Fewer than 340 North Atlantic right whales remain and vessel strikes are among the biggest threats to the species
Vessels off the US east coast must slow down more often to help save a vanishing species of whale from extinction, the federal government said.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration made the announcement via new proposed rules designed to prevent ships colliding with North Atlantic right whales.
Continue reading...Agency to lead consortium in scheme targeting battery materials while conservationists say Australia on ‘wrong side of debate’
Australia’s national science agency, the CSIRO, has agreed to work with a controversial deep-sea mining project in the Pacific as a fourth island nation joins a call for a moratorium on the industry.
CSIRO will lead a consortium of scientists from Australia and New Zealand to help the Metals Company (TMC) develop an environmental management plan for its project, which is backed by the Nauru government.
Continue reading...Addison Bethea, 17, insisted ‘I’m still going to do what I love’ as she faces amputation following Fourth of July incident
A teenager who was in hospital to have her right leg amputated on Tuesday after a shark bit her off Florida’s coast said she had no intention of abandoning her love for the water.
“Don’t be scared of the ocean,” Addison Bethea told Miami’s CBS affiliate from her bed when asked to send a message to the public. “I’m still going to do what I love – don’t just let fear overtake your life.”
Continue reading...A Romanian and an Austrian die within 600 metres of each other south of city of Hurghada
Two women have been killed in shark attacks in Egypt’s Red Sea, south of the city of Hurghada, the Egyptian environment ministry has said.
Two sources told Reuters that the body of a Romanian tourist in her late forties was discovered hours after an attack that left a 68-year-old Austrian woman dead. Both attacks happened within 600 metres of each other, off the coast of Sahl Hasheesh, according to the sources.
Continue reading...Developing countries’ delegates at UN conference seek recognition of small fisheries’ role in protecting oceans and fighting hunger
Small-scale fishermen and women from coastal nations in the frontline of the “ocean emergency” have accused world leaders and other decision-makers at the UN oceans conference of ignoring their voices in favour of corporate interests.
More than half of the world’s fish caught for human consumption comes from small-scale fishing communities, yet their contribution to food security and ocean protection is not being sufficiently recognised, they say.
Continue reading...Australian fisheries management says there are regional differences and new data only applies to population in New Zealand
Ocean campaigners say that a New Zealand fishing fleet that trawls for orange roughy in waters off Tasmania should be “sent back” in light of new data about the vulnerable species.
Orange roughy is an endangered deep-sea species which, under Australia’s environmental laws, can still be fished in approved fisheries.
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Continue reading...Proposals – the first in 30 years to tackle catastrophic wildlife loss in Europe – include legally binding targets for land, rivers and sea
For the first time in 30 years, legislation has been put forward to address catastrophic wildlife loss in the EU. Legally binding targets for all member states to restore wildlife on land, rivers and the sea were announced today, alongside a crackdown on chemical pesticides.
In a boost for UN negotiations on halting and reversing biodiversity loss, targets released by the European Commission include reversing the decline of pollinator populations and restoring 20% of land and sea by 2030, with all ecosystems to be under restoration by 2050. The commission also proposed a target to cut the use of chemical pesticides in half by 2030 and eradicate their use near schools, hospitals and playgrounds.
Continue reading...Campaigners say nature in England faces ‘perfect storm of threats’ with eight promised bills yet to appear
Nature faces a “perfect storm of threats”, campaigners say, after eight wildlife bills promised by Boris Johnson since coming to power have so far failed to see the light of day.
The government has been accused of reneging on commitments by failing to deliver policies on nature-friendly farming, the use of peat and pesticides, reintroducing beavers and other lost species, and protecting rare marine life.
Post-Brexit farming reforms – The government has broken its promise to reform farming post-Brexit. In its national food strategy for England published earlier this month the government’s commitment to provide a third of its farming budget for landscape recovery has been abandoned.
Ban on horticultural peat use – The government has consulted on the ban on the sale of peat and products containing peat in England and Wales after the failure of voluntary targets. Over 12 weeks (the usual time limit for responding) have passed and the government has yet to respond to the consultation. There was also no clear legislative vehicle in the recent Queen’s speech to enact the ban.
Beaver reintroductions – Last year, the government consulted on further reintroductions of beavers in England following the successful River Otter beaver trial. The government has yet to publish its response to the consultation or announce its approach to the reintroduction of beavers in England. This was part of the secretary of state’s announcement at Delamere Forest in May 2021.
Species reintroduction taskforce – Also part of that announcement was the commitment to establish an England species reintroduction taskforce to consider reintroductions of lost species such as wildcats, as well as the release of declining species such as the curlew, into areas from which they have been lost to help populations recover.
National action plan on the sustainable use of pesticides – The UK government consulted on the draft national action plan in December 2020 but has yet to publish the final version of its plan to replace the 2013 version.
Landscapes review – Despite responding to the landscapes review, the government has yet to legislate for the recommendations it accepted, such as amending the statutory purpose to ensure the core function of protected landscapes should be to drive nature recovery in England.
Integrated pest management – The government has yet to confirm whether key components of the new agricultural system, such as integrated pest management, will be included in the new sustainable farming incentive from next year.
Bycatch mitigation initiative – A policy to protect rare marine life from being unintentionally caught by fishers was approved in March but has not come to fruition, after being expected in May.
Continue reading...Family found a Lamarckdromia beagle specimen washed up on the beach in Denmark in southern WA
A “fluffy” crab discovered off the coast of Western Australia has been named after the ship that carried Charles Darwin around the world.
