Marine species & wildlife: protection
Find out about the different marine species and how they are protected UK wildlife legislation.
Documents
Details
Many marine species are protected by UK wildlife legislation from intentional or deliberate disturbance, taking, injury and killing, and in some cases possession or sale. 皇冠体育appse marine species are protected regardless of whether they are inside or outside marine protected areas.
皇冠体育app offences that apply will depend on the species, activity and location. 皇冠体育app tables provide a summary of what marine species are protected and by what legislation. Please refer to the legislation directly for details of offences and defences, or contact the Marine Conservation Team at [email protected] for further advice.
Some of the species are also protected by the and are labelled in the guidance.
Updates to this page
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MMO has updated its guidance on protected seahorse species and published a new seagrass and seahorse diving guidance note.
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Updates to Seals guidance page.
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Sharks, skates, and fish update
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Shark and Seahorse pages updated
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Updated
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Small updates
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Shark update
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Page content on wild species updated. New page created for Seahorses
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Changes to Seals page in line with EU exit
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CTA added
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Prohibited or unauthorised method to capture or kill HTML updated
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Telephone number changed
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Information on protecting Tope, shark finning, protective measures and pair trawling for bass added
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First published.