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 -
🌳 Nature Restoration Law gets green light after Austria flips
“After months of setbacks and difficult negotiations between the EU Council and the European Parliament, environment ministers voted today to pass the Nature Restoration Law.”
🐋 Unexpected number of whales currently swimming off the coast of New England
“Researchers made 161 sightings of whales – some of them endangered – south of Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket.”
💩 BBC uncovers 6,000 possible illegal sewage spills in one year
“Every major English water company has reported data suggesting they’ve discharged raw sewage when the weather is dry – a practice which is potentially illegal.”
🐋 New research says grey whales in Oregon are in trouble
“Grey whales in Oregon love to forage in our kelp forests but these areas are struggling. Perhaps, bringing back another marine mammal could be the solution they need.”
🛢️ Singapore intensifies clean up as oil spill spreads along coast
“An oil spill off southern Singapore has spread to other areas of the island's coast and is threatening a marine reserve, government agencies said.”
🐋 Drones reveal Antarctic whale 'acrobatics'
“Footage of humpback whales captured by drones has revealed how the animals manoeuvre their whole bodies when they feed.”
🔥 Europe swelters in heatwaves while UK remains cool
“Parts of Europe have seen record-breaking heatwaves, while June in the UK has been "disappointingly cool".
🏛️ Oceans group takes UK government to court over oil and gas licences
“Issuing licences in the North Sea without accounting for environmental impact was unlawful, Oceana UK says.”
🇮🇹 New study by Italian scientists predicts Venice will be underwater by 2150
“There is a system of flood barriers in place in Venice’s lagoon, but these won’t be enough to protect the city from continual sinking and sea level rise.”
🐟 Canada to ban open-net salmon farms in British Columbia waters by 2029
“Canada will ban open-net salmon farms off the coast of British Columbia by the middle of 2029 in order to help protect dwindling wild Pacific salmon populations.”
🇬🇧 The world no longer needs new fossil fuels – and the UK could lead the way in making them taboo
“Our recent study found that new fossil fuels are not needed, and that stopping the extraction of new coal, oil and gas is among the best ways to tackle the climate crisis.”
🌊 New scheme aims to restore marine environment
“Sussex Bay brings together organisations, groups and individuals from along the Sussex coastline who want to help care for coastal habitats.”
💰 UK among rich countries not paying fair share to restore nature
“Only two countries provide fair amount to compensate lower-income nations for biodiversity loss, with most paying less than half what they should.”
🦈 Conservationists upbeat as zebra shark reintroduction in Raja Ampat gathers pace
“A project to revive zebra shark numbers in Indonesia’s Raja Ampat archipelago has welcomed the successful hatching of 24 pups so far this year, including.”
☔ How a 13-year-old’s frustration with forecasts birthed AccuWeather
“AccuWeather was launched by a meteorologist with a dream. Here's how it delivers the world’s most accurate forecasts.”
☀️ Climate Change Is ‘Loading the Weather Dice Against Us’
“Rising temperatures are causing “knock-on effects that we’re only just beginning to understand,” climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe says on this week’s Zero.”
🐝 Are animals conscious? How new research is changing minds
“Charles Darwin enjoys a near god-like status among scientists for his theory of evolution. But his ideas that animals are conscious in the same way humans are have long been shunned. Until now.”
🏭 Fossil fuel use, emissions hit records in 2023, report says
“Global fossil fuel consumption and energy emissions hit all-time highs in 2023, even as fossil fuels' share of the global energy mix decreased slightly on the year.”
🪧 Four in five people want more climate action, UN poll finds
“Biggest survey of its kind polled 75,000, finding that majority want quick transition from fossil fuels to clean energy.”
🛰️ Surveilling marine litter from space becomes reality
“By using satellites currently in orbit, researchers managed to acquire an unprecedented view of the emissions and accumulation areas of marine litter. This opens up multiple possibilities to improve the fight against plastic pollution.”
☣️ Almost 2,000 children die every day from air pollution, report finds
“Global study reveals dirty air is second only to malnutrition as cause of death among under-fives.”
🇦🇷 From showing animals for profit to protecting them: the reinvention of Buenos Aires zoo
“An ecopark that treats injured wild animals from all over Argentina and the largest biobank in South America has the support of the public and conservationists.”
🗿 How Easter Island copes with 500 pieces of rubbish an hour washing ashore
“One of the world’s most remote populations must deal with a flood of multinational plastic, much of it tossed overboard by the factory fishing ships.”
🟠 Britain's Stonehenge sprayed with paint by environmental protesters
“Environmental protesters sprayed paint on Stonehenge, with orange marks covering some of the stones of the prehistoric megalithic structure on the eve of the summer solstice celebrations.”
🦫 Beavers pave way for endangered animal's return to Scottish rainforest
“Beavers reintroduced to a Scottish rainforest in 2009 may have created the “right conditions” for another native species to flourish, according to conservationists.”
🔥 Holding Olympics in July will be 'nearly impossible' over extreme heat
“French forecasters have predicted warmer than normal conditions for July and August. Athletes and scientists now say a summer Olympics could eventually be "impossible".”
🇨🇭 Swiss company invents a way to break down PFAS with bubbles - but is it just a ‘sticking plaster’?
“PFAS are poisoning us, but destroying them is still difficult and expensive. One Swiss start-up may have the answer.”
🛢️ Environmental activists win landmark ruling over UK oil well plan
“Planning authorities should have considered the impact of climate-warming emissions in approving an oil well near Gatwick Airport, the UK's highest court said.”
🤖 Underwater robot discovers new deep-sea squid species
“Researchers from the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute identified a new species of deep-sea squid using footage captured by underwater robots in 2015.”
Have a great weekend! 📸
Cover image by Akira Franklin
Very interesting as always, Amie
Thank you, Maureen. As always ☺️