Authorities had begun hunting sharks after a series of attacks in 2023 and say they will appeal the decision
A court in New Caledonia’s capital Noumea has ordered authorities to stop culling sharks, a practice brought in after a series of attacks last year, one of which killed an Australian tourist.
The administrative court said that the systematic culls were “disproportionate in regard to the aim of protecting human life,” in a judgment made public on 28 December.
Continue reading...‘Sea sparkles’ appeared at Hobart’s waterfront, the NSW mid-north coast and Sydney’s Manly, with hundreds delighting in the natural phenomenon
Revellers along the Hobart waterfront welcomed in the new year with the glow of fireworks in the sky – and bright, blue bioluminescence lighting up the ocean.
With an easterly wind bringing the “sea sparkle” to the east coast, onlookers were treated to a truly glowing end to 2023.
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Continue reading...A group of 10 orcas has been seen leaping into the air to catch prey, delighting watchers and experts for the past two weeks
Experts and whale watchers have been dazzled by a series of orca sightings off the southern California coast that are being described as “extremely rare”.
A group of 10 whales – including a calf just a few months old – has been spotted for the past two weeks off the coast of southern California, between Oxnard and San Diego. Images from social media show the giant creatures leaping into the air to catch dolphins and coming within feet of boats full of eager viewers.
Continue reading...Khai Cowley, 15, was killed by a suspected great white shark off Ethel beach on the Yorke Peninsula
A teenage boy killed in a shark attack off the coast of South Australia has been remembered as a talented and dearly loved member of the surfing community.
The 15-year-old, identified by friends and a family member as Khai Cowley, was mauled by a suspected great white while surfing off the remote Ethel beach on the Yorke Peninsula west of Adelaide about 1.30pm on Thursday.
Continue reading...Body recovered from ocean off Dhilba Guuranda-Innes national park on the Yorke Peninsula
A teenage boy has died after a shark attack near Ethel Beach in South Australia, police say.
At 1.30pm on Thursday police received reports of a shark attack in Dhilba Guuranda-Innes national park, on the Yorke Peninsula.
Continue reading...Temporary roadside barriers set up to channel tens of millions of crabs migrating to the coastline
The welcome mat has been rolled out for scores of red crabs as they make their annual coastal dash on Christmas Island.
Each year, the first substantial rain of the wet season triggers tens of millions of adult red crabs to leave their forest homes, in the interior of the island, and march towards the coast to mate and spawn.
Continue reading...The sardines and mackerel were found floating on the surface of the sea near the fishing port of Hakodate in Hokkaido
Officials in Japan have admitted they are struggling to determine why hundreds of tonnes of fish have washed ashore in recent days.
Earlier this month, an estimated 1,200 tonnes of sardines and mackerel were found floating on the surface of the sea off the fishing port of Hakodate in Hokkaido, forming a silver blanket stretching for more than a kilometre.
Continue reading...Woman was reported to have just gotten married and the man paddleboarding with her as her groom
A shark attacked and killed a Boston newlywed off the coast of the Bahamas on Monday, according to authorities and reports.
Local police said the woman, 44, was bit by a shark at about 11.15am in New Providence. The woman was paddleboarding with a man at the time of the attack, presumed to be her husband.
Continue reading...Environmental groups allege some of the supermarkets’ salmon is from Tasmanian farms reportedly having ‘catastrophic’ impact on ancient Maugean skate
Major supermarkets may be misleading consumers that their salmon products are responsibly sourced as some is produced in Tasmanian farms that are “far from sustainable”, environmental groups say.
The Environmental Defenders Office, acting on behalf of four environmental groups, has made a complaint to the consumer watchdog, urging it to investigate whether “responsibly sourced” labelling on seafood products and promotional material used by Coles, Woolworths and Aldi have broken consumer law by misleading consumers.
Continue reading...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.
Continue reading...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.
Continue reading...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...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...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...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...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...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...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...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...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.
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