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Cetaceans and conservation: My summer with the CRRU

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Cetacean

Summer breaks are the opportunity for people to explore new areas and to relax in the sunshine. Mine however took a different angle, spending it in a small village in the north of Scotland. The north east Scottish coastline has a high biodiversity of marine mammals, and provides the perfect setting for innovative work in marine conservation.

The Banff-based CRRU (Cetacean Research & Rescue Unit) was set up in 1997, growing in size thanks to its unstoppable group of dedicated volunteers. Come rain or shine, they are working to improve our knowledge of cetaceans (whales, dolphins and porpoises) in our UK waters, from the ever-popular bottlenose dolphin to the lesser known minke whale.

Cetacean

So where do I start? My summer with the CRRU was a completely eye opening experience. It was my first volunteer experience in this field as a research intern, and I saw more species than I could possibly list; rare birds and marine mammals which people only dream of seeing. But I also felt like I made a difference. Even in my short time there. Not a single day there was ever the same, allowing me to develop different skills and learn different tactics for conservation.

Cetacean

The first few days I was there, a lot of our time was used to learn. Learning about the charity, how to collect data, about the species we would be working with and why what is being done is so important. This allowed the research teams to bond and learn how to work together quickly and effectively so when we finally found the animals we could complete the necessary data forms quickly, thereby causing minimum disruption to the study animals.

The rest of my time was spent between conservation, fund-raising, research and of course having fun! We would spend our days doing a variety of different activities, from beach cleans to watching gannet colonies from the cliff tops.

Cetacean

The charity has an unfathomable amount of publications on the work that they do, and their papers, research and data are used globally for the protection of the species studied. The charity’s science team works tirelessly throughout the summer in Scotland to collect data to improve current knowledge of the whales and dolphins of the Moray Firth. So far, their work has been invaluable to the protection of minke whales in north-east coastal waters resulting in recommendation for the first ever MPA (Marine Protected Area) for these coastal cetaceans in the UK.

Cetacean

Due to being a relatively small charity, the CRRU has limited funding, however. Currently all of their work is being carried-out from one of two small, rigid inflatable boats, but ongoing fundraising is being conducted for a new, much larger vessel which would allow the charity to continue its long-term monitoring studies. The current boats, first used in 2000, are becoming too old and are struggling to keep up with the increasing workload. The research team has a wide variety of work they are attempting to do from the boats when they meet their study species. Currently they are attempting to get biopsies from minke whales to allow them to learn more about what the whales are eating and evaluate the levels of pollutants in their bodies and the surrounding marine environment. They also do behavioural studies and attempt to do temporary tagging of whales so they can study their movements and diving behaviour, which is all very relevant to abundance estimates currently used to designate unfavourable whaling quotas to neighbouring whaling countries such as Norway and Iceland, that sadly still harvest these whales. The new boat will also be central to the CRRU’s emergency response teams for live-stranded whales and dolphins across Scotland. The larger boat will allow the rescue teams to carry more equipment and operate in often inclement and unfavourable sea conditions.

Cetacean

While I was with the CRRU, I was able to gain a qualification in Marine Mammal Rescue, which means I can now act as a volunteer Marine Mammal Medic, assisting in ongoing UK rescue efforts for sick or stranded whales and dolphins which inevitably get into trouble around the UK coastline each year. The course, which is made up of both practical and theory based sessions is run by the charity as a free service to interested volunteers. So far they have trained over 1,600 people in Scotland. They don’t do this work for the research but to look after the welfare of the animals. The CRRU have a 24/7 line for people to call if they find a stranded marine animal, and they operate the only dedicated specialist response team for whales, dolphins and porpoises in Scotland. For more information about the charity’s rescue efforts, Check out their website here.

Don’t just take my word for it – to me and many people who have joined the CRRU as a volunteer intern, this is an amazing opportunity with fantastic people who know so much in this field. So why don’t you try it out too? Summer placements are now being accepted for 2017 – click here to find out more.

