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In April 2025 the Fleet Study Group will have existed for 50 years. It was formed during a move to establish study groups for all the major estuaries around the UK. Details of its formation can be found here. Its role, membership and support has varied considerably during the ensuing fifty years. At formation it was primarily a group of university scientists, with support from the local councils and other organisations, conducting research into the physical aspects of the area with a lesser interest in biological aspects.

The council interest in the Group activities has now all but disappeared as staff levels and funding have diminished. University research has changed considerably with very little money available for basic research with no potential for financial exploitation.

Most of the organisations represented at that initial meeting have undergone major changes in name, organisation and funding and are no longer able to support the work of the Group. The one consistent supporter has been the majority land owner: then the Strangways Estate, now the Ilchester Estate.

The group is now predominantly made up of retired scientists, ecologists and amateur scientists with a strong interest in the area. The number of members has steadily decreased over the last few years for a variety of reasons so the Group is now forced to consider what its future will be.

To celebrate the last fifty years the Group has planned various activities. The first of these was held on the 15th November 2024 as a public meeting to jointly celebrate the fifty years of the Fleet Study Group and 1000 years of Portesham and Abbotsbury. Details of this meeting and many of the presented talks and posters can be found here.