Marine Research Report

The House of Commons’ Science and Technology Committee have released their report Investigating the Oceans, which addresses marine science in the United Kingdom. The Committee recommend the following:

• Urge Defra to bring forward to draft Marine Bill without delay.
• A new marine science agency should be established to coordinate marine science and research in the UK, to promote the education on marine science in schools, universities and the UK public to overcome the skill shortage in marine science.
• Both NERC and the government need to commit to ensuring that the research vessel planned for 2011 is delivered on time and that NERC should develop a case for a new coastal vessel.
• It is essential that the government establish Marine Protected Area (MPA) pilot sites ahead of the Bill, to assemble the necessary evidence required to develop the science needed to underpin MPA’s and that MPA policy is directly linked to the draft Climate Change and Energy Bills.