Marine environment team
On 1 April 2007 the Marine Fisheries Agency took on new environmental responsibilities, and changed its name to the Marine and Fisheries Agency to reflect this development.
These additional functions were undertaken by the new Marine Environment Team, which is located in MFA headquarters, Whitehall Place, London.
Much of this work was previously carried out by the Marine Consents and Environment Unit (MCEU) within core-Defra.
In addition, work on marine minerals extraction transferred from the Department for Communities and Local Government.
The main aim of this merger is to bring together within the MFA all Government’s delivery functions covering the control of coastal and marine developments, including coast defenses, wind farms, wave and tidal power, disposal of marine dredgings at sea, contingency planning for oil spills and other marine pollution, and marine sand and gravel extraction.