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Loopholes in EU regulations mean that illegal shark finning is continuing undetected, a report warns.

Finning involves cutting off a shark’s fins and throwing the rest of the carcass back into the sea – a practice that the EU has regulated since 2003.

Marine experts are calling on the EU to stop issuing special permits that allow fishermen to remove fins at sea.

The authors say almost a fifth of shark, skate and ray species are classifed as threatened.

“The waste and unsustainable mortality associated with finning pose threats to shark populations, fisheries, food security and the sustainability of marine ecosystems,” said co-author Sonja Fordham, deputy chair of the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Shark Specialist Group (SSG).

“The most reliable way to enforce a s...

A temporary ban on entering the sea close to the Red Sea resort was imposed last week by the Chamber of Diving and Water Sports (CDWS), the regulatory body for diving in Egypt.

From Tuesday, divers that have completed at least 50 diving trips will be permitted to enter the water in the Straits of Tiran and at sites south of Naama Bay, including the Ras Mohammed National Park and the popular Thistlegorm site, although they must be on an excursion with a CDWS-approved operator.

Snorkelling and other water sports remain prohibited throughout the area, although glass bottom boat tours will be allowed to operate.

Reports suggest that a large number of tourists have left Sharm El Sheikh following the attacks, while Skyscanner, the price comparison website, has seen a 13 per cent drop in searches...

Lurking in the seas of Scotland is an unlikely candidate for a medical breakthrough.

But scientists believe the starfish could hold the key to finding a new treatment for inflammatory conditions such as asthma, hay fever and arthritis.

The species they are interested in is the spiny starfish (Marthasterias glacialis), and in particular the slimy goo that covers its body.

The team says that chemicals in this coating could inspire new medicines.

While most man-made structures that are placed in the water rapidly get caked with a mixture of marine life, starfish manage to keep their surface clear.

Dr Charlie Bavington, from GlycoMar, a marine biotechnology company based at the Scottish Association for Marine Science in Oban, explained: “Starfish live in the sea, and are bathed in a solution ...

The once-vibrant coral reef shielding these sun-soaked beaches from the wrath of the sea is withering away under the stress of pollution and warmer water.

It’s not likely to get much help from world governments meeting in Cancun for talks on a new climate pact. Their so-far elusive goal to limit global warming to 2 degrees C (3.6 F) is too little too late, says coral expert Roberto Iglesias.

“That represents the end of the coral reefs in the world,” says the Mexican scientist, who works at a marine research station in Puerto Morelos, 12 miles (about 20 kilometers) south of the beach resort hosting the annual U.N. climate conference.

Coral reefs are like underwater jungles that host 25 percent of marine species and provide food and income to hundreds of millions of people, mostly in the dev...

A portion of Taiwan’s coral reefs are damaged and disappearing, with less than 10 percent of live coral coverage in the waters around Hsiao Liouciou Island and Green Island, according to the 2010 findings released by the Taiwan Environmental Information Association (TEIA) yesterday.

The main reasons for the coral decay are the rampant tourism in the area, visitors who search for natural souvenirs and the disposal of trash and waste in the waters from nearby hotels. Typhoons also played a part in the coral damage, the study found.

For the study, the TEIA recruited 121 volunteer divers in June to survey the ocean beds surrounding the Northeast Coast, Taitung Shanyuan, Green Island, Orchid Island, Hsiao Liouciou Island and Penghu Islands.

The international standards of the health of living co...

A German woman has been killed in a shark attack while snorkelling off the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, officials say.

The death comes after four people were injured in similar attacks at the resort earlier in the week.

The authorities had reopened the waters after saying they had captured the sharks involved in the earlier attacks.

Officials say they are baffled by the repeated attacks and are consulting marine biologists.

There are fears about the impact of the shark attacks on the tourism trade in the world’s most popular diving spot.

‘Wrong’ shark

Egyptian officials said the elderly German woman had died immediately after the attack, in which she was reportedly bitten on the thigh and arm.

After last week’s attacks – in which three Russians and a Ukrainian were injured ...

Mark Hay checked his scuba gear one last time, then stepped off a boat and dived toward the seafloor. His destination was Aquarius, the only manned underwater lab in operation in the world.

The metal structure

Poor countries as well as rich should look to cut carbon emissions, says Maldives President Mohamed Nasheed.

Continuing to equate the need to develop with the right to emit carbon dioxide is, he says, “quite silly”.

Mr Nasheed was speaking to BBC News at the launch of a report on vulnerability to climate impacts, which the authors say shows no nation will be untouched.

He said The Maldives has not received any of the “fast-start” finance pledged by Western governments last year.

It is highly unusual for the leader of a developing nation to call on his or her fellows to cut carbon.

The position of the powerful G77/China bloc – which includes most of the developing world – is that Western nations should cut emissions while others should only have to reduce the rate at which their emissions ...

Three Russians and a Ukrainian were injured in incidents at the Sharm el-Sheikh holiday and diving resort on the Red Sea.

In one of the attacks, which occurred on Tuesday and Wednesday, an elderly woman was reported to have lost her hand. Another woman sustained severe leg and back injuries. The victims were said to have been snorkelling near coral reefs.

All four were treated in hospital, and beaches were closed for 48 hours. On Thursday the Egyptian environment ministry said that two suspect sharks had been caught, a mako and an oceanic whitetip. The sharks were taken to the Ras Mohammed Conservation Centre, to be

At up to 3m in length, adolescent great white sharks certainly look like formidable predators.

But until they reach maturity, the sharks have surprisingly weak jaws, according to researchers.

A team of scientists in Australia used 3-D digital models of the sharks’ heads to reveal the mechanics behind their infamous mouths.

This showed that tough skin and bone of large prey could actually damage their relatively delicate young jaws.

The scientists say that this could explain why many shark attacks on humans off the Australian coast are aborted after a single “exploratory” bite.

To study the shark’s bite in detail, the researchers took images of the creatures, using computerised tomography (CT) scans.

With these scans, they were able to create digital three-dimensional models of the sharks’ ...