Welcome to the latest edition of the Big Blue Bulletin – a weekly roundup of marine conservation news and updates. Expect good news, bad news, and a cute creature in your inbox every Friday.
Let’s dive in 🐬
Ocean news
🗞️ Big news of the week -
🐋 Iceland grants whale hunting permit despite animal welfare concerns
“Iceland's government has issued a licence to hunt whales to the country's sole whaling company - a move condemned by animal welfare groups.”
🇦🇿 Azerbaijan accused of media crackdown before hosting Cop29
“State reportedly arrested at least 25 journalists and activists in last year as it prepares for September climate summit.”
🌬️ Air pollution killed 135 million people in last four decades, landmark study finds
“Asia accounted for over 98 million of the premature deaths linked to PM2.5 pollution.”
💰 Climate change funding talks stuck ahead of COP29 summit
“With just five months to go before this year's U.N. climate summit, countries cannot agree on the size of a global funding bill to help the developing world fight climate change.”
🌍 World Migration Crisis: Record numbers forced from their homes
“The numbers of people driven out of their homes by war, natural disasters and climate change are higher than ever before.”
🌌 Harmful gases destroying ozone layer falling faster than expected, study finds
“Scientists say atmospheric levels of damaging gases peaked five years ahead of projections, as substances phased out.”
🏞️ New ‘cheap and easy’ method could make upstream swim easier for endangered eels
“Researchers said the use of tiles could help slow down European eel population declines.”
🐠 Will there ever be more fish in the sea?
“What caused the now chronic problem of overfishing both globally and in Europe, and what is being done to improve the situation by both the EU and other organisations?”
🐋 The journey of an entangled whale
“We heard through the grapevine, or the ‘coconut wireless’ as it’s called in Hawaii, that an entangled whale was approaching Maui from Oahu.”
🇨🇭 Swiss parliament defies ECHR on climate women's case
“Swiss women who won a historic ruling on climate change say they feel shocked and betrayed by their parliament’s decision not to comply with it.”
💩 Protect Windermere from sewage, campaigners urge UK party leaders
“Open letter signed by naturalist Chris Packham and comedian Paul Whitehouse says pollution is degrading lake.”
👧 ‘Almost two thirds’ of children have eco-anxiety – what can parents do to help?
“An environmental charity is warning that young people are struggling amid climate change news.”
🇲🇾 Ghost nets haunt marine life in Malaysian marine park, study finds
"Ghost nets are lost or abandoned fishing nets that can take centuries to break down. In the meantime, they can damage delicate marine ecosystems and entangle and kill wildlife.”
🇦🇶 Crossbows and eerie silences – following Antarctic whales for climate change clues
“Inside the bodies of humpback whales are clues about how climate change is transforming Antarctica.”
🇮🇳 Two dozen polling staff dead in 50C heatwave as India votes on final day of election
“Hundreds of thousands line up outside polling station to cast their ballot as 57 seats, including prime minister Modi’s constituency goes to poll.”
🌱 Kelp help? How Scotland’s seaweed growers aim to revolutionise what we buy
“Farmed kelp could produce plastic substitutes, beauty products and food supplements. Just steer clear of seaweed chocolate.”
🇰🇭 Efforts to save Cambodia’s coast tread water as fish stocks plummet
“Along the coast of Cambodia, illegal fishing is driving fish stocks toward collapse and fishing communities into poverty.”
🎣 We’ve measured the cost of unsustainable industrial fishing on coastal communities
“I’ve been investigating the industrial fishing fleets that operate in the waters of five developing countries – Senegal, Ghana, Peru, Ecuador and the Philippines – but aren’t from these countries.”
🥤 Africa's Nile River suffocating with waste
“As dawn breaks each day over the Nile, its waters carry a silent plea at the center of a 21st century environmental challenge.”
🇲🇽 Thousands of dead fish pile up on dried out lagoon in drought-hit Mexico
“The fish deaths at the Bustillos Lagoon, by the town of Anahuac in Chihuahua, came during long dry spells and as temperatures have climbed above 40 degrees Celsius.”
🌊 Can iron fertilisation of the oceans help solve the climate crisis?
“In response to climate change, several carbon dioxide removal approaches involving the marine environment are being studied, with ocean iron fertilisation being among those with the greatest potential.”
🐦 Will food chains break as seasons become more unpredictable?
“Consider a plant growing on a windswept mountain versus a sheltered valley, or in the gentle summer sun versus the height of winter. To survive, animals and plants must adapt to all four dimensions of their environment.”
📚 Ocean Research
🌊 The hidden costs of your seafood
“While the seafood sector is one of the most challenging sectors in which to implement “traceability”, it is also one of the most important.”
❗ Ocean Action
✍️ Stop supporting a food crisis in West Africa. Take farmed salmon off the table.
“The coasts of West Africa are being plundered for their fish, putting millions of people at risk of malnutrition.”
💙 6 things you can do for the ocean today
“Here are 6 ways you can take action and help protect the ocean, the rights of those who depend on it, and our future.”
Have a great weekend! 📸
Cover image by Reuters
A bit of good news within the bad. So grateful for that.