Hugo Tagholm

Hugo Tagholm (born January 1975) is a British marine conservationist and campaigner. He was chief executive of Surfers Against Sewage between 2008–22 and is executive director of Oceana UK.

During his time at Surfers Against Sewage, Tagholm founded Plastic Free Communities (2018), the Million Mile Beach Clean, the Safer Seas Service and the Plastic Free Awards (2019). He co-founded the Global Wave Conference in 2015. The University of Exeter made him an honorary doctor of science in 2019 for his services to the marine environment.

Early life and career Tagholm was born in London in January 1975. As a child he went mudlarking with his father on the River Thames foreshore, and later explored rock pools along the Cornish coast; experiences he has described as shaping his interest in the natural environment.

He studied French and philosophy at the University of Exeter, then ecology and conservation at Birkbeck, University of London. Before moving into the conservation sector, he worked in public relations and events management, including with the National Gallery, the Art Fund and the BBC.

His connection with Surfers Against Sewage dates to 1991, the year after the charity was founded, when he entered the bodyboard category of the Surf To Save competition at Polzeath. Over the following years he was a member, regional representative and volunteer board director.

Between 2002–07, Tagholm was programme director at PiggyBankKids (later Theirworld), a children's charity founded by Sarah Brown. While there, he co-edited the anthology Journey to the Sea (Ebury Press, 2005) with Brown and Gil McNeil. Over fourteen years, annual turnover rose from approximately £200,000 to over £2.5 million and staff numbers grew from four to around 35. He also oversaw the organisation's transition to charitable status. Under his tenure, its scope extended beyond sewage pollution – and SAS came to campaign on water quality, plastic pollution, climate change, bathing-water status and what it termed "ocean rewilding".

Campaigns and policy work

Tagholm and SAS worked with MPs, select committees and UK Government ministers to lobby for the plastic bag charge, a nationwide deposit return scheme for drinks containers, and bans on plastic straws, stirrers and cotton buds – all of which were enacted in the UK. In 2018, he launched Plastic Free Communities, a network through which towns and businesses committed to cutting single-use plastic; and by the time he left SAS, the network had grown to more than 550 communities. Tagholm also developed the Safer Seas and Rivers Service, a tool providing real-time water quality data for sea and river users, and the Million Mile Beach Clean, a national volunteer programme that came to involve some 100,000 volunteers a year.

In October 2014, Tagholm and Surfers Against Sewage established the Waves All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) in the UK Parliament. This later evolved into the Ocean Conservation APPG, which is supported by Oceana UK. In 2015 and 2018, Tagholm hosted the then Prince of Wales, now King Charles III, in Cornwall for an Ocean Plastics Solutions Day. In 2020, SAS secured the King's patronage.

Tagholm served as a trustee and chair of the Museum of British Surfing between 2010–13, and stood down as SAS chief executive in October 2022.

Oceana UK (2022–present) Oceana appointed Tagholm executive director of its UK operations in October 2022, a role that also carries the title of vice president.

Under Tagholm, the organisation has run campaigns against bottom trawling in protected areas and overfishing. It has also engaged in legal proceedings related to offshore oil and gas licences and – to coincide with the cinematic release of Ocean with David Attenborough – Oceana UK and the Blue Marine Foundation launched The Bottom Line campaign to ban bottom trawling in UK marine protected areas.

Published work

In 2005, Tagholm co-edited Journey to the Sea, a collection of fiction and travel writing published by Ebury Press. The anthology – compiled with Sarah Brown and Gil McNeil – included work by Alexander McCall Smith, Ruth Rendell, Joanne Harris and Joseph O'Connor.

Other roles Tagholm joined the board of the Save the Waves Coalition in 2012 and became board chair in May 2023. He has been a trustee of Global Fishing Watch since 2024. He joined the Edinburgh University Ocean Leaders programme in 2020, and spoke at the 2022 United Nations Ocean Conference in Lisbon. He is also an ambassador of Zero Hour, the Climate and Nature Bill campaign.

He contributes regularly to broadcast and print media on ocean and environmental policy – including appearances on Channel 4 News, Sky News and ITV News – and pieces in The Times and The Guardian.

Recognition The University of Exeter awarded Tagholm an honorary doctorate of science in 2019 for his contribution to marine conservation.

In 2023, he was included in The ENDS Report "power list" and was shortlisted for the "leader of the year" prize at the Purpose Awards. In 2026, The Big Issue included him in its 100 Changemakers list in its environment and climate category.

Personal life Tagholm is married to Sarah Tagholm, a children's author. They have one son, Darwin, and live in Cornwall.