International MBA-led study is helping to transform how researchers study the world’s largest known living fish species, offering practical guidance to improve whale shark tagging techniques and strengthen conservation efforts.
New study has used more than six decades of data to show that plankton abundance is declining across vast swathes of the North East Atlantic – a region covering the Atlantic Ocean from Portugal to Norway, and the entirety of the North Sea.
C. Kirsty Andrews | Octopus being harassed by cuckoo wrasse The Marine Biological Association (MBA) has released new findings from the second major scientific study documenting an unprecedented surge, or “bloom”, of common octopus (Octopus vulgaris) off the southwest coast of the UK since 2025. The event is the largest recorded in at least 75 … Read more
The MBA’s Sims Group team of researchers have travelled to La Paz, Baja California Sur, Mexico for a whale shark tagging expedition. The aim of the ERC-funded research expedition to the oxygen minimum zone (OMZ) in the Gulf of California (GoC) is to attach custom-made oxygen, temperature, deep-depth, and body movement-sensing tags to adult female … Read more
Filmmaker and diver David Palfrey expected a routine dive off the Cornish coast—but instead encountered something extraordinary: octopus after octopus, gathered in open water and observing him in return. These surprising encounters inspired Bloomin’ Octopus! A Tentacular Spectacular, a new short film exploring the remarkable ‘octopus bloom’ in southwest England in 2025.
UK researchers, including from the Marine Biological Association and the University of Plymouth, have shown how the distributions of two phytoplankton groups known to produce natural toxins that can halt shellfish harvesting have changed in the North East Atlantic over the last six decades.
The Marine Biological Association (MBA) is delighted to welcome Dr Amy Courtney as our new Anne Warner Research Fellow, strengthening the MBA’s internationally recognised programme of discovery science and its long tradition of using marine life to unlock fundamental biological insights. Amy is an evolutionary neuroscientist whose work explores one of biology’s most fascinating questions: … Read more
The Marine Biological Association (MBA) recently hosted a collaborative Scallop Potting Workshop, bringing together fishermen, regulators, researchers, industry representatives, businesses, and environmental NGOs for a full day of focused discussion on the future of this promising low‑impact fishery.
The Marine Biological Association (MBA) welcomes the news that the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) Agreement has now become UK law, having received Royal Assent. This marks the completion of the UK legislative process required to ratify and implement the landmark High Seas Treaty.
A new report led by the Marine Biological Association (MBA) in collaboration with Plymouth Marine Laboratory (PML), the University of Plymouth and an independent consultant has revealed that a dramatic population bloom of the common octopus (Octopus vulgaris) off the Southwest coast of the UK is having significant effects on fisheries and marine ecosystems.
The Marine Biological Association
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The Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom is a registered charity in England and Wales (1155893), and is a company limited by Royal Charter (RC000865). The Marine Biological Association conducts, promotes and supports scientific research into all aspects of life in the sea.