Marine Life & Conservation
UK Sharks And Cetaceans Need Urgent Protection
The sharks and cetaceans of the UK’s seas need protection from pollution, over-fishing, boat traffic and marine development, a report says.
The Wildlife Trusts are calling on the government to create 17 protected zones for whales, dolphins, porpoises and sharks around the coasts of England and Wales.
Their report says that current policy fails to safeguard cetaceans.
The government says it is working to support the creatures, but it adds that it is not convinced protected zones offer the best way forward.
The Trusts argue that survival rates will improve if ministers designate areas where nutrient-rich water wells up from the deep ocean, feeding plankton which in turn attract species of fish.
They say that these areas should be free from intensive boat-use, bottom trawling, scallop-dredging and noisy development of offshore structures like wind farms.
The UK Government is working towards what it calls an ecologically coherent network of Marine Protected Areas. But the Trusts’ report said that”There’s a glaring omission: the absence of protection for the nutrient-rich places on which marine megafauna most depend.”
It says in England and Wales only one Special Area of Conservation – in Cardigan Bay – has been designated specifically to protect bottlenose dolphins. The Scottish government has earmarked three potential zones for protecting whales, dolphins and basking sharks.
Joan Edwards, of the Wildlife Trusts, said “These charismatic creatures are under threat. There’s a significant gap in marine protection policy – we have to do more.”
The report says the seas round the UK have 29 different species of whale, dolphin and porpoise and the second largest shark in the world – the basking shark. It says the reported numbers of many of the creatures have been falling.
HOTSPOTS PROPOSED FOR PROTECTION
- Farnes East, Coquet to St Marys – notable for white-beaked dolphin, harbour porpoise and minke whale
- Mid St George’s Channel – notable for common dolphin
- Bideford North to Foreland Point – notable for harbour porpoise
- East of Celtic Deep – common dolphin and fin whale
- Celtic Deep – common dolphin and fin whale
- South of Celtic Deep – common dolphin and fin whale
- Western Channel – common dolphin, humpback whale and fin whale
- Manacles – basking shark, harbour porpoise and (seasonally) minke whale
- Lizard, Western channel – common dolphin, harbour porpoise, bottlenose dolphin and basking shark
- Lyme Bay – harbour porpoise
- North and west coasts of Anglesey – harbour porpoise
- Lleyn Peninsula and the Sarnau – harbour porpoise and Risso’s dolphin
- Cardigan Bay – harbour porpoise
- Pembrokeshire Marine – harbour porpoise
- North of Celtic Deep – common dolphin.
- Eastern coastline including Silver Pit – harbour porpoise
- Dogger bank – notable for harbour porpoise and white-beaked dolphin
A Defra spokesperson said “We recognise the importance of whales and dolphins – these are much loved, iconic animals which form a vital part of the marine ecosystem.
“But they can move across large areas of sea, so for this reason Marine Protected Areas may not be the most effective way to protect them. That’s why we continue to focus our efforts on more effective measures, such as reducing by-catch in fisheries.”
Joan Edwards replied: “We know dolphins, whales and sharks frequent areas of high productivity and use these areas not just for feeding but for important life stages such as mating and giving birth.
“Over 900 areas of high productivity have been designated as MPAs for cetaceans around the world – England and Wales are lagging behind.
“We accept that MPAs alone are unlikely to be the answer – yet they are a vital first step.”
The UK government is facing the risk of infraction by the European commission because it has not identified more MPAs for porpoises.
Source: www.bbc.co.uk/news
Photo: Paul Naylor
The Ocean Cleanup, the global non-profit project, has removed a verified all-time total of ten million kilograms (22 million lbs.) of trash from oceans and rivers around the world – approximately the same weight as the Eiffel Tower.
To complete its mission of ridding the oceans of plastic, The Ocean Cleanup uses a dual strategy: cleaning up the Great Pacific Garbage Patch (GPGP) to remove the plastic already afloat in the oceans, while stopping the flow of plastic from the world’s most polluting rivers.
Through cleaning operations in the GPGP and in rivers in eight countries, the cumulative total of trash removed has now surpassed ten million kilograms. This milestone demonstrates the acceleration of The Ocean Cleanup’s impact, while underlining the astonishing scale of the plastic pollution problem and the need for continued support and action.
While encouraging for the mission, this milestone is only a staging point: millions more tons of plastic still pollute our oceans and The Ocean Cleanup intends to continue learning, improving and innovating to solve this global catastrophe.
