Orca strategies, reef rangers, and a Global Plastics Treaty
Big Blue Bulletin #36
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 -
🐬 Killer whales have adapted special strategy to hunt world’s largest fish
“Orcas temporarily stun and flip over whale sharks to access their lipid-rich liver.”
🦈 Largest great white shark ever caught in Queensland control program was pregnant with four pups
“Female almost the length of a shipping container was found dead on a drumline in August, primary industries department has revealed.”
“One of the biggest mysteries of all is how these animals make decisions to determine what they do and where they go.”
🎣 Bay of Biscay fishing closure demonstrates impact on dolphin conservation
“A temporary fishing ban in the Bay of Biscay has shown a marked reduction in accidental dolphin deaths, according to the French government’s recent findings.”
💩 Researcher discovers new role played by manatees, ‘the gardeners of the Amazon’
“According to a new study, the Amazonian manatee is a seed disperser; a researcher found germinating grasses in its feces.”
🥤 Activists pressure world leaders to drastically curb plastic pollution
“Compromise is needed, UN environment chief says – but activists warn the public demands decisive action on plastics.”
🇺🇳 COP29: A climate deal so bad that the host nation had to force it through
“To an outsider, COP29's agreement to send $300bn a year to poor countries may seem good but climate-vulnerable nations are angry at the rich world reneging on a historic deal.”
🏭 UK approves carbon storage drilling in nature sanctuaries
“The UK government has sold licences to oil giants to drill on the seabed in marine protected areas to store carbon dioxide, which will impact whales, dolphins and endangered birds.”
🌍 Earth's most crucial campaign to reclaim deep seabed launches
“The team behind the 2023 award-winning environmental documentary, Deep Rising, has launched phase two of its campaign to stop deep sea mining in its tracks.”
🌌 Life in the world’s deepest seas: The challenge of finding 1,000 new marine species by 2030
“We have discovered approximately 200,000 marine species – around 24-34% of the total.”
🥤 Hope of breakthrough at international plastic treaty talks after two-year deadlock
“‘Important shift’ made in global attempts to address plastic pollution though final treaty text yet to be agreed.”
🇳🇿 New Zealanders help save about 30 whales after a pod strands on a beach
“More than 30 pilot whales that stranded themselves on a beach in New Zealand were safely returned to the ocean after conservation workers and residents helped to refloat them by lifting them on sheets.”
🛳️ Carnival cruise line emitted more CO2 in 2023 than Scotland’s biggest city
“World’s largest cruise line named Europe’s most climate-polluting, despite investing millions in cleaner technologies.”
🌊 World’s largest coral found in the Pacific
“The largest coral ever recorded has been found by scientists in the southwest Pacific Ocean.”
💩 Scientists are crafting fake whale poop and dumping it in the ocean
“The artificial waste could fertilize the ocean and sequester carbon.”
“A solitary dolphin in the Baltic Sea has been recorded talking to himself, leading researchers to wonder whether he's lonely and calling out for friends.”
🇵🇼 Palau’s vibrant Helen Reef is a magnet for poachers. These rangers keep it safe
“Helen Reef, a 40-square-mile atoll at the southern edge of Palau, is one of Earth's most remote and biologically diverse reefs.”
🗑️ Five firms in plastic pollution alliance ‘made 1,000 times more plastic than they cleaned up’
“Five oil and chemical companies which promised to divert plastic from environment produced 132m tonnes of it, analysis finds.”
🎨 Ocean Artwork
📸 Invitation to Invade by Adedolapo Boluwatife
"Pleasing to the eye yet disconcerting for the soul, Adedolapo Boluwatife’s photographs perfectly illustrate the domination of humanity by plastic pollution.”
Have a great weekend! 📸
Cover image by National Geographic.
Thanks for this great compilation! I've been listening to this new podcast, The Good Whale, about the orca, Keiko, who starred in the film, "Free Willy," which set off a massive project to rehabilitate, train, and free him to the wild. (I'm not done yet, so I don't know how it comes out, but it seems ominous in a hubristic "what could go wrong?" sort of way). Here's a gift link: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/podcasts/serial-good-whale.html?unlocked_article_code=1.dk4.6SM9.VUMmzD7JDQH9&smid=url-share