Category Archives: Marine life

Young green sea turtles tracked travelling deep into Sydney harbour and living near humans

Posted on by

Taronga Wildlife hospital tracked three turtles that had been rescued, with one swimming as far as Longueville

Endangered green sea turtles spend much of their young lives in close proximity to people, including travelling deep within Sydney harbour, new research suggests.

Satellite tracking shows turtles frequenting busy waterways, including the harbour and Parramatta River, around Wollongong harbour, Brisbane Waters near Gosford and up the Hawkesbury River, as far as Cottage Point.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Scores of dead whales found on Tasmanian beach in ‘confronting scenes’

Posted on by

Cause of mass stranding of 34 pilot whales on Freycinet Peninsula unclear as authorities say they are unable to remove carcasses

Thirty-four whales were found washed up across a beach on Tasmania’s east coast on Tuesday in what was described as a “confronting” and “devastating” scene.

While out training on a boat, local guide Chris Theobald came across an “overnight mass stranding” of more than 30 pilot whales at Bryans beach near the southern end of the Freycinet Peninsula.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Scampi scam? UK retailers accused of misleading claims on environmental impact

Posted on by

Five-year project to reduce environmental impact of industry has ‘all but failed’, report finds

British retailers and seafood companies have been accused of making misleading claims over “responsibly sourced” scampi or langoustines, according to campaigners, who say a five-year project to reduce the environmental impact of the £68m industry appears to be failing.

The companies, including Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons, Waitrose, Young’s and Whitby Seafoods – the last of which is currently the largest supplier of breaded scampi to UK pubs, restaurants and fish and chip shops – are all part of a fishery improvement project (FIP) aimed at making the UK langoustine industry more sustainable.

Continue reading...

Bolsonaro under investigation for ‘harassing’ humpback whale

Posted on by

Man resembling Brazilian ex-president seemingly spotted on a jetski about 15 metres from distressed mammal

Federal police are investigating Brazil’s former president, Jair Bolsonaro, for yet another suspected misdeed: “harassing” a humpback whale while taking a public holiday spin on his jetski.

Bolsonaro’s anti-environmental policies earned him the nickname “Captain Chainsaw” during a four-year administration characterised by soaring destruction of the Amazon. But the far-right ex-president’s latest suspected environmental offence reportedly occurred in the waters off Brazil’s south-eastern coastline near the town of São Sebastião.

Continue reading...

Dominica creates world’s first marine protected area for sperm whales

Posted on by

Nearly 300 sq miles of water on west of Caribbean island to be designated as a reserve for endangered animals

The tiny Caribbean island of Dominica is creating the world’s first marine protected area for one of Earth’s largest animals: the endangered sperm whale.

Nearly 300 sq miles (800 sq km) of royal blue waters on the western side of the island nation that serve as key nursing and feeding grounds will be designated as a reserve, the government announced on Monday.

Continue reading...

Baltic Sea faces ‘critical challenges’ on climate and biodiversity, report warns

Posted on by

Audit finds ‘little to no improvement’ in health of sea between 2016 and 2021, as Swedish coastguard battles oil spill

The Baltic Sea faces “critical challenges” due to the climate crisis and degradation of biodiversity, a report has said, as Sweden’s coastguard battled to contain the impact of an oil spill off the country’s southern shore.

In the most comprehensive audit of its kind to date, experts at the Baltic Marine Environment Protection Commission (Helcom) said on Tuesday there had been “little to no improvement” in the health of the body of water between 2016 and 2021.

Continue reading...

Rescuers free humpback whale ‘hog-tied’ to 300lb crab pot in Alaska

Posted on by

Local residents discovered trapped whale ‘trailing two buoys, making unusual sounds and having trouble moving freely’

A young humpback whale was freed by rescuers in Alaska after it was discovered hog-tied to a 300-lb crab pot.

The rescue, which occurred on 11 October, came after two local residents discovered the trapped whale a day earlier in the coastal waters near Gustavus, a city close to Glacier Bay national park in the southernmost part of Alaska. Researchers estimate the whale to be about three to four years old.

Continue reading...

Scottish whale watchers’ photos used to gain insights into animals’ habits

Posted on by

Images taken by public reveal insights into threatened minke whales, including finding the most attention-seeking whale

Snowy is the oldest known minke whale in Europe, while Knobble appears to adore attention – or, at least, the whale has been spotted more than 60 times since 2002, mostly close to the Isle of Mull.

Photographic records of minke whales submitted by members of the public are being published in a digital catalogue, providing insights about the threatened species.

Continue reading...

‘It’s a poor product ’: leading UK chefs join campaign to cast farmed salmon off menu

Posted on by

Ethical concerns over sustainability and welfare have seen venues offering new choices to ubiquitous ‘chicken of the sea’

Salmon has undergone a rapid transformation in recent decades. Once a special treat, it is now ubiquitous. From drinks reception canapés to wedding functions, Christmas smoked salmon or simply wrapped in foil and baked on a week night, salmon is everywhere.

Scotland is world renowned for salmon production, and the fish makes up 40% of its total food exports; it is also Britain’s most valuable food export. Healthy, low in saturated fats and high in omega-3, salmon is a success story.

Continue reading...

Similar numbers of male and female turtles hatched at Coral Sea site give hope for survival of species

Posted on by

Sex determination of sea turtles is temperature dependent, with the proportion of female hatchlings increasing when nests are warmer

Similar numbers of female and male green and hawksbill turtles are hatching in the Coral Sea’s Conflict Islands, new research suggests, despite global heating increasingly leading to “extreme feminisation” of sea turtles.

Sea turtles are particularly susceptible to the effects of global heating because their sex determination is temperature dependent, with the proportion of female hatchlings increasing when nests are warmer.

Continue reading...