The new species, Lamarckdromia beagle, belongs to the Dromiidae family, commonly known as sponge crabs.
Continue reading...US wildlife agency agrees to review protection for habitats after conservationists sue over mass die-offs from poor water quality
The US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) has agreed to update critical habitat protections for manatees after legal pressure from environmental groups, as the animals continue to die in record numbers.
More than 1,000 manatees died in Florida last year, wiping out more than 10% of the state’s population, the deadliest year on record. The unusually high mortality rate for the threatened mammals has continued into 2022, with 562 deaths in the first five months.
Continue reading...Not long ago, the humpback was almost wiped out, now its numbers are booming in what conservationists say is a ‘wonderful success story’
People across Australia’s east coast are catching an earlier than expected first glimpse of breaching humpback whales as they migrate north, and scientists say the reason why is a conservation success story.
Whale watchers were treated to a spectacular show in Sydney on Monday as two humpback whales surged from the water metres from their boat. Dr Wally Franklin, director of the Oceania Project, said sightings have also been reported off the coast of Merimbula, Byron Bay, Tweed Heads, the Gold Coast and Hervey Bay, as the whales journey north from the Antarctic to the Great Barrier Reef.
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Continue reading...Genetic testing has determined a single 4,500-year-old seagrass may have spread over 200 sq km of underwater seafloor – about 20,000 football fields
About 4,500 years ago, a single seed – spawned from two different seagrass species – found itself nestled in a favourable spot somewhere in what is now known as Shark Bay, just off Australia’s west coast.
Left to its own devices and relatively undisturbed by human hands, scientists have discovered that seed has grown to what is now believed to be the biggest plant anywhere on Earth, covering about 200 sq km (77 sq miles, or about 20,000 rugby fields, or just over three times the size of Manhattan island).
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Continue reading...A drone emitting orca sounds will be used in attempt to guide the animal, whose health is fast deteriorating
An orca lost in France’s River Seine is to be guided back to sea using sounds made by the species under a last-ditch plan to save the animal’s life.
The local prefecture said it would monitor the animal, also known as a killer whale, from a distance with a drone while emitting orca communications in an attempt to guide it back to the sea, following a meeting with national and international scientists, including marine mammal specialists.
Continue reading...Reports handed to EU claim vessels likely to have entered coastal states’ waters where stocks are dwindling
European fishing fleets have been illegally netting tuna from dwindling stocks in the Indian Ocean, according to data presented to EU authorities and analysed by expert groups.
EU purse seine (a type of large net) fishing vessels were present in the waters of Indian Ocean coastal states, where they were likely to have carried out unauthorised catches, and have reported catches in the Chagos archipelago marine protected area and in Mozambique’s exclusive economic zone.
Continue reading...In completely unscientific experiment the Sydney Aquarium resident sided with a tortoise and crocodile in predicting Anthony Albanese victory
Pig came out of the deep, a slow-moving mass in search of an answer to the question arresting the mind of the nation: who will emerge from the federal election victorious?
The dugong’s performance was precise and assured. A red and blue toy representing each major party were dropped into Pig’s enclosure, and after mere moments consulting his mystic powers, he disappeared below the water’s surface.
Continue reading...Conservationists and Inuit community relieved at decision on Canadian iron mine that threatened ‘extirpation’ of cetacean
The expansion of an iron ore mine in the Arctic that would have increased shipping and led to the “complete extirpation of narwhal” from the region has been blocked.
After four years of consultations and deliberations, the Nunavut Impact Review Board rejected a request from Baffinland Iron Mines Corp asking to significantly increase mining on the northern tip of Baffin Island in Nunavut, Canada. The area is home to one of the world’s richest iron ore deposits, and the densest narwhal population in the world.
Continue reading...Extreme ocean temperatures blamed for turning sea sponges white in more than a dozen sites on southern coastline
Sea sponges off New Zealand’s southern coastline have been found bleached bone-white for the first time, following extreme ocean temperatures.
A group of scientists from Victoria University of Wellington were alarmed to discover the sponges, which are typically a rich chocolate brown, were bleached in more than a dozen sites near Breaksea Sound and Doubtful Sound in Fiordland.
Continue reading...$20m permit buyback aims to help recovery of jackass morwong, redfish, john dory and silver trevally
The federal government will spend $20m to buy out fisheries in Australia’s south-east in part because the climate crisis is affecting population numbers of some species, making current fishing levels unsustainable.
The Australian Fisheries Management Authority will buy back vessel permits in the south-east trawl fishery, which is the largest commonwealth-managed fin fish fishery in Australia.
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Continue reading...Hawksbill turtles often travel circuitous routes for short distances – one swam 1,306km to reach an island just 176km away
How migrating animals like sea turtles navigate hundreds to thousands of kilometres across the open ocean has intrigued biologists since Charles Darwin. But some sea turtles might not really know where they’re going, new research suggests.
Analysis by an international team of scientists has mapped the movements of hawksbill turtles as they swam from their nesting grounds in the Chagos Archipelago to foraging sites also in the Indian Ocean.
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Continue reading...DNA study finds rarest cetacean, only found in Gulf of California, has enough genetic diversity to recover – if gillnet ban is enforced
Scientists studying the DNA of the world’s smallest cetacean and rarest marine mammal, the vaquita porpoise, have made a surprising and bittersweet discovery.
With a tiny population of fewer than 10 individuals left, the mammal was assumed by conservationists to be at a similar risk of harmful mutations and inbreeding as other species with small gene pools.
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