Breaking Waves: Ocean News

‘Slavish’ catch limits ignored scientific advice, say conservationists in case against Defra

admin — Thu, 06 Mar 2025 12:02:33 +0000

Blue Marine Foundation charity asks high court to declare quota decision unlawful amid concern over sustainability of fish stocks

At the start of 2024, Jerry Percy, who led the New Under Ten Fishermen’s Association, dedicated to small boats, said he started to receive lots of calls from members. “They were calling my office to report that a lack of fish in the inshore grounds were putting their livelihoods in peril,” he said.

The fishers said they had noticed a depletion of species such as pollack, typically caught off Britain’s coasts.

Why fear of billion-dollar lawsuits stops countries phasing out fossil fuels

admin — Thu, 06 Mar 2025 10:00:14 +0000

Companies can sue governments for closing oilfields and mines – and the risk of huge damages is already stopping countries from passing green laws, ministers say

Promise to phase out lead from UK game shooting has failed, study finds

admin — Thu, 06 Mar 2025 06:00:21 +0000

Vow in 2020 aimed to keep shot out of human food chain but study finds most game carcasses still contain lead

A voluntary promise to phase out toxic lead shot in the UK has failed, meaning wildlife and human health are being put at risk, a study has found.

‘The entire coastline will be cemented over’: the tiny Italian town set to become a dock for giant cruise ships

admin — Thu, 06 Mar 2025 05:00:19 +0000

Only 20 miles from Italy’s capital, Isola Sacra was ignored for years but now Royal Caribbean has plans to turn it into a major new port

On a cloudy day in January, Isola Sacra, a hamlet in Fiumicino, 20 miles from Rome, does not look like a place that would attract masses of tourists. Low-rise family homes with small gardens alternate with meadows and fields and life has the sedate pace of a provincial town.

Navigating trade-offs on conservation: the use of participatory mapping in maritime spatial planning

admin — Thu, 06 Mar 2025 05:00:00 +0000

npj Ocean Sustainability, Published online: 06 March 2025; doi:10.1038/s44183-025-00109-6

Navigating trade-offs on conservation: the use of participatory mapping in maritime spatial planning

Global sea ice hit ‘all-time minimum’ in February, scientists say

admin — Thu, 06 Mar 2025 03:00:14 +0000

Scientists called the news ‘particularly worrying’ because ice reflects sunlight and cools the planet

Global sea ice fell to a record low in February, scientists have said, a symptom of an atmosphere fouled by planet-heating pollutants.

The combined area of ice around the north and south poles hit a new daily minimum in early February and stayed below the previous record for the rest of the month, the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) said on Thursday.

River campaigners to sue Ofwat over water bill rises

admin — Thu, 06 Mar 2025 00:01:11 +0000

Group claims regulator signed off on ‘broken system’ making customers pay for industry’s neglect

An environmental group is to take legal action against Ofwat, the water regulator, accusing it of unlawfully making customers pay for decades of neglect by the water industry.

BoM tracking map forecast shows category 2 storm hitting Brisbane and south-east Qld; landfall in Queensland and NSW delayed as storm slows – latest news

admin — Wed, 05 Mar 2025 23:54:14 +0000

This blog is now closed

Rodent for dinner? California officials urge residents to eat invasive nutria

admin — Wed, 05 Mar 2025 21:27:10 +0000

Wildlife experts claim nutria, which destroy habitats with voracious eating habits, taste like rabbit or dark turkey meat

Wildlife officials are encouraging California residents to add a rodent to their daily diet as part of efforts to control the invasive species’ population.

The nutria, a large, semi-aquatic rodent native to South America, is threatening the state’s ecosystems by destroying habitats and outcompeting native wildlife. The nutria’s harmful impacts have prompted wildlife officials to promote hunting and consumption as possible solutions.

Florida sugar company’s environmental claims are ‘greenwashing’, lawsuit says

admin — Wed, 05 Mar 2025 18:55:44 +0000

Plaintiffs say Florida Crystals’ farming method that blights minority neighborhoods belies its climate-friendly claims

A major sugar company has been accused of harmful environmental practices while claiming to be a leader in the fight against the climate crisis, in a class-action lawsuit filed on Wednesday.