As 2024 draws to a close and we look ahead to 2025, we’re taking a moment to reflect on an extraordinary year at HMC. It has been a year of growth, innovation, and meaningful impact, shaped by exciting projects that have not only tested our capabilities, but also highlighted our deep commitment to driving change within the Sustainable Blue Economy.
We’ve had the privilege of welcoming 8 exceptional new team members, whose diverse skills, fresh perspectives, and shared passion for ocean sustainability have already made a lasting impact on our projects and culture.
As we look back, we’re excited to share some of the standout projects that have defined our year. From supporting cutting-edge research in offshore energy to developing innovate financing models for marine conservation, each of these initiatives has reinforced our belief in the power of collaboration and sustainable solutions. Let’s dive deeper into these projects, exploring the impact they’ve had on our clients, communities, and the environment.
Leading Change in the UK’s Marine Sector
In the UK, we’ve been at the forefront of pioneering projects that drive sustainability, advance marine conservation, and support the transition to a more resilient blue economy.
Through our work with the Marine Management Organisation (MMO), HMC has been exploring how to strengthen collaboration with the fishing community to support more effective fisheries management. The project focused on enhancing “fisher-to-fisher” engagement, identifying ways to empower grassroots collaboration and improve communication between fishing fleets, the MMO, and UK government. By assessing the current state of fisher-to-fisher engagement at both local and national levels, we provided actionable recommendations for building stronger, more inclusive networks, ultimately contributing to a more collaborative approach to fisheries management.
HMC provided consultancy services to the Marine Conservation Society, looking at how marine planning in Wales can best protect, recover, restore and enhance the marine environment, and support the delivery of environmental commitments and targets. We reviewed provisions across policy and legislation at global, UK and Welsh levels, interviewing marine stakeholders to understand the current progress being made and identify gaps and opportunities.
With significant commitments to nature in Welsh policy, our recommendations focussed on:
- empowering marine planning to drive co-ordination across different policy teams;
- strengthening policies and approaches within the Welsh National Marine Plan including on nature-based solutions and colocation;
- capitalising on public support for restoration through community-led approaches; and
- improving monitoring to support more adaptive management.
This work also included developing a strategic approach to marine restoration, guided by a shared vision that integrates nature, wellbeing, and climate adaptation, net zero, and set out what can be done where and ensure co-ordinated delivery across different mechanisms, including via the new Marine Resilience and Improvement of Natural Ecosystems (MARINE) Fund Cymru.
The report is online and is informing the Independent Review of Marine Planning Approaches in Wales recently commissioned to consider how Wales’ marine planning system can best support marine renewable energy while protecting and enhancing the marine environment.
Driving Innovation for a Sustainable Future: Groundbreaking Research Impact in 2024
Through our research impact programmes, we’ve collaborated with leading institutions to deliver groundbreaking solutions that address critical environmental challenges and drive long-term, positive change.
The INSITE (Influence of Structures in the Ecosystem) Phase 2 is wrapping up, with many projects delivering their final outputs throughout 2024. By exploring the interactions between man-made structures in the North Sea, INSITE Phase 2 has provided vital insights to support sustainable marine management. The findings of this landmark research programme have been synthesised into a comprehensive report – check it out here. Looking ahead, INSITE Phase 3 is just around the corner. The next round of projects will be commissioned in early 2025. Stay tuned to our website for the latest updates and opportunities to get involved.
Save the Date: SIME 2025 (Structures in the Marine Environment) will take place during the week commencing 23rd June 2025. Details on how to join will be shared in spring 2025 – watch this space!
Additionally, we’ve been proud to support the continued progress of two flagship programmes, ECOWind and ECOFlow, both of which are advancing our understanding of how offshore wind development interacts with marine ecosystems. While ECOWind approaches its mid-term stage, ECOFlow is gearing up to begin delivery in early 2025. A highlight of the year was the Annual Impact Meeting 2024, held on 20th-21st November in Southampton. This two-day event brought together offshore stakeholders, developers, policy experts, and researchers to share insights and foster collaboration.
Collaborating for Change: Driving Global Solutions to Protect our Ocean
Globally, we continue to make a meaningful impact by partnering with governments, NGOs, and the private sector to deliver sustainable, innovative solutions that support environment resilience and the protection of our ocean.
In collaboration with UNEP and UN-Habitat, HMC coordinated the development of the Land-Sea Planning (LSP) Guidelines for Kenya through the Go Blue Project. These Guidelines align coastal land-use planning and marine spatial planning (MSP) approaches at a national and county-level for sustainable development of the Jumuiya ya Kaunti za Pwani (JKP) coastal region. The LSP Guidelines help facilitate integrated, sustainable management of land-based, coastal and marine activities, and supports the rollout of Kenya’s Marine Spatial Planning Framework. In parallel, HMC is leading the delivery of UNEP’s Sustainable Blue Economy Rapid Readiness Assessment (SBE RRA) to support the JKP County Governments and the Government of Kenya to better understand the current status of their blue economy and to collectively identify priority actions to drive progress towards a Sustainable Blue Economy.
Closer to home, the Jersey Environment, Housing and Infrastructure Scrutiny Panel commissioned Howell Marine Consulting (HMC) to review the Jersey Marine Spatial Plan (JMSP) as part of a wider examination and call for evidence. This non-statutory, strategic framework sets the approach for coastal and marine resource management in Jersey. Our review examined whether the JMSP met its objectives, based on international best practices, and assessed how well stakeholder input was considered. We made several key recommendations to strengthen the plan ahead of its submission for adoption by the States Assembly.