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 environmental protection, and in several cases highlights close working with Natural England, applicants and the fishing industry to resolve concerns before licences were issued.
Most of the decisions date from 2025 rather than the past few weeks, so the release is best read as a showcase of how licensing works in practice than as a set of fresh approvals.
Restoration and aquaculture
The most significant decision for marine conservation concerns the Wild Oysters Project: Tyne and Wear, led by the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) with Groundwork North East and Cumbria. The project needed a marine licence to build an artificial reef on the seabed using purpose-designed structures and oyster cultch, and the MMO says its licensing team worked with the project to refine plans. The reef is already in the water: ZSL reported the deployment of 20 oyster reef cubes carrying 4,000 native oysters, describing it as a UK first. Subsequent dive surveys found the reef stable, with the cubes already hosting native fish and crustaceans. As a pilot, the scheme is expected to inform future native oyster restoration around the UK.
In Devon, Offshore Shellfish Ltd has been licensed to relocate an offshore mussel farm into deeper water in Babbacombe Bay, installing 140 screw anchors to hold 68 mussel-growing longlines. The MMO says the application underwent environmental assessment to ensure protected habitats in Lyme Bay and Torbay were not harmed, and that it worked with other regulators and the fishing industry on concerns about site location. The company’s existing Lyme Bay farm, established in 2013, has been the subject of long-term research by the University of Plymouth, which has linked the farm to the return of shellfish reefs to parts of the seabed for the first time in up to 150 years.
Infrastructure, dredging and public safety
At Sandbanks in Poole, the National Trust has been licensed to replace the jetty serving Brownsea Island with a new pier, vessel berths, a replacement quay wall and a vehicle ramp, with works scheduled to run from May 2025 to October 2029. Storm damage had washed away part of the seabed beneath the old pier, leaving it unstable and prompting emergency removal. The National Trust notes that the jetty had served as a landing stage since 1996 and, together with the sea wall, had reached the end of its functional life. Because the site sits within several protected areas, the application required a detailed habitat assessment, with Natural England supporting the final approach.
In Essex, Burnham Yacht Harbour has been licensed to remove up to 17,500 cubic metres of sediment a year from its marina basin between December and May, with the material dispersed into the River Crouch. Agreement on environmental safeguards, including a condition relating to freezing weather, was reached following discussions between the MMO, Natural England and the applicant.
The final example is a smaller one: a temporary scaffold footbridge over Porthleven Harbour in Cornwall, fast-tracked and approved two days before construction was due to start ahead of the town’s 2025 food festival, because it sat below Mean High Water Springs and was considered important for crowd safety.