Big Blue Bulletin #1
Maritime monitoring, sewage pollution, and tiny 'sucker-bum squid'
Welcome to the first ever edition of the Big Blue Bulletin – a weekly roundup of marine conservation news and updates. Expect good news, bad news, and a sweet sea slug photograph, in your inbox every Friday.
Let’s dive in 🐬
🥳 BIG NEWS:
👏 UK Expands Marine Protections in South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
“UK government announced full protection for more than 166,000 additional square kilometres of the South Atlantic Ocean surrounding the remote islands.”
🐟 Mass die-offs among farmed salmon on the rise around the world
“Hundreds of millions of farmed salmon have perished in mass die-offs over the past decade, say researchers.”
🐋 Scientists spot ‘incredibly rare’ gray whale extinct in the Atlantic Ocean for 200 years
“Researchers with the New England Aquarium in Boston found the gray whale while flying 50 kilometres south of Nantucket, Massachusetts.”
🇦🇺 Australia's Great Barrier Reef suffers major coral bleaching
“The results are consistent with patterns of heat stress that have built up over summer at the biologically diverse site.”
☢️ Radioactive waste, baby bottles and Spam: the deep ocean has become a dumping ground
“The ocean’s depths are not some remote alien realm, but are in fact intimately entangled with every other part of the planet.”
🏭 No big North Sea fossil fuel country has plan to stop drilling in time for 1.5C goal
“UK, Germany, Netherlands, Norway and Denmark have failed to align oil and gas policies with Paris pledges, say campaigners.”
🔥 Ocean temperature hit record high in February 2024
“Ocean temperatures hit a record high in February, with the average global sea surface temperature at 21.06 degrees Celsius, the EU's Copernicus Climate Change Service said.”
🐟 Migratory Amazonian catfish placed on the international protection list
“The gilded and piramutaba catfish carry out the longest freshwater migration on the planet.”
🌊 Restored coral reefs can bounce back in just four years
“Coral reefs are vital underwater ecosystems teeming with life. Yet, climate change and human actions threaten their very existence.”
🐧 South Georgia: Bird flu infects penguins at famous wildlife haven
“Bird flu has been confirmed in 10 penguins on South Georgia, one of the world's great wildlife havens.”
🧊 Radical idea to protect 'doomsday' Thwaites Glacier with 62-mile long curtain divides scientists
“Scientists are designing a radical 62-mile long curtain to protect Antarctica's so-called "doomsday" Thwaites Glacier from melting.”
🐬 Rising slaughter of small whales and dolphins threatens ocean balance
“Killings of small whales, porpoises and dolphins are rising, with more than 100,000 of these marine mammals slaughtered each year.”
🎶 Playing thriving reef sounds on underwater speakers ‘could save damaged corals’
“Coral larvae more likely to settle on degraded reefs bathed in marine soundscapes, Caribbean study shows.”
🛢️ US Coast Guard says no oil sheen seen off California after spill
“The U.S. Coast Guard said an overflight no longer detected an oil sheen off the coast of Huntington Beach after oil spill discovered on Friday was cleaned up.”
🐋 The only other mammals to go through the menopause live longer because of it
“Menopause may explain why some whale live around 40 years longer than others, scientists have said.”
“Negligence, physical and verbal abuse are common in unregulated industry. Now labor groups and government officials are trying to crack down.”
🛰️ Indonesia unveils plan to launch a satellite network for maritime monitoring
“Indonesia plans to launch a satellite constellation starting in July to monitor its marine and fisheries resources more effectively.”
💩 ‘I’ve seen solid waste float by’: Surrey riverside residents try to Stop the Poo
“The sewage treatment works at Horley seem to be crumbling, much like owner Thames Water itself.”
🇬🇧 England and Wales had warmest February on record
“The average temperature for England was 7.5C, with an average of 6.9C in Wales. The UK as a whole saw its second warmest recorded February.”
🦑 Discovered in the deep: tiny ‘sucker-bum squid’ with martial arts moves
“The two species of pygmy squid the size of a fingernail live on Japanese coral reefs. Spotting them is a sign of a healthy ecosystem, say scientists.”
Have a great weekend! 📸
What a great round-up, thank you!
Thanks so much for doing this.