Blog Archives

Several natural coral reefs located in South Sinai’s internationally renowned Blue Hole and Canyon diving areas in the Red Sea were devastated on Wednesday evening, Egypt’s state-run Rescue and Environmental Protection Society (SEPS) has told Ahram Online.

SEPS officials explained that several coral reefs near the two Red Sea diving zones had been destroyed after a foreign ship, called the ‘Sea Lord,’ swerved from its course, lowering its anchor into the reef bed.

On Wednesday, SEPS requested that the Egyptian Navy and Red Sea Coast Guard take action against the foreign vessel.

“The nationality of the 120-metre-long ship has yet to be determined, but it arrived via Jordan’s Aqaba seaport,” SEPS head Hassan El-Tayeb told Ahram Online on Thursday.

It remains unclear whether the Sea Lord had ...

The UK’s top marine scientists have denounced government ministers for reneging on plans to protect marine life by banning the most destructive fishing and dredging in the seas around the British Isles.

Sealife, including fish, lobsters, oysters and seahorses, has been in rapid decline for years. A two-year,

Scientists expressed alarm on Monday over the rapid acidification of the Arctic Ocean caused by carbon dioxide emissions, which could have dire consequences on the region’s fragile ecosystem.

Acidity levels in the planet’s oceans have risen by 30 percent since the start of the industrial era, and are now at their highest levels in at least 55 million years, delegates said at a conference in Bergen, Norway dedicated to the subject.

The Arctic Ocean is more vulnerable than other oceans because its cold waters absorb more carbon dioxide. It is also fed by fresh water from rivers and melting ice, which makes it less able chemically to neutralise the acidification effects of the carbon dioxide.

Furthermore, the increase in melting ice exposes greater expanses of water, which leads to greater ab...

The largest group of whales thought to have been seen travelling together in or near the Firth of Forth has been recorded from the air.

The pod of 14 sperm whales was seen on Thursday heading from the island of Fidra to the Lamb, just a mile offshore at North Berwick in East Lothian.

The whales then changed direction, heading towards Crail in Fife.

They were reported to the Scottish Seabird Centre by microlight pilots who saw them from a height of 500ft.

The whales were also spotted by Scottish Natural Heritage staff and other researchers on the Isle of May who were able to identify the whales’ tail flukes, dorsal fins and plumes of spray.

Erich Hoyt, North Berwick-based marine conservationist and author, said: “Sperm whales are rarely seen in the Firth of Forth, and to see 14 of them trav...

The owner of Dolphin Discovery says he has no plans to free six stingrays at the facility despite the passage of a legal amendment outlawing the removal of rays from Cayman waters or possession 
of the animals.

Gene Thompson said that since the stingrays were already at Dolphin Discovery when the amendments to the Marine Conservation Law was passed in the Legislative Assembly last month, he was

Reef divers have their pick of islands boasting sprawling resorts or tranquil, pristine areas. Lonely Planet’s experts have picked out the top dive spots on the Great Barrier Reef.

ON THE MAINLAND

1: Cooktown

Access point for Lizard Island and the northern waters.

2: Port Douglas

A swanky resort town and a gateway to the Low Isles and Agincourt Reef, an outer ribbon reef featuring crystal-clear water and stunning corals. Although Port Douglas is smaller than Cairns it has many tour operators. Tends to be classier, pricier and less crowded than in Cairns.

3: Cairns

The main launching pad for Reef tours, from relatively inexpensive day trips on large boats to intimate five-day luxury charters. Cheaper tours go to inner reefs, ie, those close to the mainland. Busier than other launch points.

The UN’s International Court of Justice has set dates for public hearings on Australia’s challenge against Japan’s whaling programme in Antarctica.

The hearings will start in June in The Hague, in the Netherlands, the court said in a statement on Thursday.

Australia took legal action against Japan over whaling in 2010.

There has been a ban on commercial whaling for 25 years, but Japan catches about 1,000 whales each year for what it calls research.

But critics say it is commercial whaling in another guise.

Australia is requesting the UN court to halt a Japanese whale research programme, which includes hunting in Antarctica using a special permit.

The court is scheduled to hear oral arguments from representatives of both countries from 26 June to 16 July.

New Zealand, supporting Australia, ...

Ancient DNA shows that bowhead whales bucked the trend to survive the last Ice Age, say scientists.

The demise of cold-adapted land mammals such as mammoths has been linked to rising temperatures around 11,000 years ago.

But researchers were surprised to find a contrasting population boom for whales living off the coast of Britain.

Their study is also the first to discover that the ocean giants lived in the southern North Sea.

Dr Andy Foote from the Natural History Museum of Denmark, based at the University of Copenhagen co-authored the paper published in the journal Nature Communications.

“Based on all previous studies using ancient DNA to estimate the population size… it seems the trend was for cold-adapted species either [to] go extinct or decline in numbers at the end of the Ice Age a...

The UK government has admitted moving slowly to protect wildlife in the seas because of the cost.

Environment Minister Richard Benyon said that in the current financial squeeze he could not designate as many areas for protection as he would like.

He said he was hoping to confirm the designation of the current tranche of 31 Marine Protected Zones under a consultation that ends on Sunday.

Environmentalists have accused the government of dragging its feet.

This is because 127 zones were originally nominated for protection after a compromise deal agreed with other users of the sea.

Jolyon Chesworth from the Wildlife Trusts said: “We are disappointed at the rate of progress. The government has an international obligation to protect wildlife in the seas.

“The marine environment is not as obviou...

The sub that took Hollywood director James Cameron to the deepest place in the ocean is being donated to science.

On the first anniversary of his 10.9km solo descent of the Mariana Trench, Mr Cameron told the BBC that he was giving the Deepsea Challenger to the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, US.

Initially, parts will be used as add-ons for other subs, but the entire system could dive again in the future.

Mr Cameron said he would like to return to the controls himself at some point.

“I’d like to go dive the sub again,” he explained.

“There are a number of really, really interesting science targets out there. I would love to see the Deepsea Challenger dive in the Tonga Trench, the Kermadec Trench and the Sirena Deep (a 10.7km-deep part of the Mariana Trench).”

The director said that t...