1. Establishment of the Marine Management Organisation

The Marine Management Organisation (MMO) was established on 1 April 2010 under the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009 (MCAA 2009) and is responsible for regulating activities in the seas around England, and in relation to vessels registered to ports in England anywhere in the world. It is a non-departmental government body. It works at arm’s length from government departments, and is accountable to the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) ministers. It is accountable to the Secretary of State (SoS) for Defra and is a member of the Defra Group.

MMO holds further cross departmental responsibilities and is accountable to the SoS for each respective department.

Where permitted by statute, the government may ask the MMO to take on additional functions or new work, on a permanent or temporary basis. The decision to take on the additional work will be made jointly by the SoS and the MMO Board.

The MMO Framework Document sets out the broad Governance framework within which the MMO and Defra operate. It sets out the