Blog Archives

Two major Arctic shipping routes have opened as summer sea ice melts, European satellites have found.

Data recorded by the European Space Agency’s (Esa) Envisat shows both Canada’s Northwest Passage and Russia’s Northern Sea Route open simultaneously.

This summer’s melt could break the 2007 record for the smallest area of sea ice since the satellite era began in 1979.

Shipping companies are already eyeing the benefits these routes may bring if they remain open regularly.

The two lanes have been used by a number of small craft several times in recent years.

But the Northern Sea Route has been free enough of ice this month for a succession of tankers carrying natural gas condensate from the northern port of Murmansk to sail along the Siberian coast en route for Thailand.

“They’re often open...

Iceland has said that no fin whales will be caught around its shores this year, blaming the collapse of the Japanese whalemeat market following the devastating earthquake over four months ago.

The country had a quota to catch 150 whales, but this will not now be taken up. Japan is a major market for Iceland whalemeat.

However, the development comes two months after the United States threatened trade sanctions against Iceland over its hunting of fin whales and export of whalemeat,which could include a ban on fish products.

US Commerce Secretary of State Gary Locke told President Obama that Iceland’s hunt threatened the species, which is globally endangered...

Conservation groups have slammed the federal government’s marine park plan off the WA north-west coast, claiming the proposal it lacks significant marine sanctuaries.

A host of organisations including The Wilderness Society, Environs Kimberley, Australian Marine Conservation Management and WWF Australia have banded together to create a group, Save Our Tropical Sealife alliance.

The alliance spoke out today shortly after Federal Environment Minister Tony Burke released the draft proposal, saying that some of the most vulnerable marine life in the country, including dugongs and the snubfin dolphin are at risk of being killed by fishing nets and mining operations.

Under the plan, the shallow waters of the Ningaloo-Pilbara, the humpback whale breeding grounds of the Kimberley and the coral ree...

From sea otters to blue whales, marine mammals are under stress from climate change, ocean acidification, hunting and other threats.

Researchers have identified 20 important sites around the world where they say conservation efforts should concentrate.

Marine mammals are widely distributed in the oceans and some freshwater locations, but 11 of the conservation sites are home to creatures found nowhere else, according to the study led by Sandra Pompa of the National Autonomous University of Mexico.

Researchers dubbed those sites “irreplaceable” and added that the nine others selected include representatives of 84 percent of all marine mammals.

Currently the most endangered marine mammal is the vaquita, a porpoise that lives in the northern section of the Gulf of California, Pompa said.

The...

Vladimir Putin has been bolstering his action man image – this time with a display of scuba diving.

His latest pre-election photo opportunity took place at an ancient Greek Black Sea archaeology site.

Broadcast across Russia, footage of the high-profile publicity event showed the wetsuit-clad prime minister on the Taman Peninsula in the Krasnodar region.

In only his third-ever dive, Mr Putin swam to the bottom of the lake and brought up two ancient ceramic containers.

Underwater pictures showed the Russian premier uncovering two sixth-century Greek urns in front of the camera.

Putin cultivated an action-man image during his eight-year presidency.

He is still celebrated by the state media despite handing over the presidency to ally Dmitry Medvedev.

Since becoming prime minister, Mr Putin h...

Reported sightings of leatherback turtles are increasing off Wales, with the reptiles thought to be drawn by high numbers of jellyfish.

Three sightings have been reported in recent days, in Laugharne, Carmarthenshire, north Pembrokeshire and Anglesey.

Dr Peter Richardson, of the Marine Conservation Society (MCS), said Wales’ waters were currently “turtle heaven”.

The turtles nest in the Caribbean before travelling to UK waters to feed.

Dr Richardson said there had been high numbers of jellyfish – the food source of the leatherback – reported in the Irish Sea this year.

He added: “The waters around Wales are absolutely perfect at the moment for turtles – turtle heaven.”

“What we have seen in the last few weeks is a sudden increase in the number of leatherbacks reported off the coast of the...

Sharks have again made the headlines for all the wrong reasons.

On Tuesday a British man, Ian Redmond, was fatally attacked by a shark while he was snorkelling in the Seychelles in the Indian Ocean.

It was the second fatal attack by a shark in the area this month.

But are shark attacks becoming more common, and are more swimmers and bathers dying as a result?

According to the International Shark Attack File (ISAF), a program run by marine biologists at the Florida Museum of Natural History, the number of unprovoked shark attacks has grown at a steady pace over the past century with each decade having more attacks than the previous.

For example, in the 1900s there were, worldwide, around 20 recorded unprovoked attacks by sharks on people.

That steadily climbed to around 100 by the 1940s, p...

A British man has died in a shark attack while on honeymoon in the Seychelles in the Indian Ocean.

Ian Redmond, 30, from Lancashire, survived the attack off Anse Lazio beach on Praslin, but could not be saved, a local police spokesman said.

He lost an arm and suffered severe hip injuries whilst snorkelling on Tuesday in what was the second fatal shark attack in the same area this month.

Authorities have stopped diving in the area as they try to catch the shark.

The couple were in the second week of their honeymoon and had been due to fly home on Sunday, police spokesman Jean Toussaint said.

‘Freak accident’

He said two men on a catamaran had assisted Mr Redmond just after 1700 local time and he was taken to hospital, but had no chance of surviving.

“We discovered that the British citizen ...

Another leak has been found in the flow line beneath the Gannet Alpha oil platform, 113 miles (180km) off Aberdeen.

Shell has been dealing with the release of an estimated 216 tonnes – 1,300 barrels – from a leak near the platform discovered last week.

The Department of Energy and Climate Change said it was a “substantial” spill, but should disperse naturally.

The oil company said it was working to locate the second leak.

Glen Cayley, technical director of Shell’s exploration and production activities in Europe, said: “We’ve got a very complex sub-sea infrastructure and the position of the leak is in an awkward place with a lot of marine growth.

“It’s taken our diving crews some time to establish exactly and precisely where that leak is coming from.”

On Monday afternoon, Shell said that t...

A marine conservation group hopes to gain support to stop the killing of pilot whales in the Faroe Islands by adopting a “diplomatic and peaceful approach”.

Earthrace Conservation said it will have a permanent presence on the group of islands which are situated halfway between the Shetland Islands and Iceland.

The environmentalists aim to talk to those involved in the annual Faroese “grindadraps”, which consists of boats herding pods of migrating pilot whales into shallow coves as they travel past the islands.

Members of the group have already visited the Faroe Islands to meet locals and talk about their attitudes towards the traditional grinds.

Earthrace Conservation Faroe Islands was set up as a result and will be headed by islander Turid Christophersen...