Marine Conservation Society

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Marine Conservation Society
MCS Logo Full.png
Founded1983 (1983)
TypeCharitable organisation
Registration no.1004005 (England & Wales)
SC037480 (Scotland)
FocusMarine protected areas, sustainable seafood, beach and marine litter, cleaner bathing waters
Location
Area served
United Kingdom
Key people
Sandy Luk (CEO)
Revenue
£5.2million (2019)
Websitewww.mcsuk.org

The Marine Conservation Society fights for the future of our ocean through people-powered action – with science on its side. Working with communities, businesses and governments, it defends habitats and species. A UK based not-for-profit organisation, it's been running for almost 40 years, working towards cleaner, better-protected, healthier UK seas where nature flourishes and people thrive. The charity also works in UK Overseas Territories.

The Marine Conservation Society has three key areas of work -[]

The Clean Seas team work on reducing pollution on beaches and in the ocean - through behaviour change from the public, industry and the governments. Reducing our reliance on single use plastic is key in this area as is unseen chemical pollution including the impact of PFAS or 'forever chemicals'.

The Fisheries and Aquaculture team encourage sustainable fishing methods...they want to see overfishing stopped to help recover depleted stocks and they promote the eating of sustainable seafood via the Good Fish Guide.

The Ocean Recovery team want to ensure that our ocean gets the protection it deserves and that protection measures are properly managed...working with management authorities and local communities

The Marine Conservation Society is a membership organisation and relies on income from members, individual donations and corporate support. The charity is sometimes known by its initials MCS not to be confused with MSC which is another organisation entirely.

The Marine Conservation Society runs a number of high-profile campaigns currently (2021) including[]

Beachwatch[1] - the largest volunteer beach cleaning and litter survey in the UK has been running for over 25 years, involving almost 20,000 volunteer beach cleaners annually. The Great British Beach Clean is a national event which takes place every third weekend in September.

Stop Ocean Threads Our clothes are made of millions of tiny fibres, many of which are plastic which shed during every wash. Manufacturers must fit filters in washing machines to stop these fibres reaching the ocean via waste water systems.

Don't bottle it Boris We need Deposit Return Scheme's in all the UK nations. Promises have been made but so far not followed through.

Good Fish Guide - the guide (online, smartphone app and pocket paper version) includes the Marine Conservation Society Fish to Eat and Fish to Avoid lists and advice on choosing fish to eat from populations that aren't running out or caught by methods that take fish that aren't needed or by habit wrecking methods. It's used by the public, chefs and industry.

Timeline and Highlights[]

Wig and Pen Club in Fleet Street
  • 1975 – Bernard Eaton (editor of Diver magazine) proposed an "Underwater Conservation Year" with the help of such key figures as David Bellamy. The first meeting was held in the Wig and Pen Club in Fleet Street.
  • 1977 – The first "Conservation Year" with the Prince of Wales as president. Hundreds of divers surveyed marine habitats.
  • 1978 – The "Underwater Conservation Society" was established in Ross-on-Wye on the success of the "Conservation Year". Bob Earl was the new UCS Project Co-ordinator.
  • 1983 – Name changed to Marine Conservation Society and registered with the Charity Commission
  • 1986 – MCS start "Seasearch" with the Joint Nature Conservation Committee
  • 1987 – Published Golden List of Clean Beaches - now called the Good Beach Guide
  • 1988 – Ross-on-Wye office burns down.
  • 1993 – First Beachwatch weekend
  • 1998 – MCS wins protection for Basking sharks
  • 1999 – MCS starts lobbying for a review of marine nature conservation in UK
  • 1999 – MCS members magazine is first printed in colour
  • 2000 – Office opened in Scotland
  • 2001 – Launches Adopt-a-turtle scheme
  • 2007 – MCS staff and supporters march on Parliament calling for a strong Marine Bill
  • 2008 – MCS celebrates Silver Jubilee
  • 2009 – Marine Act passed
  • 2009 – Your Seas Your Voice Campaign launched
  • 2010 – Scottish Marine Act passed
  • 2011 – MCS' sustainable seafood advice was the cornerstone of Channel 4 Big Fish Fight series led by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall
  • 2012 – Launches Sea Champions - national volunteer programme offering environmental volunteer opportunities in the UK
  • 2013 – MCS led 2,000 people in a march on Parliament to demand
  • 2016 - 23 additional Marine Conservation Zones designated in English waters bringing the total so far to 50
  • 2017 - Seasearch divers document damage in outer Loch Carron which becomes an emergency Marine Protected Area
  • 2018 - #StopthePlasticTide campaign launched on billboards up and down the country
  • 2018 - MCS expressed concern over deaths of the creatures at a Sea Life centres.
  • 2019 - Sustainability of over 760 million seafood meals improved this year thanks to use of the Good Fish Guide
  • 2020 - Work starts on ground-breaking turtle management work in UK Virgin Islands and Montserrat

Celebrity support[]

Ambassadors[2]

Activities and getting involved[]

Other Stuff[]

The Marine Conservation Society won the Coast Magazine Best Green Marine Campaign Award in 2011" for its Beachwatch project.

The charity's Great British Beach Clean project was shortlisted by the BBC Countryfile Magazine Awards for the Conservation Success of the Year 2018 and won the award.

References[]

  1. ^ "Beachwatch". www.mcsuk.org. Retrieved 2016-03-19.
  2. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2017-09-17. Retrieved 2017-09-17.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. ^ http://www.deborahmeaden.com/myprojects/marine-conservation-society

External links[]

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