North West Marine Ecosystems
Join the North West Marine Ecosystems (NWME) Project:
Are you passionate about the future of our marine environment? The North West Marine Ecosystems (NWME) pilot is an exciting new initiative to improve our understanding of marine and coastal ecosystems in the region. By bringing together academics, citizen scientists, and coastal and marine professionals, we aim to build a community dedicated to advancing marine research and management.
Why Get Involved?
- Connect with others who care about the future of our seas, from scientists to local volunteers.
- Join a topic or interest based group – a Community of Practice (CoP) to share your expertise and insights.
- Help shape better decisions with evidence-based approaches.
- Contribute to the first annual State of the North West Marine Ecosystem report.
What Will You Do?
- Participate in topic-specific webinars and discussions.
- Collaborate on key themes such as marine ecology, fisheries, and plastic pollution.
- Share data, research, and ideas that can inform long-term marine monitoring and management.
The NWME programme builds on successful models like the South West Marine Ecosystems (SWME) initiative, which has been informing marine management for over a decade. And East Marine Ecosystems which had its first conference in 2024.
Join a Community of Practice
In the NWME initiative, we have set up Communities of Practice. These Communities of Practice currently include:
- Oceanography
- Plankton
- Marine and Coastal Birds
- Marine Mammals
- Fisheries
- Marine Protected Areas
- Marine Pollution (Water Quality and Marine Plastics)
- Marine Planning
- Underwater Noise
- Energy and Development
- Seabed and Seashore
To register your interest in joining a Community of Practice, please email [email protected] specifying which Community(ies) of Practice you would like to join. We will then provide you with further information
NWME 2026
We recently ran our our second Conference on June 24th, 2026. The conference summary is available here.
NWME 2025
Please find a Conference Summary of NWME 2025 here.
Background
The NW Marine Ecosystem Pilot is funded by Defra’s Marine Natural Capital and Ecosystem Assessment programme (mNCEA) and managed by the EA through the Land-Sea Interface project. The work is being taken forward by the North West Coastal Forum together with The Wildlife Trusts and Ocean and Coastal Futures.
More detail can be found in the background document here: North-West-Marine-Ecosystems-pilot-1.pdf
This is our opportunity to make a difference to the marine ecosystem of our regional sea – the Irish Sea, NW England.