Defra under investigation over marine environmental status
22nd January 2025
The Office for Environmental Protection (OEP) has launched an inquiry into Defra’s suspected failure to take the necessary measures to achieve or maintain Good Environmental Status (GES) of marine waters by the statutory deadline.
This follows the publication in December of an investigation into continuing high levels of discharges of raw sewage into rivers and the sea, which began in 2022. This concluded that ‘there have been failures to comply with environmental law by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), the Environment Agency
(EA) and Ofwat following an investigation into the regulation of network combined sewer overflows’.
In theory, this could lead to legal action against Defra ministers to force them to comply with the department’s own legal obligations.
Prior to Brexit, UK ministers could be held to account under the EU law for failing to meet statutory environmental targets.
The new Environment Act in 2021 was designed to maintain ministerial accountability, and led to the creation of the OEP.
Actions taken by the incoming government to address sewage issues, including setting up an independent commission on the water sector, were praised by the OEP in its annual review of how the government was meeting the legally binding environmental targets. However, the OEP made critical comments about marine protection, including a failure to fully protect MPAs, as it launched this new investigation, suggesting that a further crackdown on fishing within MPAs may be needed.
A statutory target to achieve Good Environmental Status for the UK’s marine environment, has not been met, the OEP said. This is one of 43 commitments that Defra is required to meet, ranging from air quality through to recycling targets – 20 of which, the OEP says, are currently being missed.
Helen Venn, the OEP’s chief regulatory officer, said: “Most recently, the deadline for an updated report on the UK Marine Strategy passed on 20 December, 2024, with no update appearing.
“Therefore, Defra has not yet set out its formal assessment confirming whether or not the 2020 deadline has been missed. If this deadline was missed, we have seen no clear plan to ensure that GES is achieved as soon as possible.
“Our investigation seeks to ensure accountability for the suspected failure to take the necessary measures to achieve GES of marine waters by 31 December, 2020, and if that failure has occurred, ensure that it is addressed as soon as possible through the introduction and implementation of an evidenced, resourced and timebound delivery plan.”
Chief scientist at the OEP Robbie McDonald said that the seas around England were likely to miss their target of being in Good Environmental Status by 2027 as a result of pressures including overfishing and pollution.
“We should already have been taking action to stop damaging actions in MPAs,” he said. “This needs to happen now.” These actions, he said, included a wider ban on mobile fishing gears within MPAs, which cover 38% of the seabed in UK waters.
Whilst a ban on mobile gears across 13 MPAs was enacted in March 2024, many environmental NGOs are arguing for a blanket ban on mobile gears, even in MPAs designated for species or marine features unlikely to be impacted by them.
FN contacted Defra for comment on the new investigation. A spokesperson said: “A healthy marine environment is vital for the nation, maintaining a home to a vast array of species, many of which are unique to our waters, as well as supporting coastal economies through fishing, recreation and tourism.
“We are clearly committed to working towards achieving Good Environmental Status in the marine environment to protect and restore our waters to good health, and will work constructively with the OEP in relation to this investigation.”
This story was taken from the latest issue of Fishing News. For more up-to-date and in-depth reports on the UK and Irish commercial fishing sector, subscribe to Fishing News here or buy the latest single issue for just £3.50 here.
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