Marine Life & Conservation
Every Little Helps
A nice glassy morning dive before the promised wind due to arrive in the evening. I was once again out with Mark from Atlantic Scuba and we were going to look at a small reef area that was by all accounts pretty well un-dived. It’s always exciting going into new areas. You never know what will turn up, could be something amazing and then again, maybe not.
The visibility was poor but we were only diving in 19 metres of water. The bottom was a mixture of rock and broken shell and the kelp was starting to loose its fine summer gloss.
Our first encounter was with a couple of Cuckoo Wrasse. A male and female. The female was a little timid at first while the male had no reservations about coming close to see what we were and what we were doing.
It was the Cornish fishermen who gave the name Cuckoo to the Wrasse as the blue markings reminded them of bluebell flowers. In the Cornish language a bluebell is “bleujenn an gog” literally the cuckoo flower.
The Cuckoo Wrasse are all born as females and it is only in adulthood that some change into males for breeding. They then build a nest and attract a female with a courtship display.
Moving across the reef a lobster caught my eye while trying to slowly hide behind a frond of kelp and back up slowly into the nearest hole. It was in perfect condition and looked as if it had moulted recently. The younger lobsters, up to about 5 years old, can moult approximately 25 times a year. They do this because they have an exoskeleton and it is impossible for them to grow inside it. Hence they regularly shed the old shell or skeleton and grow a new one to fit the new body size. The old shell is then eaten for the calcium which will help strengthen the new one.
The lobster is a very opportunistic feeder and will consume a great variety of foods. Crabs, mussels, starfish, even slow moving fish are all part of its diet. In hard times they will even eat sea weeds and sponges as well as carrion found on the sea floor. Hence it is easy to lure them into a lobster pot with a piece of dead fish.
As I moved away from the lobster and turned to where I knew Mark was waiting, a small dogfish broke from its cover and glided further along the reef and out of sight. They usually like to sleep in the day and hunt at night.
Mark had his back to me and as I came around to see what he was doing a young Spider crab scuttled away between his legs. He had just freed it from a bundle of discarded nylon fishing net. The crab had obviously been trying to feed on the remains of an earlier victim of the net and in doing so had been caught itself. The cycle would have gone on for years into the future, silently killing all that became entangled. The Wrasse, the Lobster and the Dogfish could well have been next.
Mark brought the net up to the boat and once back at dock disposed of it. Not a world changing action on its own but if we all do the same then every little helps.
If you would like more information on ‘Ghost Fishing’ visit www.ghostfishing.org
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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