Good morning pod,
For those of you who were celebrating, I hope you had a lovely Easter weekend. In exciting news here, I had an article published by National Geographic this week (eeep!). If you’re interested in finding out more about why whales beach, I’d love for you to give it a read!
Otherwise, let’s jump into the ocean news of the week…
🌊 Ocean news 🌊
Hump-back for good? While we’re talking about whales, humpbacks may have bounced back but is it too early to consider them safe? (The Conversation)
Are we right to hope? This winter, North Atlantic right whales birthed more calves than since 2015 (Guardian)
Spying on sharks: The world’s largest network of undersea cameras will protect marine life in Britain’s overseas territories (The Times)
Pandemic ripples: Will the COP26 climate change summit be delayed again or drastically changed? (Sky News)
It’s whaley quiet: Have the oceans become quieter during the pandemic - if so, great news for whales (NBC News)
Deeply concerned: An EU official has raised worries about the Great Barrier Reef (Guardian)
Day of the Tentacles: An epic photo of what it might look like to be cuddled by an octopus won the 2020 Ocean Art Underwater Photo Competition (Insider)
Plastic-free ACT: Australian Capital Territory ‘s new ban on single-use plastics will start on 1st July 2021 (Australian Marine Conservation Society)
What’s in that suitcase? 185 baby Galapagos tortoises were rescued by customs officials in Ecuador (BBC)
Giant opportunity: Giant bluefin tuna are returning to Welsh waters (BBC)
Ice, ice, baby ❄️
I’m melting: Melting ice sheets have caused huge sea level rises (Sky News)
Exceptional year for sea ice: Arctic sea ice has reached its maximum extent for the year and was among the lowest on record (Carbon Brief)
Yet more plastic pollution: Microplastics are changing the rate snow and ice melts (Phys.org)
Arctic sea ice: melt season is about to begin… and it might be a record breaker (Severe Weather)
& while we’re on the subject: why IS sea ice so important? (BBC)
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More ocean news 🌊
Congrats Nicole Yamase: for becoming the first Pacific Islander to visit the deepest part of the Mariana Trench (Guardian)
Blackwater photography: These epic photos could help scientists learn more about fish larvae (NYT)
Don’t be seal-y: A reminder of why you should give seals space if you’re visiting your local beach (BBC)
The unicorn of the sea: Great read about enigmatic beaked whales (The Atlantic)
“I saw a freaking whale from a plane”: What would you do if you managed to get a photo (albeit blurry) of a whale from your flight? Very cool…
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🤓 New studies 🤓
Some more exciting new studies to share with you this week:
Seagrass buffer: A new study has found seagrasses can act as a buffer for ocean acidification… even at night! (Phys.org)
Carefully protected MPAs: could offer triple benefits for the ocean (Mongabay)
Dig deep: Marine animals such as brittlestars play a key role in burying microplastics in coastal sediments (Science Direct)
Diver-sea-ty: Over 60 species of fairy wrasse could owe their diversity to sea level fluctuations over millions of years (OUP)
Stubby Chimaera: A new species of ghost shark - Chimaera compacta - has been described by scientists (Springer Link)
What’s your porpoise? Do harbour porpoises exhibit sophisticated collaborative hunting behaviours? (Canadian Science Publishing)
The deep dive
Much as we try not to dwell on the pandemic in Baleen (if we can help it), the Ocean Conservancy’s new PPE study on the rising tide of pandemic polution is worth checking out. Find and download the full report here.
This week’s hot take
As you might have noticed, the debate about Seaspiracy has continued. So, this week, we’ve rounded up some different takes on this controversial documentary:
Guardian: covers accusations of the documentary’s misleading statements and false statistics (as does the Telegraph)
The Spectator: looks at what Seaspiracy gets right & wrong about eating seafood
The Sun: looks at some of the criticised stats too
Forbes: questions whether it matters that the documentary used film storytelling tactics rather than scientific rigour
Independent: argues that giving up fish for the environment is missing the point
Green Matters: shares its eight major takeaways from the documentary
WIRED: wonders if Seaspiracy will actually shock people into not eating fish
Metro: rounds up some other hard-hitting documentaries (including the Cove, Blackfish and A Plastic Ocean) to watch if you want to find out more
What did you think of Seaspiracy? Was its success in raising awareness of the state of our oceans
Melissa
📢 If you’d like to chat about how my comms consultancy or copywriting services can help you (from May), please get in touch 🤓
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!)