MMO invitation to contribute evidence: marine recreational activities and anchoring in MPAs

The Marine Management Organisation (MMO) is inviting people to contribute to a new call for evidence on the impacts of marine recreational activities and anchoring within England’s marine protected areas (MPAs).

This call for evidence supports MMO’s marine non-licensable activities (mNLA) assessment. MMO is assessing the impacts of marine recreational activities and anchoring within England’s MPAs, with the aim to protect our marine habitats and species by implementing management measures where required.

As part of the marine non-licensable activities (mNLA) assessment, MMO has developed a series of Impacts Evidence documents covering the key habitats and species assessed, including:

benthic (seabed) habitats, for example peat, clay, mud and sand;
birds;
grey seals, harbour seals and Eurasian otters;
reef; and
seagrass beds, maerl beds, seahorses and stalked jellyfish.

They are keen to gather additional evidence, data, and expert insights to ensure the most robust understanding of how activities such as boating, paddle sports, wind sports, diving and anchoring may affect these protected features.

Input into this will play an important role in informing future assessments and any potential management measures across English MPAs.

They would particularly welcome:

Relevant research, monitoring data or case studies
Evidence on the impacts (positive or negative) of recreational activities and anchoring
Feedback on the methodology used and findings in the documents

Full details of the call for evidence, including the Impacts Evidence documents and how to respond, can be found here: https://consultations.defra.gov.uk/mnla-call-for-evidence.

Deadline for responses: 25 November 2026. This call for evidence will run for 8 weeks.