Greenpeace takes action to protect the ocean; safeguarding marine life and the communities that rely on it.
Most of the UK’s ocean sanctuaries (so-called Marine Protected Areas, or MPAs) are not actually protected, and destructive industrial fishing still happens within them. Now we’re calling for the government to properly protect our MPAs and show global leadership on ocean protection.
Throughout our campaign, we have been working with artists in the southwest who are calling for ocean protection. These artists are engaging with the issue from many different perspectives, highlighting the importance of habitats for replenishing fish populations, of safeguarding the livelihoods of sustainable fishers, and of educating children about sustainability and regeneration.
Ammonite (various artists)
In summer 2022, Greenpeace installed an underwater ‘boulder barrier’ in the South West Deeps (East) MPA to prevent destructive fishing. In doing so, we called for a ban on industrial fishing in our marine ‘protected’ areas.
We chose limestone as our material as it’s formed from the sedimentation of sea organisms, including plankton and shell building organisms such as oysters, starfish, urchins and corals. When these organisms die, they sink to the seabed and over time the sediment forms limestone – which is one of the world’s largest carbon sinks. This stone is full of fossilised biodiversity and you can see ancient sea and plant life in its layers.