This announcement comes as governments from around the world meet to continue negotiations to develop a new legally binding instrument to end plastic pollution at INC4 in Ottawa, Canada. Representatives of The Ocean Cleanup will be in attendance and the organization will be urging decision-makers to collaborate towards a comprehensive and ambitious global treaty which addresses plastic at all stages of its life cycle and in all marine environments worldwide, including in areas beyond national jurisdiction.
It is encouraging to see that the need for remediation is reflected in the various options for potential treaty provisions. It is essential that the final treaty contains clear targets for the remediation of legacy plastic pollution, and reduction of riverine plastic emissions.
Tackling plastic pollution requires innovative and impactful solutions. The treaty should therefore incentivize the innovation ecosystem by fostering innovations that make maximal use of data, technology and scientific knowledge – such as those designed and deployed by The Ocean Cleanup.
‘After many tough years of trial and error, it’s amazing to see our work is starting to pay off – and I am proud of the team who has brought us to this point.’ said Boyan Slat, Founder and CEO of The Ocean Cleanup. ‘While we still have a long way to go, our recent successes fill us with renewed confidence that the oceans can be cleaned.’
The Ocean Cleanup was founded in 2013 and captured its first plastic in 2019, with the first confirmed catch in the GPGP coming soon after the deployment of Interceptor 001 in Jakarta, Indonesia. After surpassing one million kilograms of trash removed in early 2022, the non-profit project has since progressed to the third iteration of its GPGP cleaning solution, known as System 03, and a network of Interceptors currently covering rivers in eight countries, with more deployments set for 2024.
About The Ocean Cleanup
The Ocean Cleanup is an international non-profit organization that develops and scales technologies to rid the world’s oceans of plastic. They aim to achieve this goal through a dual strategy: stemming the inflow via rivers and cleaning up the legacy plastic that has already accumulated in the ocean. For the latter, The Ocean Cleanup develops large-scale systems to efficiently concentrate the plastic for periodic removal. This plastic is tracked and traced through DNV’s chain of custody model to certify claims of origin when recycling it into new products. To curb the tide via rivers, The Ocean Cleanup has developed Interceptor™ solutions to halt and extract riverine plastic before it reaches the ocean. Founded in 2013 by Boyan Slat, The Ocean Cleanup now employs a broadly multi-disciplined team of approximately 140. The foundation is headquartered in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
For more information, visit: theoceancleanup.com and follow @theoceancleanup on social media.
Marine Life & Conservation
Steve Backshall to headline Shark Trust’s flagship event: For the Love of Sharks
Join a host of amazing, shark loving, speakers including Steve Backshall and the Shark Trust team for an evening celebrating shark conservation at the Royal Geographical Society in London this November.
Date: 29th November 2024
Time: 6-10pm
Location: Royal Geographical Society, London
Tickets: https://www.sharktrust.org/Event/flos24
The event will be a celebration of all things shark. Those lucky enough to get hold of tickets will hear from engaging guest speakers with a passion for sharks.
The line-up includes (*subject to change if unforeseen circumstances arise)
Steve Backshall: One of television’s busiest presenters, BAFTA award-winning wildlife expert Steve has been passionate about the wild world ever since he was young.
Steve’s impressive TV career has taken him all around the world, investigating a wide array of species and environments. Steve has filmed over 100 hours of children’s wildlife programmes with the BAFTA award winning Deadly 60 franchise and recently, with Sky Nature, for his new series ‘Whale with Steve Backshall’. He has been a patron for the Shark Trust for 10 years.
Simon Rogerson: is a photojournalist specialising in natural history, diving and the sea.
He is editor of SCUBA magazine, the official journal of the British Sub-Aqua Club. Simon started his career as a crime reporter but gravitated towards his ‘less depressing’ interest in underwater exploration, joining the staff of DIVE magazine in 1999. In 2005 he was named ‘Editor of the Year’ in the PPA’s Independent Publishing Awards. Simon also works as a freelance writer, contributing frequently to the Sunday Times and Telegraph, in addition to BBC Wildlife, Esquire, and a host of international diving magazines. He is the author of a book, Dive Red Sea, published by Ultimate Sports. Now based in Berkshire, Simon has been a Patron of the Shark Trust for 20 years.
More speakers to be announced soon. Head to the Shark Trust website to learn more.
The evening will also allow guests the final chance to see the Oceanic 31, shark art exhibition. Some of the artwork will be auctioned/raffled at the event, while the rest will be auctioned online to raise money for the Shark Trust Oceanic Programme.
For the Love of Sharks is an evening with something for everyone who is interested and fascinated by sharks. Join the Shark Trust, their Patrons, Trustees and Staff, along with a host of supporters for this celebration of shark conservation.
For more information or to buy a ticket: https://www.sharktrust.org/Event/flos24
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