At Sea

Living Seas is The Wildlife Trusts’ vision for the future of the UK’s seas.

What are Living Seas?

In Living Seas:

  • Wildlife and habitats are recovering from past decline as our use of the seas’ resources becomes environmentally sustainable
  • The natural environment is adapting to a changing climate, and ocean process are helping to slow down climate change
  • People are inspired by marine wildlife and value the sea for the many ways in which it support our quality of life

Read more about The Wildlife Trusts' Living Seas Vision

What needs to be done?

We need your help to restore Living Seas. With new laws and Government commitments to designate a network of Marine Protected Areas around the UK we have a once in a lifetime opportunity to help our seas recover their health. This will only happen if we protect our marine habitats and species properly and manage this natural resource in a sustainable manner.

Our work to restore Living Seas focuses on four themes:

  • Marine Protected Areas and Wildlife. We're making sure that wildlife is properly protected, from the coast to the deep blue sea and beyond. Working with partnership projects such as The Sussex Kelp Recovery Project
  • Fishing and Seafood. We're promoting sustainable fishing and fish-farming and encouraging environmentally friendly seafood choices.
  • Marine Planning and Sustainable Development. We're working with the marine industry and decision-makers to ensure marine developments avoid environmental damage and make a positive contribution to Living Seas.
  • Legislation and Policy. We're continuing to push for marine legislation, policies and guidance to support all of the other themes.

Living Seas in Sussex

The seas in Sussex provide us with a large number of resources and services, including food, recreation, transport, construction material, flood defense, climate regulation - the list goes on. But this also means the sea is under a great deal of pressure as many of these uses rely on extraction of resources and sometimes damaging activities. By working towards The Wildlife Trusts' Living Seas Vision we want to continue using the sea and all that it provides but ensure that we're able to continue doing so for years to come without degrading the environment.

What can I do to help?

In this section

Marine Protected Areas

Marine Protected Areas in Sussex

Sussex Shoresearch

Shoresearch is a volunteer scheme to identify and record animals, plants, and habitats along our shoreline.

Sussex Seasearch

Seasearch is a project for volunteer divers who have an interest in what they're seeing under water and want to learn more about the marine environment

Sussex Kelp Recovery Project

A pioneering partnership project to restore a vast underwater kelp forest off the Sussex coast.

Beach Cleans

Litter on our beaches is unsightly and poses a huge threat to our marine wildlife. Sussex Wildlife Trust organises regular beach cleans for the public as well as for corporate groups

Discover the Sussex coast

Explore to the wild Sussex coast with Chroma the cuttlefish

Chalk reefs

You might hear ‘reef’ and think ‘coral’, but reefs can be made from anything, and here in Sussex many are made of chalk.

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