The report, which assesses how climate change has affected the UK's marine environment and consequences for the future.

Earlier articles have highlighted how coastal erosion is taking place along the nation's coastlines.  

However it has been found that more powerful seas will impact commercial port operations and leave coastal buildings more vulnerable to damage.  Coastal habitat loss will be accelerated by sea-level rise. It will also lead to more coastal flooding with impacts on coastal erosion, coastal habitats, built structures and possible threats to human life.

Temperature changes will affect fishing and may disrupt the marine food chain from top to bottom with the movement or disappearance of plankton impacting predators such as fish which in turn affects the sea birds.  Warm weather species such as red mullet and John Dory have increased in UK seas while cold water species have declined.

Warmer winters are already associated with reduced survival and breeding success in some sea bird populations.

The report highlights that warmer, saltier and more acidic waters with severe winds and more tumultuous waves have already been observed and credited to climate change.  The acidity is said to be due to increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide absorbed by the sea surface, nearly half of what humans have released through fossil fuel burning.

Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment Richard Lochhead said,"Climate change, including marine climate change, is one of the most serious threats facing us today. It is a truly global issue and can only be tackled if we work together. Our seas play a vital role in regulating our climate and are a lifeline for the communities that live around them.  Our winters are getting wetter and warmer, sea levels are rising and coastal erosion is increasing.

Our marine wildlife is now having to cope with these as well as other pressures, and is beginning to suffer as a result. Our marine industries also have to cope with changes. These are happening now and we must take action."

Marine, Landscape and Rural Affairs Minister, Jonathan Shaw, said: "The report card is a vital piece in the jigsaw of evidence we need to help us to combat climate change.  Healthy seas are central to our wellbeing, shaping our climate as well as providing food and livelihoods. The MCCIP project shows the value of working together to protect the marine environment and to find sustainable solutions to the challenges we all face."  THE END.