A Puerto Rican marine reserve, kingfishers return, and Coca-Cola taken to court

Big Blue Bulletin #34

Nov 01, 2024

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 -

🇺🇳 Alarm grows over ‘disturbing’ lack of progress to save nature at Cop16

“Fears raised that biodiversity summit not addressing countries’ failure to meet a single target to stem destruction of natural world.”

🇵🇷 No 'island of garbage' here, Puerto Rico's new marine reserve

“Puerto Rico, likened to a "floating island of garbage" at a Republican rally in New York, on Wednesday announced the creation of a new marine reserve to protect manatees and other species.”

💰 High Seas Treaty receives largest ever private pledge

”A consortium of 11 philanthropies including the Bezos Earth Fund and Blue Nature Alliance have pledged $51.7m to support the development of Marine Protected Areas across the High Seas.”

“Lancet report says average person experienced 50 more days of dangerous temperatures than normal due to climate crisis.”

🏞️ ‘It is about people’s love of the river’: swimming group fighting for rights in the Avon

“Conham River Park is home to a group devoted to protecting and promoting the use of the river.”

🐟 Fish and microchips: how AI can help Europe's fishers and protect the seas

“An EU-backed project aims to deploy catch scanners using AI on fishing boats to identify fish species, size, and weight. The aim is to help fishers comply with strict regulations and protect stocks.”

🐋 Commercial whaling and climate change are inhibiting evolutionary change in Arctic whales

“As these species recover from the effects of commercial whaling, they now face a new challenge: climate change.”

🇪🇸 Why was Valencia flooding so deadly, did warning texts come too late and what’s the climate link?

“Some areas saw a year’s worth of rain in just eight hours leaving people trapped in their homes by floodwaters.”

🏔️ Still no snow on Mount Fuji, forecasters say - setting a new record

“Japan's iconic Mount Fuji is yet to see any snow this year, despite the active volcano usually seeing its first flakes in early October.”

🥤 Los Angeles County sues PepsiCo and Coca-Cola over plastic pollution

“Los Angeles County has sued beverage makers PepsiCo and Coca-Cola, accusing them of polluting the most populous U.S. county with plastic bottles and misleading the public about the environmental impact and recyclability of their containers.”

❄️ Battling ocean plastic on Svalbard

“For more than 20 years, Svalbard’s governor has invited locals to hunt for trash on some of the planet's most remote shores. This year, I was one of them.”

💩 I’m obsessed with whale poop: ‘It can be neon green, bright red – or even sparkle’

“It may be colourful but if it gets on your clothes you have to throw them away, says biologist Dr Joe Roman, who can’t get enough of the stuff, which is vital to support ocean biodiversity.”

🇿🇦 New discoveries: three tiny species added to South Africa’s spectacular marine life

“South Africa’s marine realm is globally unique because of the two major ocean currents that meet here.”

🇲🇰 North Macedonia's UNESCO World Heritage site Lake Ohrid at risk from pollution

“Lake Ohrid, a UNESCO World Heritage site that straddles North Macedonia and Albania, is at risk from pollution, overfishing, and urban development, the United Nations body and experts say.”

⚖️ Chris Packham settles case over axing of green policy

“Chris Packham has reached a settlement with the government over two legal challenges against its decision to remove or delay some environmental policies.”

🇦🇿 Apparently fake social media accounts boost Azerbaijan before Cop29

“Linked accounts on X push petrostate’s posts about climate summit and drown out criticism.”

🇬🇺 ‘Extinct’ Guam kingfisher takes flight again after nearly 40 years

“Six Guam kingfishers, known locally as sihek, were released into the wild on Sept. 23, marking their return from nearly four decades of being extinct in the wild.”

😁 Electric wallpaper and carbon-sequestering cows: Positive environmental stories from 2024

“Climate anxiety is very real, but these good news stories from 2024 prove there is hope for our planet.”

🌡️ With coral reefs in jeopardy, UN emergency meeting seeks to raise money to aid them

“The United Nations and coastal countries warned on Wednesday that the world's coral reefs are being devastated by the effects of warming oceans and urged nations to increase funding for urgent efforts to save them.”