Big Blue Bulletin #5
Court rulings, legal personhood, and a great big survey
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 -
🐟 UK government guilty of overfishing, says UK government
“It is staggering that the government’s own scientists have published a report that 54% of catch limits have been set at unsustainably high levels.”
🐋 Pacific islands chiefs grant whales and dolphins ‘legal person’ status
“Giving ocean creatures rights in the same way as people is a vital conservation step, says Maori king.”
⚖️ Western Alaska tribes, outraged by bycatch, turn up the heat on fishery managers and trawlers
“The debate is taking on increasing urgency as subsistence harvesting bans continue and the policy responses under consideration threaten to impose steep costs on the industry.”
🐬 Time ticks down for orca calf stranded in B.C. lagoon as rescue efforts ramp up, but no set date
“The Fisheries Department says that rescue plans were being discussed and reviewed, but the timing of an attempt to get the orca calf out of the lagoon has not been set.”
🐧 It’s now or never for African penguins – if we don’t halt their decline, they will go extinct
“African penguins are not magically disappearing — they are being pushed to the brink by human pressure on their food supply and habitats.”
🐙 Octopuses could lose eyesight and struggle to survive if ocean temperatures keep rising, study finds
“Heat stress from global heating could lead to impaired vision and increased deaths of pregnant mothers and their unborn young, Australian researchers say.”
🦈 Islanders asked to document seaweed and shark eggs
“Islanders are being called upon to help document the effects of climate change in Guernsey by exploring the shoreline this summer.”
🇰🇿 Russia, Kazakhstan evacuate 110,000 people as record floods set to worsen
“Kremlin says weather forecast is ‘unfavourable’ with western Siberia expecting peak flooding in three to five days.”
💧 Water quality fears could cancel Paris Olympic event despite billion euro clean-up
“Samples taken have shown dangerous levels of bacteria in the water, just over a hundred days before the games start.”
👨🌾 Farmers warn ‘crisis is building’ as record rainfall drastically reduces UK food production
“Reduction in yields means UK will be dependent on imports for wheat in coming year and possibly beyond.”
🔊 Noise pollution is increasingly disrupting whale migration
“A new study by the University of Melbourne and Politecnico di Torino reveals the damaging impact of noise pollution on whale migration.”
🇨🇲 As a megaport rises in Cameroon, a delicate coastal ecosystem ebbs
“The deepwater port at Kribi, Cameroon, is a massive project, begun in 2011 and slated for completion in 2040.”
🤔 Oil bosses call phasing out fossil fuels a ‘fantasy’ – but an international agreement is plausible
“Chief executive of the world’s largest oil company recently called on nations to “abandon the fantasy” to phase out fossil fuels.”
🐄 Methane from landfills is detectable from space – and driving the climate crisis
“Landfill trash is the third-largest source of human-caused methane pollution in the US. To fight global heating, curb waste.”
🚗 Norway could become first country to have more electric cars than petrol
“Nine out of 10 new cars sold in January in Norway were pure electric.”
⛏️ Illegal mining in the Pan Amazon: an ecological disaster for floodplains and local communities
“The most optimistic estimate is that 350,000 hectares of forest and wetlands have been lost in the Pan Amazon region as a result.”
🇺🇳 U.N. climate chief says two years to save the planet
“Governments, business leaders and development banks have two years to take action to avert far worse climate change, the U.N.'s climate chief said.”
☣️ US imposes first-ever limits on levels of toxic PFAS in drinking water
“EPA takes action for first time in 27 years against ‘forever chemicals’ feared to be contaminating water for over 200 million.”
🚰 Beach gets water fountain to cut plastic waste
“The fountain on Kent's Margate Main Sands was paid for by the public after a two-year campaign.”
🦈 Rewilding program ships eggs around the world to restore Raja Ampat zebra sharks
“A rewilding project aimed at saving endangered zebra sharks is sending eggs from aquarium sharks more than 12,000km away to a Raja Ampat hatchery.”
🇬🇧 National parks in England and Wales failing on biodiversity, say campaigners
“Report finds lack of funding has led to just 6% of land being managed effectively for nature.”
🚢 Endangered right whale found dead off Virginia’s coast died from a vessel strike
“The female North Atlantic right whale died from a vessel strike. Whale #1950 succumbed to her injuries after sustaining a fractured vertebrae.”
🔥 March breaks global temperature record for tenth month in a row
“The sequence of air and ocean heat records ‘toppling’ continues, as climate scientists calls for rapid cuts in greenhouse gas emissions.”
🌿 Toxic gas, livelihoods under threat and power outages: how a seaweed causes chaos in Caribbean
“Leaders have failed to tackle invasion of sargassum, which may have a bumper year in 2024.”
🌊 Climate change is impacting marine life more than we realised
“Scientists are sounding the alarm that fish and invertebrates (like snails and sea urchins) are caught in the crosshairs, and the effects are profound.”
“Supreme Court says right to life and equality can’t be fully realised without clean environment.”
🦞 ‘Small but mighty’: how invertebrates play central role in shaping our world
“From decomposing waste to building coral reefs, invertebrates provide structure to ecosystems.”
🇨🇭 Top European court hands Swiss women victory in landmark climate ruling
“Verdict will have ripple effect in Europe and beyond, likely setting precedent for how courts deal with climate cases.”
🎣 Island-building and overfishing wreak destruction of South China Sea reefs
“Overfishing, giant clam harvesting and island-building have devastated significant portions of the region’s shallow coral reefs.”
“Marine researcher ‘devastated’ by widespread event that is affecting coral species usually resistant to bleaching.”
🇨🇴 One of Colombia’s largest estuary ecosystems is drying up, communities warn
“Decades of sediment pollution, contamination and government infrastructure projects have disrupted the natural flow of saltwater and freshwater into the wetlands.”
“While the ecosystem is thriving off the coast of Argentina, the proliferation of salmon farms in Chile’s waters is threatening marine life, say critics.”
🥤 Study reveals up to 11 million tons of plastic polluting ocean floors
"Every minute, a garbage truck's worth of plastic enters the ocean," researchers said.”
❗ Ocean Action
✍️ Take part in The Great Big Nature Survey
“The Wildlife Trusts want to hear your opinions on some of the biggest questions surrounding nature and our collective role in caring for it.”
✍️ Help defend North Atlantic right whales from attacks in congress
“Some members of Congress are attempting to carve up needed improvements to federal rules that protect North Atlantic right whales from boat strikes.”
✍️ Dam removal is a climate solution
“Dams are violating Indigenous rights, driving salmon to extinction and worsening the climate crisis. But there’s a solution to this mess.”
Have a great weekend! 📸
Cover image by Gladys Serrano/El País
Legal person status for marine mammals should become a norm in international law!
Thanks for sharing this important information!