The Healthy and Biologically Diverse Seas Evidence Group is comprised of the following organisations:

Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute - Northern Ireland (AFBINI) Centre for Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (CEFAS) Department for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs of Northern Ireland (DAERA-NI) Cornwall Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority (IFCA) Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) Environment Agency
Heriot-Watt University Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) Marine Biological Association (MBA) Marine Management Organisation (MMO) Natural England Natural Resources Wales (NRW)
NatureScot National Oceanography Centre (NOC) Plymouth Marine Laboratory (PML) St Andrews University Seafish SEPA
Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS) Scottish Government NatureScot Sussex Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority University of Plymouth

HBDSEG goals

Goal 1 - Coordinated & integrated UK level monitoring & assessment programme fulfilling international commitments and supporting national assessments

HBDSEG meets three times a year to coordinate UK marine monitoring through the following sub-groups:

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MCCIP provides a co-ordinating framework for the UK, delivering high quality evidence on marine climate change impacts, and guidance on adaptation advice, to policy advisors and decision-makers. MCCIP has worked with hundreds of scientists and it’s Steering Group includes representatives from government departments and agencies, devolved administrations, Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and industry. MCCIP reports to HBDSEG. 

Representative: Matt Frost (PML) mafr@pml.ac.uk

Links: https://www.mccip.org.uk/

The Marine Birds subgroup is a technical group which facilitates the sharing of knowledge, expertise and emerging research to contribute to ongoing statutory monitoring. The group provides input and advice at a UK and international level on the status and health of marine birds through indicator assessments. Additionally, they provide recommendations to HBDSEG on research and development priorities, to improve monitoring and assessment methods.

Chair: Daisy Burnell (JNCC) daisy.burnell@jncc.gov.uk

Organisations:Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC), Department for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs of Northern Ireland (DAERA-NI) NatureScot, Natural England (NE) and Natural Resources Wales (NRW).

The Foodwebs subgroup considers the overall response of the foodweb to anthropogenic and other pressures, in terms of biomasses of functional groups, flows of energy through the pelagic, demersal, and benthic pathways, responses of feeding guilds, overall robustness and resilience to change, and the timescale of recovery in the event that anthropogenic pressures were to cease.

Chair(s): Robert Thorpe (CEFAS), Yuri Artioli (PML)

Organisations: Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (CEFAS), Plymouth Marine Laboratory (PML), National Oceanography Centre (NOC), Met Office, NatureScot, Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC)

The Marine Mammal subgroup serves as an expert forum for coordinated knowledge exchange and discussion of ongoing statutory marine mammal monitoring, best practice and novel emerging techniques at the relevant spatial scale to marine mammals to enhance monitoring activities. The group also provides formal UK-level input and review to both national and international marine mammal indicator assessments (UK Marine Strategy & OSPAR convention). The group seeks to improve the evidence base from which such assessments can draw from, by identifying key evidence gaps in the monitoring landscape, prioritising actions required to address these and seeking out opportunities through research and development projects.

Chair: Roma Banga (JNCC) hbdsegsecretariat@jncc.gov.uk

Organisations: JNCC, NRW, Natural England, NatureScot, DEFRA, Sea Mammal Research Unit, SAMS

The UK Pelagic Habitats subgroup provides the link between plankton science and decision making in the UK, connecting pelagic habitats and society. Over more than a decade of collaborative research, this group has substantially progressed understanding of not only plankton functional diversity, but also how healthy plankton communities provide the essential ecosystem services.

Visit the UK Pelagics website https://planktonandpeople.org/

Chair(s): Mike Best (EA) mike.best@environment-agency.gov.uk, Abigail McQuattors-Gollop (Plym Uni) Abigail.mcquattors-gollop@plymouth.ac.uk

Organisations: Environment Agency (EA), University of Plymouth, Newcastle University, Cardiff University, Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (CEFAS), Marine Biological Association (MBA), Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS), Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute - Northern Ireland (AFBINI), Isle of Man government, Plymouth Marine Laboratory (PML), Scottish Government Indicators: Changes in Phytoplankton and Zooplankton Communities indicator

BioDIG is a MEDIN-led technical sub-group of HBDSEG and seeks to:

1. Coordinate and harmonise the supporting infrastructure and flow for marine biodiversity data in the UK

2. Streamline the integration of biodiversity data and information in the UK

3. Provide a forum for the exchange of best practice and discussion of new and emerging technical tools, services, standards, solutions data strategies and initiatives

4. Support and promote the activities and services of the MEDIN partnership, and not seek duplicate this work

5. Align UK activities with the global standards promoted through OBIS and the EMODnet thematic projects

BioDIG reports to the HBDSEG to ensure that BioDIG activities align with, and support reporting, indicator development and monitoring activities across the United Kingdom. In turn BioDIG takes direction from HBDSEG with respect to higher level interactions including those between Evidence Groups.

