Unsuspecting British customers are being sold endangered shark meat in their fish & chips and at their local fishmongers. A new study using DNA barcoding has shown the problem is much more common than you might think. Fish & chips are about as British as it gets when it comes to take away food. … More Fancy some salt & vinegar with your shark?
Plans are progressing for the UK’s first National Marine Park to be created in the Plymouth Sound area. But what does it mean? Who’s involved? And will it be effective? Plymouth is a key part of marine science and conservation work in the UK. Not only does it boast some of the most diverse habitats … More Plymouth set to create the UK’s first National Marine Park
Nurdles are tiny pellets used in the production of plastics that, due to mismanagement and spills, are now polluting the oceans. Despite their size they can cause big problems for marine life and now cover a large portion of our coastlines. If you have never heard of a nurdle before then you are probably not … More Nurdles: the plastic pellets polluting our oceans
In the marine world animals like whales and dolphins rely heavily on sound for communication, foraging and navigation. But increased noise pollution from human activities are impacting these behaviours in a big way. On the surface it is hard to imagine that the ocean could be very noisy but in reality it is filled with … More Noise pollution in the sonic sea
The loss of acoustically tagged sharks in a Marine Protected Area (MPA) have been shown to overlap with illegal fishing activity. Could electronic tags be used as ‘theft alarms’ to prevent the practise in the future? A paper published this week in Animal Biotelemetry has shown that the sudden loss of tracking data from sharks … More Using shark tags as ‘theft alarms’
A sushi tycoon from Japan has paid a record £2.5 million for a single Atlantic bluefin tuna in an infamous Tokyo fish market auction. What are the resulting implications for this endangered species? Japanese businessman Kiyoshi Kimura paid a record fee to land the first Atlantic bluefin tuna of the year sold at the Toyusu … More Endangered bluefin tuna sold for record fee in Tokyo market
An ambitious project aims to completely map all the coral reefs on the planet by 2020 using the world’s largest fleet of Earth-observing satellites. One of the most well-known and cited facts about the Great Barrier Reef is that it is so large it can be seen from space. But it turns out that using … More Saving coral reefs from space
Japan have confirmed they will begin commercial whaling again for the first time in over 30 years in what has been widely viewed as a big step backwards in efforts to conserve whale populations. Some unwelcome news for conservationists this Christmas as Japan revealed they will begin commercially hunting whales in the New Year. Japan … More Japan set to restart commercial whaling in New Year
The results are in from the biggest beach clean-up event in British history and they’re not as bad as you might think. Between 14th and 17th September just short of 15,000 volunteers took part in The Great British Beach Clean 2018, over double the number of the previous year. The event was run by the … More The results of Britain’s biggest ever beach clean
A group of major conservation organisations have called for action from the UK government to protect a crucial overseas territory and its marine life. Major conservation groups including WWF, Greenpeace, RSPB and the Marine Conservation Society have this week called for action from the UK government in an ad placed in the Telegraph. The … More UK government urged to create new marine reserve
