The 55 pilot whales, which had to be euthanised, had been following a female having a difficult birth, scientists believe
The mass stranding and death of 55 whales on the Isle of Lewis in 2023 was caused by the mammals’ loyalty to their pod, a report has concluded.
It had been thought that the unusually large incident on Tràigh Mhòr beach, Tolsta, could have been caused by trauma, disease or acoustic disturbance from military or industrially generated noise.
Continue reading...Authorities say capture of bull and tiger sharks necessary to protect lives as environmentalists launch urgent legal challenge
Some beaches in areas of New Caledonia are closed to swimming and the authorities have begun shark culling off the capital, Nouméa, after a fatal attack in the popular tourist spot – prompting a legal challenge to stop the operation and reigniting debate over public safety and marine conservation.
The culling operation began on 23 February, after a man from New Caledonia riding a wing foil in a recreational area was attacked and killed. Preliminary investigations indicate the victim was attacked by a tiger shark that measured at least three metres.
Continue reading...Volunteer group Citizens of the Reef made the find as part of the Great Reef Census
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Citizen scientists have discovered what they believe is one of the largest coral colonies ever documented on the Great Barrier Reef.
The coral spans approximately 111 metres in maximum length and covers an estimated area of 3,973 sq m – about half the size of a soccer field.
Continue reading...Shrimp soundtrack will be played under water to lure baby oysters in program aimed at fighting algal blooms
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South Australians are being urged to feast on local oysters and then donate the shells to restore native reefs, which will filter ocean water and help fight harmful algal blooms.
The program will also involve lumps of limestone being sunk in the ocean, with a soundtrack of snapping shrimp playing on underwater speakers to lure baby oysters in.
Continue reading...Australian Marine Conservation Society’s GoodFish guide aims to showcase the most environmentally friendly seafood sources
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As a challenging year for marine life heads into its final weeks, GoodFish has shared its list of sustainable choices for the festive season to help take the pressure off Australia’s oceans.
“It’s a time to be more careful than ever,” said Adrian Meder, sustainable seafood program manager at the Australian Marine Conservation Society, which produces the GoodFish guide.
Continue reading...The enormous, serpentine fish, regarded in Japanese folklore as a herald of disaster, usually live deep below the surface and are only sighted when sick or dying
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It was a beautiful warm day in north-west Tasmania when a fish with a reputation as a harbinger of doom washed ashore.
Tony Cheesman, who lives in the seaside town of Penguin, was walking his two dogs, Ronan and Custard, along the beach at Preservation Bay on Friday morning when something silvery and surrounded by gulls grabbed his attention.
Continue reading...Charvet Drucker captures dramatic video and photos of seal being hunted by orcas in Salish Sea, north-west of Seattle
A wildlife photographer on a whale-watching trip in waters off Seattle captured dramatic video and photos of a pod of killer whales hunting a seal that survived only by clambering on to the stern of her boat.
Charvet Drucker was on a rented 20ft (6 metre) boat near her home on an island in the Salish Sea about 40 miles north-west of Seattle when she spotted a pod of at least eight killer whales, also known as orcas.
Continue reading...State government says expanded use of shark nets and drum lines will continue despite evidence of deadly impact on other marine life
Queensland will roll out shark-spotting drones to more beaches, after a major study found drones detected more than double the number of sharks caught in adjacent nets.
But while drones would become a “permanent fixture” of the state’s shark-control operations, the Department of Primary Industries said Queensland would continue to rely on “traditional measures like nets and drum lines”, despite evidence of their deadly impact on dolphins, whales, turtles and dugongs.
Continue reading...MP asks for explanation from Southern Water amid concerns the spill could have dire impact on rare sea life
Southern Water is investigating after millions of contaminated plastic beads washed up on Camber Sands beach, risking an “environmental catastrophe”.
The biobeads could have a dire impact on marine life, the local MP has said, with fears rare sea life, including seabirds, porpoises and seals, could ingest them and die.
Continue reading...‘Wonderful’ for people to see the predators so close and feasting on bait fish at the Gold Coast’s Rainbow Bay, near Snapper Rocks, expert says
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A shiver of sharks has been spotted feeding close to shore near a popular surfing spot on the Gold Coast on Australia’s east coast.
The large group of predators surprised spectators on the southern end of Rainbow Bay on Tuesday, near the renowned Snapper Rocks surf break.
