"Unveiling the five-year strategy, the Secretary of State for Transport [Grant Shapps] has today set out the guiding principles for the UK government's approach to managing threats and risks at home and around the world, including leveraging the UK's world-leading seabed mapping community and tackling illegal fishing and polluting activities at sea," the UK government said in a statement.
Under the new strategy, maritime security in the UK has been revised as upholding regulations to deliver a fair maritime domain, under which the government can recognize any illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing and environmental damage to bordering seas.
The government is establishing the Seabed Mapping Centre (CSM) to enable UK seabed mapping agencies to collaborate and collect more and better data, which, it said, is crucial to almost every activity at the sea, from trade to security.
According to Mark Simmonds, Director of Policy and External Affairs of the UK Ports Association, the CSM is a huge step forward for the UK maritime sector, which would help better understand the UK seabed and be the foundation for numerous benefits, including better informed management of the marine environment.