Breaking Waves: Ocean News

04/08/2026 - 05:00
To tackle the US’s woefully low seafood consumption, drastic measures are being taken. Enter tuna that looks like chicken nuggets and salmon masquerading as beef jerky The seafood industry is trying to tackle a slippery problem: the US has never developed a taste for fish. Americans will eat canned cheese product and put marshmallow “fluff” on their sandwiches, but they seem to balk at eating fish. The average American consumes about 19lb (under 9kg) of the stuff a year, while the global average is 45lb. Over in Iceland, they’re really getting their omega-3s in: they lead the world with around 200lb of seafood a year. Still, the tide may be turning: Big Fish has come up with a cunning plan to crack the US market. You know how there are sneaky ways of hiding veggies in recipes for picky toddlers? That’s basically the strategy. Except instead of hiding spinach in a chocolate pancake, the plan is to make fish look like meat. Think tuna that looks like chicken nuggets and salmon sticks that look like beef jerky. It’s not quite fake meat – it’s Fishy Meat™. Yum. Continue reading...
04/08/2026 - 05:00
Taking sand from the Nigerian city’s lagoon to supply a building boom harms more than fish – it affects the entire food chain, erodes coastlines and is depriving fishing communities of their livelihoods Before dawn, when the noise of Lagos’s danfo buses fills the air and generators rumble to life, the city’s lagoon is already stirring. Not from fish splashing or canoes gliding, but from the long suction pipes of the dredging machines, pulling up the lagoon bed and spitting out wet sand that will be used in the construction of high-rise blocks, housing estates and flyovers. Sand dredging is regulated by the Lagos state government and the waterways authority but in a city of more than 20 million people, where sharp sand has never been in higher demand, not all dredging is being done by the book. Dredging leaves its mark on the landscape along the shores of the Lagos Lagoon in Epe Continue reading...
04/08/2026 - 00:00
Senior climate figures warn North Sea drilling would encourage fossil fuel exploitation by developing countries Opening new oil and gas fields in the North Sea would “send a shock wave around the world”, imperilling international climate targets, undermining the UK’s climate leadership and encouraging developing countries to exploit their own fossil fuel reserves, experts have warned. The UK government is under stiff pressure from the oil industry, the Conservatives, Nigel Farage’s Reform UK party, some trade unions and parts of the Treasury to give the green light to new oil and gas fields, despite clear evidence that doing so would not cut prices and would have almost no effect on imports. Continue reading...
04/07/2026 - 17:30
Those facing the earliest and harshest consequences are, overwhelmingly, those who did the least to create them World held hostage by reliance on fossil fuels, Christiana Figueres warns What are the health impacts of sea-level rise, and who should pay? There are moments in history when a crisis long treated as distant reveals itself to be intimate, immediate and profoundly human. Sea-level rise is one of those moments. For years it has been discussed in the abstract language of centimetres, coastal infrastructure and future projections. This can make it seem like a technical challenge – something for engineers and planners to grapple with. But rising seas are already damaging bodies, minds, livelihoods and cultures. Sea-level rise is a present-day health crisis. Continue reading...
04/07/2026 - 10:02
Shahid Bagheri leaking fuel towards Hara mangrove forest, home to migrating birds and endangered turtles Middle East crisis – live updates An oil slick from a stricken Iranian ship threatens to contaminate one of the Middle East’s most important wetlands, satellite image analysis suggests, making it one of a number of spills posing a risk to the livelihoods of coastal communities in the Gulf. The Shahid Bagheri, a drone carrier, began leaking heavy fuel oil in Iranian territorial waters near the strait of Hormuz after it was hit by a US warplane in the first few days of the US-Israel attack on Iran. Continue reading...
04/07/2026 - 07:53
Glass Lewis says blocking of proposal to share company’s longer-term strategy at AGM raises transparency issues Business live – latest updates BP shareholders should vote against its new chair over his decision to exclude a climate resolution from the company’s next annual meeting, a major proxy adviser has recommended. Glass Lewis has advised investors to vote against Albert Manifold, who has been in his post for just six months. Continue reading...
04/07/2026 - 07:40
Bread and biscuits made from Crispr-edited wheat showed substantially reduced acrylamide levels Scientists have developed gene-edited wheat that can be used to make bread that is less carcinogenic when toasted. Researchers at Rothamsted Research in Harpenden, Hertfordshire, used Crispr genome editing, which allows researchers to selectively edit the DNA of living organisms. This technology was adapted for use in the laboratory from naturally occurring genome editing systems found in bacteria. Continue reading...
04/07/2026 - 05:00
Marcos Orellana, a special rapporteur, found lax environmental standards and lack of oversight allowed pollution to accumulate Revealed: Mexico’s industrial boomtown is making goods for the US. Residents say they’re ‘breathing poison’ Mexico is facing a “toxic crisis” and has become a “garbage sink” for the US, exposing Mexican communities to dangerous pollution, a UN expert has warned. In an interview with the Guardian and Quinto Elemento Lab, an investigative outlet, Marcos Orellana, an environmental specialist, said pollutants ranging from imported waste to dangerous pesticides were affecting people’s right to live healthy lives. Continue reading...
04/07/2026 - 05:00
Eighty-five countries have sought a roadmap to phasing out fossil fuels. A conference this month offers hope they could unite This article is published as part of the global journalism collaboration Covering Climate Now The Iran war is also a climate war. Beyond its terrible human costs, the war’s disruptions of oil, gas, fertilizer and other shipments is another reminder of the risks inherent in basing the world economy on fossil fuels. The war’s jets, missiles and aircraft carriers, and the tankers, refineries and buildings they blow up, represent millions of tons of greenhouse gas emissions that further imperil a climate system that is already “very close” to a point of no return, scientists say, after which runaway global warming could not be stopped. Nevertheless, petrostate leaders around the world continue doing their utmost to stave off a desperately needed course correction. Now, a little noticed ray of hope may be peeking over the horizon. Mark Hertsgaard and Kyle Pope are co-founders of the global journalism collaboration Covering Climate Now Continue reading...
04/06/2026 - 16:24
Two fatalities reported in southern California so far, with warmer spring bringing reptiles out on trails earlier A sixth person has been bitten by a rattlesnake in southern California’s Ventura county in just under a month, two-thirds of the number of people bitten in all of 2025. Andrew Dowd, a Ventura county fire department spokesperson, said paramedics responded to a call on Sunday for a man who had been bitten by a rattlesnake. The victim said he had been bitten near California State University Channel Islands. Continue reading...