When you walk along the Thames towpath through Oxford, or have a picnic beside the river in Abingdon or Henley, spare a thought for the destination of those dark waters flowing past you, and through them the ways that we connect with rare undersea wildlife.

The Thames starts as a gentle stream in the Cotswolds, but from Oxford downstream there’s much more traffic. As it swells through the city of London the river is full of boats, water buses, ferries and launches. It’s amazing to think that within the muddy banks and riverbed beneath the choppy waters are vital spawning and nursery grounds for fish such as eel and smelt. The river then spills into the Thames Estuary, home to a rich diversity of marine life. Like the British landscape, our seascape is equally varied, with shallows and depths, coral-rich regions and forests of kelp, supporting a rich tapestry of life. It is nearly four years since the Marine and Coastal Access Act came into force. It was received with great anticipation throughout the conservation community as a major step towards securing a positive future for our marine environment. But what has been accomplished since then? What can we do to help reach the goal of a truly living sea for future generations to appreciate?

The creation of a network of protected Marine Conservation Zones (MCZs) around our coastline will be invaluable to the UK’s marine life. So far the Government is considering designating 31, but that is not enough!

The Medway Estuary just south of the Thames Estuary is one of the lucky 31, which if it is listed as a Marine Conservation Zone, will help to protect the spawning and nursery grounds for many fish species such as skate and sea trout. This is where grey and common seals haul out to rest on the sandbanks and flocks of sea birds forage along the strand.

One of the less fortunate sites, and probably the nearest to Oxfordshire, is beautiful Studland Bay on the Dorset coast. Framed by its iconic white cliffs and sweeping sandy beach, this stunning bay hides a wealth of marine wildlife beneath the waves. The delicate seagrass meadows in the shallow waters are not only essential for breeding populations of both short-snouted and spiny seahorses, but all sorts of fascinating marine creatures, such as elusive young undulate rays. The fact that Studland Bay, one of the most beautiful places to see marine wildlife, is not on the list of 127 recommended Marine Conservation Zones, highlights the desperate need to make sure that the Living Seas around our coastline are properly protected from activities that could damage the vulnerable marine features. If the designation of 127 Marine Conservation Zones isn’t likely to happen in the near future, what we can do to protect our seas?

Choose your fish with care. You may have seen the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) logo on fresh and tinned fish; this shows that the fish have been caught from a sustainable source. Avoid fish such as wild salmon and haddock that are suffering massive declines in populations in UK waters.

We can marvel at the extraordinary wildlife on sea shores when we visit the seaside this summer. Have a go at rock-pooling to discover fantastic small marine animals: colourful anemones, young shore crabs and sea snails such as periwinkles. Dip your toes into the fresh cool surf and imagine the wealth and diversity of life beneath those waves. It’s a long way down the Thames from Oxford to the sea, but our wonderful local river links all of us to the oceans and extraordinary wildlife beneath the waves.