Continue reading...Climate crisis drives near-total collapse of staghorn and elkhorn corals that formed backbone to state’s reefs
Two of the most important coral species that made up Florida’s reef are now functionally extinct after a withering ocean heatwave caused catastrophic losses, scientists have found.
The near-total collapse of the corals that once formed the backbone of reefs in Florida and the Caribbean means they can no longer play their previously crucial role in building and sustaining reef ecosystems that host a variety of marine life.
Continue reading...‘Trumped-up’ charges spark diplomatic row as scientists express fears for health of 70-year-old Leonid Pshenichnov
A diplomatic row has erupted over the “illegal” detention of one of Ukraine’s scientists, who has been accused by the Kremlin of undermining Russia’s industrial trawling for krill in Antarctica.
Leonid Pshenichnov, 70, a Ukrainian biologist who is an expert on Antarctica, has a decades-long record of scientific research and contributions to conservation, including support for marine protected areas in the region.
Continue reading...Once hunted to the brink of extinction, the most venerable of the leviathans now numbers 384, up eight from past year
One of the rarest whales on the planet has continued an encouraging trend of population growth in the wake of new efforts to protect the giant animals, according to scientists who study them.
The North Atlantic right whale now numbers an estimated 384 animals, up eight whales from the previous year, according to a report by the North Atlantic Right Whale Consortium released on Tuesday. The whales have shown a trend of slow population growth over the past four years and have gained more than 7% of their 2020 population, the consortium said.
Continue reading...New research finds 90% of marine fish sold by major US retailers are wild-caught, including threatened or endangered species
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The global trade in marine aquarium fish relies heavily on fish sourced directly from wild populations, with many consumers unaware of the practice due to murky supply chains.
New research has revealed the scale of the issue, finding most marine aquarium fish sold online in the US were wild-caught, mainly from the western Pacific and Indian oceans.
Continue reading...Experts call for urgent strategy to end overfishing as report shows just 41% of stocks of species such as cod and mackerel considered healthy
The UK’s populations of fish such as cod, herring and mackerel are still being “grossly mismanaged” by politicians and overfished, despite hitting unhealthy levels, a study has found.
British fish stocks have been under growing pressure for decades, but during the Brexit campaign some politicians promised that leaving the EU would allow the UK to take control.
Continue reading...Fisheries minister says rehoming Marineland’s cetaceans in China would only ‘perpetuate the treatment’ the whales have endured
Canada’s government has refused a request by the beleaguered Marineland theme park to export its remaining 30 beluga whales to China due to concerns that the whales will face further mistreatment.
Marineland, an amusement park, zoo and aquarium in Niagara Falls, has one of the largest captive whale populations in the world, and has long been mired in controversy amid reports of poor conditions for the animals on display.
Continue reading...Queensland premier says he won’t protect whales ‘at the expense of one single human’
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Queensland’s premier said the state is “not for turning” on its plan to expand shark netting, and won’t put protecting whales “at the expense of one single human”.
A mother and baby humpback were discovered trapped in shark netting near Rainbow Beach on Saturday, the eighth and ninth whales to become entangled in nine days.
Continue reading...Conservationists flag dangers of human interaction after ‘Reggie’ filmed playing with family
The public has been warned to keep away from an injured dolphin that was filmed dancing and playing with swimmers off the coast of Dorset earlier this month.
The Marine Management Organisation (MMO), a government-backed agency responsible for England’s seas, said it was “increasingly concerned about a lone dolphin spotted in Lyme Bay, Dorset, following multiple potential marine wildlife disturbance offences observed online and shared on social media”.
Continue reading...Scientists shocked by bleaching event that hit reefs from the world heritage-listed Ningaloo to the remote Ashmore Reef
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The “longest, largest and most intense” marine heatwave ever recorded in Western Australia has killed coral throughout an area that stretches 1,500km, according to state and federal scientists.
More than 100 scientists and marine managers will gather in Perth on Tuesday for a special meeting to discuss the devastating event that bleached and killed corals on remote reefs earlier this year.
The marine heatwave that hit reefs from the world heritage-listed Ningaloo to the remote Ashmore Reef left many scientists shocked.
Continue reading...‘Massive and unpredictable’ swarm entered filter drums that pull in water, Gravelines operator EDF says
The Gravelines nuclear power plant in northern France has been shut down after a swarm of jellyfish entered the filter drums that pull in cooling water, according to its state-owned operator, EDF.
The plant in northern France is one of the largest in the country and cooled from a canal connected to the North Sea.
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