Shark fin imports banned in UK 🚫
Plus the plastic bag tax increase, newborn orca and an unmissable pic of a dog dressed as a turtle!
Hi everyone,
It’s a bumper issue today - for some reason there was just so. much. news. So, without further ado, let’s get on with it! Here’s what’s been happening in our oceans this week…
👀 Wildlife sightings
The minke whale: stranded in the River Thames was put down because of injuries (Guardian)
Newborn orca: seen with its mum in Scotland’s Moray Firth (Metro)
Nom nom nom: Video of a whale shark sneaking treats from fishermen in Indonesia (Metro)
Remember the orca in Cornwall? They’ve made it back to Scotland, travelling over 100kms per day! (@SteveTruluck1)
Footballfish: found in California… spoiler, it’s weird af! (Metro)
A UK whale watching boom: caused by many recent sightings (Guardian)
Thanks to everyone helping us reach new pod members by sharing Baleen!
🐳 Whales
I spy… calls for a sanctuary for the ‘Russian spy’ beluga whale (BBC)
Orca clusters: Why do huge numbers of killer whales gather in Western Australia each summer? (Phys.org)
Scottish killer whales: are more common than we thought (Sunday Post)
🐬🐙 Marine animals
“It’s mine now”: A man who lost his wedding ring while snorkelling later found a fish wearing it! (Newsround)
Turtle oasis: Found in the Sargasso Sea (Gizmodo)
Release the kraken: rare footage captured of giant squid hunting (Livescience)
Mediterranean turtle recovery: different species recovering at different rates with loggerhead populations increasing more slowly (Scienmag)
Busy ladies: a study shows female elephant seals spend 19—24 hours a day hunting and sleep for just an hour (Science)
Turtle dogs: Volunteer dogs have been trained to sniff out box turtles to help conservation efforts (Euro News)
Yes, I know these aren’t sea turtles but I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to include this turtle dog pic..,
🎣 Fisheries
Illegal catch: Thousands of sharks caught in Indian Ocean MPA (Sci Tech News)
Shark fin imports: banned in the UK as animals are recognised as sentient beings (Guardian)
(Fishing) net benefits: A study has revealed the net economic gain of a bottom trawling and dredging ban would be £3.41 for every £1 spent after 13 years (MCS)
🚯 Pollution
Balloon releases: banned in Hawaii by new legislation (AP News)
Inkjet spills: a study found inkjet cartridges lost overboard 1,500km east of New York in 2014 reached Cape Verde and the Arctic Circle! (The Conversation)
That’ll be 10p please: The UK charge for plastic bags increases on 21 May (MCS)
💰💰 Funding & opportunities
Bazaruto Divemaster: The Bazaruto Center for Scientific Studies is accepting Divemaster applications - get your DM, contribute to marine research and stay in zero-waste accommodation on the stunning Benguerra Island (BCSSMZ)
Trip of a lifetime: MMF expeditions now available to Mozambique (Aug ‘21), Maldives (Jan ‘22), Raja Ampat (March ‘22) and Tubbataha (March ‘23)
Submit your ideas: A global Ocean Hackathon aimed at providing solutions to marine threats is calling for entries (Cardiff Metropolitan University)
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🐚Fossils
Living fossils: non-skeletal corals found growing from sea lily stalks, despite no fossil evidence of this for hundreds of millions of years (The Hill)
Say cheese: have we got the origins of shark teeth wrong (The Conversation)
Crustacean -> squid -> shark: Scientists find a fossil of three creatures eating each other (Phys.org)
Going for a dip: Scientists have discovered when mammals started paddling in the sea thanks to 58-million-year-old footprints (New Scientist)
🐠 Ecosystems
Groovy! For the first time, scientists have observed the spawning of wild populations of grooved brain coral in Florida (Coral Restoration Foundation)
Mangrove restoration: in Pakistan helps both environment and economy (UNEP)
Tiny giants: An artificial reef is being constructed at London Zoo (Guardian)
Coral evolution: Researchers built a map of the cells of a stony coral called Stylophora pistillata and found specialised immune cells (Sci Tech Daily)
Thanks for joining me this week folks - hope you found this edition useful, interesting and full of fabulous memes.
For those of you who don’t know, I offer comms consultancy and copywriting services. I’m already fully booked for May but I’d love to hear from you if you’re interested in booking me for June and beyond! 🤓
Melissa
Baleen is provided completely free each week to help you keep on top of the latest marine conservation news - if you find it useful, shout me a coffee (thanks!)