Severe plankton bloom off Thailand creates marine ‘dead zone’

Posted on by

Hundreds of mussel farm sites in Gulf of Thailand affected by regular blooms that scientists believe are exacerbated by climate crisis

An unusually dense plankton bloom off the eastern coast of Thailand is creating an aquatic “dead zone”, threatening the livelihood of local fishers who farm mussels in the waters.

Marine scientists say some areas in the Gulf of Thailand have more than 10 times the normal amount of plankton, turning the water a bright green and killing off marine life.

Continue reading...

Portsmouth exhibition celebrates Royal Navy’s role in ocean exploration

Posted on by

Worlds Beneath the Waves at the National Museum of the Royal Navy marks 150 years since HMS Challenger expedition

From the early days of deepwater exploration when it took a crew of 250 to keep the ship steady enough to collect samples, to the modern-day era of hi-tech minisubs, a century and a half of oceanographic missions is being celebrated.

An exhibition at the National Museum of the Royal Navy, Portsmouth has been launched to mark 150 years since HMS Challenger’s remarkable circumnavigation of the world in search of the mysteries of the deep – a mission that led to the discovery of thousands of new species of sea creature and the Mariana Trench.

Continue reading...

‘Makes your heart drop’: confronting images show dolphins and seals ensnared by NSW shark nets

Posted on by

Exclusive: Minns government forced to release photos as it pushes ahead with the same shark meshing program for coming season

Images of sea creatures including bleeding dolphins and drowned seals that died in shark nets along the New South Wales coastline last summer have been released by the state government as it pushes ahead with the same meshing program for the coming season.

The graphic Department of Primary Industries photos, obtained by a conservationist under information access laws, show animals that died after being caught in the nets at 10 different beaches between September 2022 and April this year.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

NSW surfer bitten by great white shark faces further surgery and long rehabilitation, family says

Posted on by

Father-of-two Toby Begg, 44, is in a serious but stable condition in hospital following serious injuries ‘from his hip to calf and lower legs’

A surfer bitten by a great white shark at a Port Macquarie beach on Friday faces “many surgeries and has years of rehabilitation ahead of him”, his family has said as he recovers in hospital.

Father-of-two Toby Begg, 44, was attacked by the great white, estimated at 4m long, as he surfed at Lighthouse beach on Friday morning.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

NSW shark attack: surfer in critical condition fought off great white before swimming to shore

Posted on by

Police say the man reportedly tried to fight the shark for 30 seconds at Port Macquarie’s Lighthouse beach

A surfer at a New South Wales beach fought off a great white shark and swam back to shore while suffering from serious leg injuries, police say.

The 44-year-old man was in hospital in a critical condition on Friday night after he was bitten by a shark at Lighthouse beach at 10am in Port Macquarie in northern NSW.

Continue reading...

Tokitae, the star of Miami Seaquarium, dies after half a century in captivity

Posted on by

The beloved orca, born into the L-pod of resident killer whales in the Pacific north-west, was awaiting release into her home waters

The whale who began her life in the cold waters of the Pacific north-west only to end up in a small enclosure at the Miami Seaquarium has died. On Friday afternoon, a social media post announced that Toki – who was also known by her performing name Lolita, and the name the Lummi tribe gave her, Sk’aliCh’elh-tenaut – had died. She was believed to be 57.

A Facebook post from the Miami Seaquarium reported she died from what was believed to be a renal condition. “Toki was an inspiration to all who had the fortune to hear her story and especially to the Lummi nation that considered her family,” the Seaquarium post said. “Those of us who have had the honor and privilege to spend time with her will forever remember her beautiful spirit.”

Continue reading...

‘Huge’ coral bleaching unfolding across the Americas prompts fears of global tragedy

Posted on by

Scientists stunned by unprecedented heat-stress event say they can only hope it ‘motivates and unites people’

Corals across several countries are bleaching and dying en masse from unprecedented levels of heat stress, prompting fears that an unfolding tragedy in Central America, North America and the Caribbean could become a global event.

US government scientists have confirmed reefs in Panama, Colombia, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Mexico and six countries in the Caribbean, including the Bahamas and Cuba, are suffering significant bleaching, alongside corals in Florida that began turning white almost a month ago.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

African penguins could be extinct by 2035, campaigners say

Posted on by

Population has declined dramatically due to overfishing and environmental changes in the Indian Ocean

African penguins are on track for extinction by 2035 if measures are not taken to ensure their survival, campaigners have said.

The population of African penguins has declined dramatically over the past 100 years. In the early 20th century, it is thought that there were probably several million breeding pairs: today, fewer than 11,000 breeding pairs remain, and the population continues to fall sharply.

Continue reading...

Seals practise social distancing, aerial survey of North Sea shows

Posted on by

Research suggests behaviour may reflect evolutionary response to previous outbreaks of disease

Aerial surveys of the North Sea have revealed that seals practise social distancing – and the discovery may have profound implications for the spread of disease among the marine mammals.

In a paper published today by the Royal Society, researchers conducting censuses of grey and harbour seals detail new evidence that the two species not only maintain distances between their own kind (unlike walruses, for instance, who cluster close together) but also that this behaviour may “reflect an evolutionary response to viral susceptibility”.

Continue reading...

Newly discovered whale species could have been heaviest animal ever

Posted on by

Fossils found in Peru from extinct species show it may have had body mass of 85-340 tonnes – heavier than blue whales

The fossilised bones of an ancient creature that patrolled coastal waters 40m years ago belong to a newly discovered species that is a contender for the heaviest animal ever to have existed on Earth.

Fossil hunters discovered remnants of the enormous and long-extinct whale in a rock formation in the Ica desert of southern Peru. Fully grown adults might have weighed hundreds of tonnes, researchers believe.

Continue reading...