Chair: Dan Lear (MBA) dble@mba.ac.uk

Organisations: SMRU, Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (CEFAS), MEDIN, Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC), Environment Agency (EA), Marine Biological Association (MBA), NatureScot, Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBINI), Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA-NI), Natural England (NE), Marine Directorate of the Scottish Government and Natural Resources Wales (NRW).

The Aerial Monitoring subgroup serves as a forum for exchanging information on aerial monitoring of the marine environment, covering both aerial surveys and satellite monitoring, ensuring methodology across the UK is aligned to support reporting and indicator development.

Chair: Andrew Richman (EA) hbdsegsecretariat@jncc.gov.uk

Organisations: : Marine Management Organisation (MMO), Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (CEFAS), Scottish Government, Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBINI), Joint Nature Conservation Comittee (JNCC), UK Hydrographic Office (UKHO), Marine Conservation Authority (MCA), Natural England, NatureScot, Natural Resources Wales (NRW), Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA-NI), Historic England, Ordnance Survey, Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA), Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS), British Antarctic Survey (BAS), British Oceanographic Data Centre (BODC), National Oceanography Centre (NOC), Channel Coastal Observatory (CCO), British Geological Survey (BGS), Marine Directorate of the Scottish Government, Environment Agency (EA).

The Catchment Modelling subgroup is a technical subgroup which serves as a forum for exchanging information on catchment modelling of the marine environment. This group aims to employ a holistic approach to understand the transportation of nutrients, bacteria and other pollutants from terrestrial sources to the coastal system through integration of catchment, hydrodynamic and ecosystem models using common frameworks. Use of these coupled models will increase understanding of land-sea interactions and support more effective management strategies for maintaining healthy and resilient marine ecosystems. This group aims to:

  • Develop a standardised modelling framework to ensure consistency in modelling approaches throughout UK territorial waters.
  • Establish protocols for data validation, harmonisation and documentation to enhance accuracy, consistency and reliability across all models.
  • Facilitate collaboration between researchers and government to understand how outputs can be provided to best inform decision-making by policymakers.

    • Chair: Jay Calvert (AFBINI) jay.calvert@afbini.gov.uk

    Representatives from other organisations: Plymouth Marine Lab (PML), Natural Resource Wales (NRW), National Oceanography Centre (NOC), Environment Agency (EA), Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA), Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (CEFAS), Seafish, Marine Directorate of the Scottish Government, Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA-NI).

    The Benthic subgroup acts as a scientific and technical body for coordinated knowledge exchange and discussion of benthic habitats and ecosystems monitoring requirements, indicator implementation and development, data collection and analytical methods. The group provides UK-level technical input and review to both national and international benthic indicator assessments (UK Marine Strategy and OSPAR convention). The group provides input and advice at the UK level and provides recommendations to HBDSEG on research and development projects.

    Chair: Laura Pettit (JNCC) laura.pettit@jncc.gov.uk

    Organisations: Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC), NatureScot, Environment Agency (EA), Natural Resources Wales (NRW), Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA-NI), Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute - Northern Ireland (AFBINI), Marine Directorate Scottish Government, Natural England, Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (CEFAS), Marine Management Organisation (MMO), SAMS, Heriot Watt University, Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA), National Oceanography Centre (NOC), Bangor University, University of Hull, Edinburgh University, Marine Biological Association (MBA), North Eastern Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority (IFCA).

    The Fish subgroup is a scientific and technical group for sharing knowledge on fish biodiversity monitoring and research and indicator development and implementation to align with statutory monitoring at a UK-level.

    Chair: Lewis Tattersall (Seafish) hbdsegsecretariat@jncc.gov.uk

    Organisations: Seafish

    The NE Atlantic Marine Biological Analytical Quality Control (NMBAQC) Scheme provides a source of external Quality Assurance (QA) for laboratories engaged in the production of marine biological data and reports to HBDSEG.

    Representative: David Johns (MBA) djoh@mba.ac.uk

    Links: https://www.nmbaqcs.org/

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    Goal 2 - A wide community of engaged stakeholders that know & understand our data assessments, & can input their own evidence, knowledge & information to support achieving our vision

    HBDSEG understands that science is most effective when it is communicated, and that monitoring of the UK's marine environment is a collaborative effort which can be improved through shared learning. HBDSEG is committed to actively working on better understanding our stakeholders and developing a communication and engagement plan to reach a wider group in order to facilitate the linkage of indicators, measures and decision making. HBDSEG aim to achieve this through this webpage and by delivering themed seminars and workshops.

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    Goal 3 - An improved evidence base provided by a programme of continuous improvement

    HBDSEG supports continuous improvement of the evidence base by facilitating research to address gaps and promote innovative monitoring techniques.

    Search for all the publications for marine Natural Capital Ecosystem Assessment (mNCEA) programme by searching "ME45" here.

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    Goal 4 - Transparent, robust, accessible data & information to known quality standards & best practice approaches

    HBDSEG adheres to and supports MEDIN and the North East Atlantic Marine Biological Analytical Quality Control (NMBAQC) data standards. Read more about the MEDIN Discovery Metadata Standard.

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