British Marine Environment

For centuries, people in the British Isles have depended on the sea. The waters surrounding the country have protected and fed its people for generations.

But there is more to these seas than maritime history and food. Hidden beneath the waves is a spectacular, and unexpectedly rich, marine environment.

The UK’s territorial waters contain a multitude of assets that bear testament to our rich history, from historic shipwrecks such as the Mary Rose in Portsmouth, England, to submerged archaeological landscapes such as those at Strangford Lough in County Down, Northern Ireland. Some of these historic assets are protected while others go unrecognised. All would benefit from a management regime that is simple, flexible and open, and which reflects the many uses of the marine historic environment.