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 -
🌊 ‘All threats to the sea come from humans’: how lawyers are gearing up to fight for the oceans
“A rising number of lawsuits in courts around the world are holding governments and corporations to account for their treatment of the seas and those who rely on them.”
📈 ‘Antidotes to despair’: five things we’ve learned from the world’s best climate journalists
“From climate crisis being a crime story to presenting basic weather news in the context of climate change, here are some lessons from journalists.”
🌊 New research uncovers troubling 'triple threat' facing the world's oceans
“The world's oceans are in hot water, and it's not just because of Earth's overheating.”
🐢 More than 10,000 sea turtle eggs were rescued from Mexico’s beach ahead of Hurricane Beryl
“Hurricane conditions can sweep turtle eggs out to sea, where they can’t hatch.”
🔥 Devastation as world’s biggest wetland burns: ‘those that cannot run don’t stand a chance’
“Blackened trees, dead animals and scorched earth – early wildfires have already devastated Brazil’s Pantanal and local people worry they may lose the battle to save them.”
🦫 Baby beavers born in city river delight residents
“Residents and visitors to Canterbury have been treated to the unusual sight of baby beavers swimming in the River Stour.”
🏞️ EA denial over decades-long failure to restore English rivers and lakes
“In the UK, only 15% of our rivers are in good ecological health but still the Environment Agency is unaware of its failings.”
🐋 Large pod of pilot whales almost wiped out after stranding on Orkney beach
“Rescuers including vets rush to save 12 survivors from 77-strong group lying on Sanday shore.”
🌬️ New UK government lifts ‘absurd’ onshore wind ban: What could it mean for bills and net zero?
“One study found that using less than 3 per cent of England’s land for onshore wind and solar could produce enough energy to power every English household more than twice over.”
🐬 Orphaned B.C. orca calf 'likely' seen off Vancouver Island
“Friendly Cove is located about 50 kilometres south of the lagoon where the calf was previously trapped.”
“Hawaii's new legislation banning seabed mining has come into force after it was signed into law by Governor Josh Green.”
🏴 Cumbria coalmine was unlawfully approved, government says
“Lawyers acting for minister say emissions of coal extracted from mine should have been taken into account.”
🦭 Rabid, biting seals send swimmers rushing for safety in South Africa
“Officials in Cape Town, South Africa, have detected at least nine cases of seal rabies as of late, though the danger to humans is considered low.”
🐋 Divers pull off dramatic rescue of whale 'anchored to the ocean floor'
“A juvenile humpback whale was rescued after it was pinned to the ocean floor by a wire cable off the New South Wales coast for up to eight days.”
🔥 World breaches critical 1.5C warming threshold 12 months in a row
“The European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Service said June was the hottest on record, and the 12th month in a row of temperatures 1.5C (2.7F) above pre-industrial levels.”
♻️ Beach cleaners find pre-decimalisation plastic bag
“A group of beach cleaners have recovered a plastic bag dating back more than 50 years as part of an "extreme" clean up over the weekend.”
🌍 ‘Keir Starmer take note’: UK’s green transition must start now, say experts
“Labour’s victory, alongside strong Green performance, gives next PM mandate to act boldly on net zero, say campaigners.”
🌊 ‘Trust needs to be rebuilt’: Interview with candidate to head U.N. seabed-mining authority
“Leticia Carvalho, a Brazilian oceanographer and international civil servant, is running for secretary-general of the International Seabed Authority (ISA), the regulator of deep-sea mining in international waters.”
🐠 Tribes fight for the future of spearfishing as climate change destroys their lakes
“A 1983 Supreme Court decision affirmed the Ojibwe people’s rights, but opposition flared up.”
🇨🇴 Deforestation in Colombia fell to historic low in 2023: How did they achieve the drop?
“President Gustavo Petro is coming good on his election promise to cut tree felling.”
🇯🇵 Tokyo forced to open cooling shelters as Japan hit by deadly heatwave
“A farm worker was found dead on Monday in a field in the southwestern Fukuoka region.”
🏴 Dwindling snow patches on Scottish hills are 'very visible record' of climate change
“The number of snow patches in east Scotland surviving until July is falling, and acts as a "barometer" for climate change, its lead volunteer Iain Cameron said.”
🥤 Curb ‘stupid plastics’ and stop industry BS: urgent actions to prevent a plastic crisis
“The worst of microplastics is yet to come. Here’s what we need to do now to begin mitigating the wide-ranging harms.”
🇪🇨 'Great news': Ecuador river is granted the right to not be polluted in historic court case
“A court has ruled that pollution violates the rights of a river that runs through Ecuador's capital, Quito.”
💩 Summit to stop sewage pollution takes place
“Members of the public are meeting with water companies, regulatory bodies and environmental groups to discuss ways of stopping sewage pollution.”
🏭 Air pollution reduces chances of successful IVF, study finds
“Exposure to fine particulate matter in two weeks leading up to egg collection cuts odds of live birth fell by 38%.”
🚢 Fibreglass from boats found in marine food chain for first time
“Fragments were found in the flesh of shellfish and would have been consumed by anyone eating them.”
🏞️ One of Europe’s hottest places has lost its only lake
“Lake Pergusa was once described as a place of beauty and ‘eternal spring’.”
🦈 How did scientists discover new anti-ageing secrets from the world’s longest-living vertebrate?
“The study found that higher ocean temperatures could threaten the unique species of shark.”
🎙️ Ocean Audio
🌱 Busy soundscapes of seagrass meadows and the animals that live there revealed in new recordings
“A podcast episode on recording the soundscape of Scottish seagrass meadows to uncover more about the creatures living within them.”
Have a great weekend! 📸
Cover image by Harriet Barber