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Plastic pollution is affecting marine life in some of the most remote parts of the Atlantic Ocean with almost three quarters of a sample of more than 230 deep-water fish collected by NUI Galway scientists having ingested plastic particles.

The contamination level among the fish species, located in the northwest Atlantic thousands of kilometres from land and 600m down in the ocean, is one of the highest reported frequencies of microplastic occurrence in fish worldwide, according to the study published today in the journal Frontiers in Marine Science.

Microplastics are small plastic fragments that commonly originate from the breakdown of larger plastic items entering the ocean...

Giants of the ocean were celebrated on World Whale Day, which aims to raise awareness of these magnificent creatures. The annual holiday was founded in Maui, Hawaii, in 1980, to honour humpback whales, which swim off its coast. It’s the main showcase of the Maui Whale Festival.

Every year, crowds flock to the island to join in the free all-day event, organised by the Pacific Whale Foundation. The fun starts with a parade including floats, costumed characters and children’s events, plus music from Hawaiian and international stars.

However, you don’t have to visit Maui to mark this special day...

Its reputation as a romantic island paradise is legendary, but Hawaii is facing an embarrassing problem with its sewage which could cost around $1.75 billion to fix. Surfers and snorkellers have fallen victim to skin infections and the state’s drinking water, its coral reefs and famous beaches are all under threat because of a cesspool crisis.

Cesspools are holes in the ground where untreated human waste is deposited and this waste is entering the drinking water in part of the state — pushing nitrate levels close to the legal limit.

According to the state health department, the state now has 88,000 cesspools across its eight major islands, more than any other state in the US.

As the state’s politicians scramble to find a solution, the report states that the cost of replacing each cess...

The Queen is cracking down on plastic, with palace staff told to ditch straws, eat from china plates and drink from glass bottles. Environmentally friendly strategies have been put in place at Buckingham Palace as a spokesman told of a ‘strong desire’ to tackle the issue of plastic in royal residences. Plastic bottles will no longer be seen in staff canteens or meeting rooms, and plastic straws will also be phased out at public cafes.

Packaging for takeaway food must now be compostable or biodegradable, and cardboard boxes used to shift materials between sites will be re-used many times to avoid waste.

The Queen is thought to have taken a personal interest in plastic since working on a documentary about wildlife conservation with Sir David Attenborough.

The pair, both 91, were pictur...

Citizen science has become something of a buzzword, but it’s nothing new. Before science became professionalised in the 19th century, amateur naturalists were collecting information and helping us understand the natural world. And it wasn’t just country vicars; Mary Anning, the daughter of a poor cabinet-maker, spent decades discovering fossils in the cliffs at Lyme Regis, in Dorset, and advancing human understanding of prehistoric life.

In the UK the RSPB has more than a million members, and a 2009 study found that nearly 50% of UK households feed wild birds. The National Trust has more than 5 million members, and 60,000 active volunteers helping to protect the countryside as well as historic properties...

When coral reefs come in contact with plastic trash in the ocean, their risk of becoming diseased skyrockets, said an international study. Researchers examined 1,20,000 corals on 159 reefs from Indonesia, Australia, Myanmar and Thailand for the study in journal science we found the chance of disease increased from 4% to 89% when corals were in contact with plastic.

Scientists are still trying to figure out why plastics are so dangerous for coral, which cover about 0.2% of ocean floor but provide habitat for million species of young fish.

A scientist sent sound waves into the waters of Cabo Pulmo National Park in Mexico, single-handedly surveying the entire 27-square-mile (71 square km) marine reserve twice in just eight days. By shooting sound through the water column in horizontal transects and analyzing how the sound waves behaved, the researcher gathered data that he and his colleagues later used to calculate an estimate of how many fish were swimming in the preserve off the tip of Baja California – and their size.

By doing the same thing in the ocean outside the reserve, the researchers determined that the density of fish was nearly 300 percent higher inside Cabo Pulmo. The fish were also 52 percent larger.

This new application of hydroacoustic technology could lead to much cheaper ways of keeping tabs on ocean lif...

Last year wasn’t just one of the hottest years on Earth’s surface, as it was the hottest year on record for the global ocean, according to a new study from the Institute of Atmospheric Physics (IAP)/Chinese Academy of Science.

Researchers Lijing Cheng and Jiang Zhu found that the top 2,000 meters of ocean waters are hotter than ever recorded, at 19.19 × 10^22 J. Heat energy is measured in Joules (J).

That’s quite the jump from 2015, the previous record-breaking year for ocean heat, which was recorded at 17.68 × 10^22 J.

“For comparison,” the study states, “total electricity generation in China in 2016 was 0.00216 × 10^22 J, which is 699 times smaller than the increase in ocean heat in 2017.”

Ocean heat in 2016 was cooler than both 2015 and 2017 due to a large El Ninõ...

Millions of tons of plastic waste end up in the ocean every year. And the trash stays there: Whether it’s grocery bags or water bottles or kids’ toys, plastic is practically indestructible. Now marine scientists have discovered that it’s killing coral reefs.

A new study based on four years of diving on 159 reefs in the Pacific shows that reefs in four countries — Australia, Thailand, Indonesia and Myanmar — are heavily contaminated with plastic. It clings to the coral, especially branching coral. And where it clings, it sickens or kills.

“The likelihood of disease increases from 4 percent to 89 percent when corals are in contact with plastic,” researchers report in the journal Science.

Senior author Drew Harvell at Cornell University says the plastic could be harming coral in at least...

President Donald Trump may be “terrified” of sharks — but, ironically, his wish that “all the sharks die” is inspiring people to give money to shark conservation groups, according to MarketWatch.

Several non-profits have recently received donations that specifically mention Trump as the reason for charity. And many are new donors, including several from outside of the US. For instance, one donation to Sea Shepherd Conservation Society came with the comment “Because Trump.” Another one said: “Contribution to save the Sharks after reading the article ‘Trump hopes sharks die,’” Zorianna Kit, media director for Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, tells The Verge.

Trump’s alleged hatred for sharks was revealed last week, when In Touch Weekly released a full interview with...