About Us
Plymouth Sound is the UK’s first National Marine Park. It was created to reconnect a city with one of the most remarkable stretches of sea in the country, teeming with wildlife and history.
What is Plymouth Sound National Marine Park?
Plymouth Sound National Marine Park is the UK’s first of its kind. It was created to reconnect people with the sea, and show how restoring that connection inspires positive action for people, nature and heritage. Not just here, but across the country.
The park includes a series of anchor sites – places around the Sound where our partners provide ways for more people to enjoy, understand and care for it. It’s a place to explore and belong in. Because when people feel part of something, they look after it. That’s what this park is built on: belief in people, in community, in a better way to care for the sea.
It’s a story of pride, place and getting your feet wet. And it’s only just getting started. What began in Plymouth is already making waves – helping to inspire a movement for future national marine parks up and down the country.
Why does a National Marine Park matter in Plymouth?
Because the sea matters. It shapes our island nation and is this city’s lifeblood. It supports livelihoods, sustains remarkable wildlife, and flows through the culture of Plymouth Sound’s working harbours rich in both nature and history.
Plymouth Sound National Marine Park is the UK’s first of its kind, located in Britain’s Ocean City. It was created to give more people the chance to experience the sea, connect with it in their own way and feel part of it.
The park is getting more people involved and giving them reasons to care – from school sessions to hands-on nature programmes. It invites everyone to enjoy the sea and play a part in restoring what makes it so special.
By helping people build stronger relationships with the sea, it’s laying the foundations for a more inclusive, more resilient future – for Plymouth and the ocean.
What makes it different:
• A first-of-its-kind approach to restoring the sea in a living, working city
• It inspires and supports a wider network of National Marine Parks across the UK
• Built on public belief, local partnerships and collective action
• It makes connection the starting point for change
Declaration of Intent
The waters of Plymouth Sound are already home to a complex and diverse mix of uses – from naval and commercial ports to diving and fishing – which work effectively alongside some of the most highly protected areas designated for wildlife in the UK. Through our common endeavours these uses and strong partnerships will be respected and importantly developed further.
The National Marine Park has been developed collaboratively, declared locally, and delivered through a spirit of opportunity. We invite the nation to recognise the international significance of Plymouth Sound as we embark on our journey as a proving ground for this innovative new approach.
