Marine Licensing Compliance & Enforcement

Date published: 12 September 2024

The Marine Licensing Compliance & Enforcement team's aim is to achieve a fully compliant licensing system to help regulate sustainable development in a cohesive and fair manner. 

The Marine Licensing Compliance & Enforcement team have powers in Northern Ireland territorial waters, under the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009 (MCAA) Part 4 to assist with bringing non-compliant licence holders back into compliance and to act on any unauthorised activity within the Marine Licensing area;

  • to protect the environment
  • to protect human health
  • to prevent interference with legitimate uses of the sea
  • to minimise the effects of any use intended to be made of the works when constructed

Current marine licensing legislation applies to the Northern Ireland inshore region and allows sensible and necessary development to go ahead in a manner that minimises adverse impacts on the environment, human health and users of the sea. Licensable activities are detailed in Part 4 of the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009.

For further information on exemptions, including the legislation and guidance, please see the main Marine Licensing page

Forms

To discharge a condition from a Marine Licence, complete a discharge of condition application form, this can be found on this page. You may be required to provide supplementary information to discharge a condition. Once discharged, you will receive a Unique Reference Number for each form submitted and successfully discharged. 

Title Description Guidance
Enforcement Information on enforcement with regards to marine licensing Marine licensing guidance – Enforcement under Part 4, Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009

For further information, please contact the Marine Licensing Compliance & Enforcement team at MLComplianceandEnforcement@daera-ni.gov.uk

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