26 Oct 2026
Photo by Francesco Zivoli The UK Government has cleared the Jackdaw gas field in the central North Sea to begin production, ending almost two years of legal and political uncertainty. Energy Secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh agreed that the North Sea Transition Authority could grant consent, and first gas could reach the grid from the end […]
26 Oct 2026
Photo by Ryan Klaus Scottish Ministers have refused planning permission for an 18-hole championship golf course at Coul Links near Embo in East Sutherland, the second time in six years that the Scottish Government has blocked a golf development on the site. The official case record published by the Planning and Environmental Appeals Division […]
26 Oct 2026
Photo by Heino Eisner The UK Government has published proposals for new laws to protect the subsea cables, pipelines and interconnectors that carry most of the country’s data and much of its energy. The White Paper would replace a principal offence dating back to 1885 with a modern criminal regime, carrying sentences of up […]
26 Oct 2026
Photo by NIR HIMI The Scottish Government has published the first annual progress report on its Seabird Conservation Action Plan, finding that work has begun on 36 of the plan’s 50 actions in its first year. The report is candid that this is a story of foundations rather than results. It says meaningful improvements […]
26 Oct 2026
Photo by Federico Calcinai The Marine Management Organisation (MMO) is urging UK fishermen to act now on a wave of new EU fisheries control requirements that apply whenever UK vessels fish in the waters of EU Member States. The rules cover gear marking, electronic logbooks, catch recording, port weighing and vessel tracking. Some have […]
26 Oct 2026
Photo by Mitili Mitili The Marine Management Organisation (MMO) has set out five marine licensing decisions that it says have enabled projects ranging from native oyster restoration in the North Sea to storm repairs in Poole Harbour. The roundup, published on 20 October, is framed around the regulator’s role in balancing coastal development with […]
26 Oct 2026
Photo by Ant Rozetsky Japanese manufacturer Sumitomo Electric Industries has opened the UK’s first HVDC subsea cable factory at the Port of Nigg on the Cromarty Firth. The £350 million plant, which sits within the Inverness and Cromarty Firth Green Freeport, will make the high voltage direct current cables needed to carry power from […]
20 Oct 2026
Photo by Paul Einerhand Coastal states have agreed total allowable catches (TACs) for blue whiting and Norwegian spring-spawning herring for 2027, with both set in line with scientific advice from the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES). The agreement, announced by the Norwegian government on 15 October, sets the blue whiting […]
