Breaking Waves: Ocean News

The new government must use its landslide majority to mend the damage to jobs and fish populations caused by neglect It is a lonely and unglamorous job, being His Majesty’s official opposition, as Labour knows only too well. There were moments when, out of the spotlight, the party’s spokespeople in parliament heroically defended the public interest on some of the most important issues of the day. One example was during the post-Brexit Fisheries Act, where Labour made a formidable case that history has proved right. The question now is whether Labour will use its landslide majority to fix the extraordinary neglect of our marine environment that it previously lacked the votes for. Back in 2020, when the fisheries bill was making its way through parliament, Labour’s fisheries spokesperson, Luke Pollard, made the case that the prime objective of the bill should be sustainability: there should be a duty on ministers to take the advice of scientists when allocating fishing opportunities so as to avoid overfishing. He also argued that as the right to fish was a public asset, which ministers conceded during the course of the bill, preference should be given to the part of the fleet which had the highest levels of employment and the lowest environmental impact: the smaller boats, whose activities are limited naturally by the weather. Charles Clover is the co-founder of the Blue Marine Foundation Continue reading...

State-owned company halts initiative after warnings over opening up ‘right to roam’ laws to large numbers of visitors A Norwegian tourism campaign aimed at promoting the country as a destination for outdoor activities has been suspended after warnings that opening up the country’s “right to roam” laws to mass tourism could lead to environmental destruction. Allemannsretten – which gives Norwegians the legal right to camp, swim, ski and walk freely in nature, regardless of who the landowner is – provides the basis of friluftslivet (outdoor life), seen as foundational to the mountainous country’s culture. Continue reading...

Advocates against nets say sharks can easily swim underneath them and drone surveillance is more effective Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Experts, marine conservation groups and an MP are urging the New South Wales government to ban anti-shark nets, which kill large numbers of turtles and dolphins, after 51 nets were installed along the state’s coastline. Last summer more than 90% of marine animals caught in shark nets were not sharks, while more than half of the 208 non-target species caught – such as turtles, dolphins and smaller sharks – were killed, data showed. Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email Continue reading...

I’ve discovered the perfect way to avoid the stress of travel, the mosquito bites and the overtourism. Plus, I can stay at home and tend my tomatoes while knowing I’m saving the planet I haven’t been on holiday this summer, but don’t start tuning the tiny violins. I derive an unusual satisfaction from working when others aren’t (burning martyr is my preferred summer fragrance) and I don’t like change, or strange pillows. Plus, what would Susan, the pigeon who lives on our roof, and my bounteous crop of five unripe tomatoes do without me? A summer holiday just doesn’t appeal. Is that weird? It feels as if the climate crisis is killing the notion of summer as something to look forward to and holiday hotspots (literally) are losing their lustre, with Greek islands reaching fatal temperatures and Sicily stricken with catastrophic drought. Continue reading...