The Marine Biological Association (MBA) is playing a critical role in a major new conservation project that will help to improve understanding and protection of some of England’s most iconic shark species. Led by the University of Exeter and supported through Natural England’s Species Recovery Programme, the three-year project, From data to action: comprehensive assessment … Read more
Partners in the world of marine research and observation, including the Marine Biological Association (MBA), have highlighted major ecological changes occurring across the region’s waters in the latest State of South-West Seas 2025 report.
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.
Thousands of observations of marine wildlife have been recorded during the 2026 National BioBlitz, providing valuable data that will help scientists to monitor changes in biodiversity around the UK coastline.
Kelp forests along the UK coastline are more resilient to disturbance than previously thought, according to a MBA study recently published in the Journal of Ecology.
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
An ordinary post box on Plymouth Hoe has been transformed into an eye-catching celebration of marine life, thanks to a team of creative staff and students from the Marine Biological Association, who have handcrafted an intricately beautiful knitted and crocheted topper inspired by the sea.
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.Â
The Marine Biological Association
The Laboratory,
Citadel Hill Plymouth,
Devon
PL1 2PB, UK
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.