Marine Act Campaign

In this small island nation, we’re never more than 115km (70 miles) from the coast. Our seas are an essential part of our country’s history, and its ecosystem.

The UK has a remarkable 20,000km of coastline, and our waters are home to an astonishingly diverse range of marine species and habitats – many of which are in severe decline and urgent need of protection.

Surprisingly, in the UK we've never had much in the way of coherent legal protection for our sea life and coastal environment, to help guard against the increasing pressures placed on them by modern life. At least, not until now...

After a decade of campaigning by WWF and others the Marine and Coastal Access Bill gained royal assent on the 12 November and is now an Act. This means that for the first time in over 20 years the UK Government has a duty to protect our seas.

A big thank you to everyone who supported this campaign.

How you can help

• Adopt a dolphin
• Campaign with us