If you would like to donate towards the new boat, you can also help by clicking on their fundraising page here.

Lauren Fidler is a Marine Biology and Oceanography student at Plymouth university, hoping to specialise in marine conservation. She is also a keen diver and photographer.

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The Ocean Cleanup Launches 30 Cities Program to Cut Ocean Plastic Pollution from Rivers by One Third by 2030

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The Ocean Cleanup

The Ocean Cleanup, the international non-profit with the mission to rid the world’s oceans of plastic, has announced, at the UN Ocean Conference (UNOC), its plan to rapidly expand its work to intercept and remove ocean-bound plastic pollution.

The 30 Cities Program will scale the organization’s proven Interceptor™ solutions across 30 key cities in Asia and the Americas, aiming to eliminate up to one third of all plastic flowing from the world’s rivers into the ocean before the end of the decade.

This evolution follows five years of learning through pioneering deployments across 20 of the world’s most polluting rivers and represents a key next step in the organization’s mission and the global fight against ocean plastic pollution.

The Ocean Cleanup

With the 30 Cities Program, The Ocean Cleanup will transition from single river deployments to citywide solutions, tackling the main plastic emitting waterways within each selected city. This follows a key learning from deployments in Kingston, Jamaica, which showed it is possible to scale faster when projects encompass whole cities, as the same set of partners can be involved with all deployments.

To date, The Ocean Cleanup has already prevented 29 million kilograms of trash from reaching the ocean. The organization currently intercepts an estimated 1–3 percent of global river-borne plastic emissions. With the first 20 river deployments close to being fully operational, it is now poised to reduce the plastic pollution flowing into the ocean from rivers by up to a third.

“When we take on an entire city, instead of individual rivers, we can scale faster, reduce costs, and maximize impact,” said Boyan Slat, Founder and CEO of The Ocean Cleanup. “Our analysis shows that strategically deploying Interceptors across just 30 carefully chosen cities can stop up to a third of river plastic pollution worldwide. This is the next big leap toward our ultimate goal of a 90  percent reduction in global ocean plastic pollution.”

City-by-city: a Faster Path to Scaling

Using the latest scientific modeling and on the ground experience, The Ocean Cleanup identified 30 major plastic polluting coastal cities which include:

Panama City, Panama – First deployment to go live in the coming months.
Mumbai, India – Mapping of all waterways completed; preparations for first deployments underway.

Furthermore, the organization is developing plans to expand on its existing work to all polluting rivers in:

• Manila, Philippines; Montego Bay, Jamaica; Jakarta, Indonesia; Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Bangkok, Thailand and Los Angeles, U.S.A.

Other cities will be announced once the necessary partnerships and agreements are in place. Planning and fundraising activities are underway for all 30 cities. To realize these ambitious plans, the organization is currently also expanding its engineering and operational capacity.

Data Driven Restoration at Scale

Before Interceptors are deployed, each city project begins with an intensive analysis phase. Aerial drones, AI-powered image analysis, and GPS-tagged “dummy” plastics are used to chart every visible waterway and track how waste moves from streets to sea. These real-time insights guide optimal Interceptor placement and provide a public baseline against which progress can be measured.

Alongside intercepting new plastic, the 30 Cities Program will also remove debris from nearby coasts, mangroves, and coral reefs. This twin-track approach—shutting off the tap while clearing the legacy pollution—enables The Ocean Cleanup to achieve long-term impact, which includes the restoration of fish nursery habitats, boosting coastal tourism, and strengthening of natural storm surge defenses for local communities. Alongside local partners, the organization also advocates for improvements in waste management and awareness raising amongst communities.

The Ocean Cleanup

Completing the First 20 Rivers

While laying the foundation for the 30 Cities Program, The Ocean Cleanup is also nearing completion of its first 20 river projects. The next landmark achievement—expected as soon as the second half of this year—is in the western Caribbean, where the team aims to resolve the plastic pollution problem in the Gulf of Honduras by intercepting the trash feeding into this body of water.

