Helping Jersey become a conservation leader

In 2018, when Blue Marine began its campaign for increased protection of Jersey’s waters, more than 93 per cent of the island’s seabed was unprotected, with only 6.5 per cent designated as marine protected areas (MPAs).  Yet its 2,455 sq km of ocean support more than 3,000 animal and plant species, in habitats ranging from kelp forest to seagrass and maerl beds. Jersey’s waters are also rich in sites of cultural, archaeological, and historical significance.  

In 2021, we based a local team of two on the island, engaging with the fishing industry, educating local communities and children, partnering with government and local organisations, and leading local research to help inform better management. 

Blue Marine’s snorkelling education programme reached 840 children in three years, more than 80 per cent of the island’s 31 primary-schools. Blue Education also launched ‘Jersey Ocean Observatory’, an online portal to the underwater world that provides resources for teachers and parents to lower barriers to marine science. To learn more about our Jersey Snorkel Trails, click here.  

In March 2026, the Jersey parliament approved the Marine Spatial Plan for which Blue Marine had campaigned. Its network of MPAs will close 552 sq km of Jersey’s waters to dredging and trawling, allowing small-scale fishing to thrive with the environment.  

Fishing is a core part of Jersey’s heritage, and many key commercial species rely on healthy habitats to feed, breed and thrive. The new MPAs will protect habitats, improve biodiversity and help to secure the long-term health of commercial fishery species. Low-impact fisheries such as potting, rod and line, netting and scallop diving will benefit from having safe spaces to operate. Perhaps most importantly, the protection of these habitats can also help to mitigate climate change.