This month, I had the pleasure of (virtually) attending three inspiring days of talks for the Coastal Futures and Ocean Recovery Conference. While there were many great talks, the ten key messages I took from the conference (in no particular order) are:

1. Better management is needed.
2. We need a strategic approach.
3. Do something!
4. Collaboration is key - not just between NGOs and government, but as true interdisciplinary collaboration at the earliest stage of projects (during their development).
5. Projects need to be locally led.
6. We have failed to truly value our natural environment.
7. We need to restore the marine environment, not just conserve a degraded state.
8. Nature recovery needs protection - trawling and dredging within UK MPAs should not be allowed.
9. Two quotes - "Action is the antidote to despair." - Joan Baes and "The biggest impediment to achieving is believing we can't!" - Callum Roberts.
10. It's an exciting time to be a marine conservationist!