A Stepping Stone Toward a 90  Percent Reduction

The 30 Cities Program represents the first major scaling step in The Ocean Cleanup’s journey to eliminate 90 percent of floating ocean plastic pollution. In parallel, efforts are continuing to remove plastic from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Whilst extraction operations are currently on hiatus, work to deploy cutting edge technologies to map the “hotspots”, or areas of intense plastic accumulation, in order to make future extractions more efficient and economical, is ongoing.

By combining river interception and coastal cleanup with its offshore cleanup systems targeting legacy pollution that’s already in the ocean, the organization is charting a path to turn off the tap and mop up the mess.

The Ocean Cleanup

About The Ocean Cleanup

The Ocean Cleanup is a nonprofit organization that develops and scales technologies to rid the oceans of plastic. By conducting extensive research, engineering scalable solutions, and partnering with governments, industry, and like-minded organizations, The Ocean Cleanup is working to stop plastic inflow via rivers and remove legacy plastic already polluting the oceans. As of June 2025, the non-profit has collected over 28 million kilograms (62 million pounds) of trash from aquatic ecosystems around the world. Founded in 2013 by Boyan Slat, The Ocean Cleanup now employs a multi-disciplined team of approximately 200 people. The organization is headquartered in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, with international operations in 10 countries. For more information, visit www.theoceancleanup.com.

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Rescues, Rays, and Darwin the Turtle: My Trip to Biomes Marine Biology Center

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biomes

It’s time to catch up with 12-year-old Mia DaPonte, New England’s youngest ever female PADI Master Scuba Diver, in her latest blog for Scubaverse!

It’s still a little too cold to get in the water here in New England. I wish I had a drysuit! To get my ocean fix, I asked my mom to take me and my friends to the Biomes Marine Biology Center.

What is Biomes? It’s a rescue center near my house that’s home to all kinds of ocean animals—and they’re all local! It’s truly awesome to experience. There are so many cool creatures there, like skates, sharks, stingrays, horseshoe crabs, tropical fish, lobsters, seahorses, octopuses, and even some reptiles that were given up by their owners.

biomes

Darwin the turtle is always fun to watch. He’s huge and has his own home, but he also gets to wander around the place on his own when he feels like it!

They have lots of touch tanks. I got to touch sharks, turtles, and even hold a horseshoe crab! (There’s a little lip on the side of their shell where you can hold them—but don’t do this without permission! Their gills always need to stay in the water.) I also touched stingrays! They felt slimy but rough at the same time.

biomes

One of my favorite things to do is see the octopus and watch it play with the toys in its tank. I always check to see if any seahorses are pregnant and look for the babies when they’re born. The babies are kept in their own tank at first to stay safe, and then moved when they’re big enough.

We got lucky this time—there was a baby skate in a mermaid’s purse that was ready to hatch any day! It was in a special tank with a light. When you press the button, the light turns on so you can see the baby skate moving around inside the purse!

biomes

As our visit was ending, the owner, Mark, sat down with us and told us how he started Biomes. When he was 14 years old, he began rescuing sea animals. His love for the ocean started when he was young—just like mine! As he got older, he started a traveling business, bringing animals to classrooms and doing shows. Eventually, he turned it into something bigger, and now Biomes is a huge center full of rescued animals.

He told us that most of the fish and animals are rescued from fishing boats or the cold waters of New England—places where tropical fish wouldn’t survive the winter. They try to rescue babies whenever they can, so they have a better chance of adapting. Darwin the turtle actually hatched in Mark’s hand!

biomes

My mom gets a pass to Biomes every year because I love going there so much. There are always new animals to see and feedings to watch. One time, I even got to feed the octopus!

If you ever come to Rhode Island, you have to check out Biomes!

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