Marine - Protecting our environments

Influencing policy. Shaping change.

Recognised by a rare award of a Queen’s Anniversary Prize in 2020, we’re one of the first research universities to demonstrate the ecological impact of changes to the marine environment on human and non-human animals. Our findings have been pivotal in supporting policy change across the world, including in a UN resolution, and in a legal ban on microplastics in cosmetics in the UK in 2018.

We’re leading the way on investigating the effect 5.25 trillion pieces of plastic – around 10% of the plastics we produce – has on marine life, the food chain and human health. And our educational resources are already at work in schools across the UK to teach the next generation about the issues around marine plastics.

Our multi-award winning, innovative and internationally impactful research has shown the vast extent to which microscopic plastic waste is ingested by marine animals, and our findings are now actively informing policy change around the world. 

The next wave in global marine research? It’s already here.