusts’ website.

Editor’s notes

The Wildlife Trusts’ new poll asked people to identify environmental priorities for the next government. The top five were: 

  1. Ensuring nature is properly protected in our seas (50%) 

  1. Halving pollution in rivers from sewage and farming by 2030 (45%) 

  1. Upgrading the energy efficiency of homes to tackle fuel poverty and reduce carbon emissions (38%) 

  1. Helping farmers reduce emissions and adapt to climate change by embedding adaptation into farm payment schemes (37%) 

  1. Providing more money to support nature-friendly farming (37%) 

See: New poll finds most people think main parties falter on nature and climate crises in the run up to General Election | The Wildlife Trusts 

Protecting UK seas 

In 2020, the Government committed to protect at least 30% of land and sea for nature by 2030 (its 30x30 target). According to a 2022 report by Wildlife & Countryside Link, a maximum of 8% of English waters could be classed as protected from bottom-towed fishing, which damages the seabed. An additional byelaw will come into force on 22nd March 2024, protecting almost 4,000 km2 from bottom-towed fishing gears. However, other impacts, like offshore developments and other fishing methods, and poor monitoring to assess nature’s recovery in Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) mean this figure could be lower. 

National Marine Week events 

 

The Wildlife Trusts  

The Wildlife Trusts are making the world wilder and helping to ensure that nature is part of everyone’s lives. We are a grassroots movement of 46 charities with more than 900,000 members and 38,000 volunteers. No matter where you are in Britain, there is a Wildlife Trust inspiring people and saving, protecting and standing up for the natural world. With the support of our members, we care for and restore special places for nature on land and run marine conservation projects and collect vital data on the state of our seas. Every Wildlife Trust works within its local community to inspire people to create a wilder future – from advising thousands of landowners on how to manage their land to benefit wildlife, to connecting hundreds of thousands of school children with nature every year. www.wildlifetrusts.org  

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