What we do

Today, our ocean is in crisis because of human activity.

We’re determined to tackle this growing emergency by working with communities, businesses and governments.

A healthy ocean can help protect us all against climate change and it can sustain a diverse array of species, including our own.

From cleaning beaches to shaping government policies, together we can work towards a cleaner, better-protected, healthier ocean.

One we can all enjoy.

For a cleaner ocean, we campaign to stop pollution entering our oceans, and our volunteer beach cleans remove and record the litter on our coastline.

Using science, we track the health of our waters, influence business practice and call for better environmental regulations.

The Marine Conservation Society secures space where species and habitats can recover. We’re campaigning for a minimum of 30% of UK waters being effectively managed by 2030 to protect wildlife and ecosystems.

Only seas full of life can absorb carbon and help tackle climate change.

We promote sustainable fishing and seafood to minimise harm. We support businesses to catch, produce and source seafood sustainably and incorporate conservation into their work.

Our Good Fish Guide highlights the most and least sustainable fish, so people can make better seafood-buying choices.

To make this happen, we:

• Influence politicians and businesses to make policy, legislative and practical changes. We challenge those responsible when laws are not enforced, and we influence investment and procurement decisions.
• Engage communities to get involved in our campaigns and call for action to protect our seas.
• Educate and influence people and businesses to understand the value of a healthy ocean and change their behaviour.
• Carry out practical conservation activities with volunteers and partners to collect and share scientific evidence, using this data to better understand our seas and inform our work.

For more than 30 years, we’ve been the voice of the ocean, defending habitats and species. We work to protect the UK’s seas and contribute to international data and legislation wherever possible.

This is vital not only to protect wildlife but to support communities and jobs. And the ocean gives back, improving our physical and mental health when we connect with it.

Our work has resulted in bans on single-use items, legislation to better manage fisheries, and greater awareness among supermarkets of the need to stock sustainable seafood. But there is much more to do.

Read more in Our action plan.

Whoever and wherever we are, we share one ocean. We all must have equal opportunities to benefit from it. And everyone has their part to play in learning about and protecting it. By working together, we can achieve our shared vision of seas full of life, where nature flourishes and people thrive.

Read about our diversity, equity and inclusion statement.