Happy Plastic Free July!
Are any pod members taking up the challenge to minimise, or eliminate, their plastic use this month? I’d love to hear how you get on - let us know in the comments.
As you might expect, there’s plenty of plastic news this week plus disappearing lakes, whale poop as well as good and bad news for our coral reefs. Read on to check out what’s been happening…
🐳 Whales
Wow: Amazing video of a sperm whale calf encounter (Vimeo)
Deep breath: how do kelp gull attacks affect respiration rates of southern right whales off Península Valdés? (Int Res)
#StopWhaleTesting: Norway’s widely criticised hearing experiments have come to an end with no whales tested (WDC)
Green whale project: Got a 💩💩 whale photo? If so, get in touch with WDC who are looking for high quality pics of whales pooping (WDC)
Know someone who would be interested in this week’s whale news?
🦈 Sharks
Darwin Plus: A new grant is enabling better protections for Caribbean shark populations (MCS)
White shark tracking: Cape Cod researchers are using tech to better predict shark movements (NBC Boston)
Fwends: New study shows bull sharks make friends (Guardian)
790 injuries: Could this 3,000 year old skeleton be the first recorded shark attack victim? (Sky)
🐬🐙 Marine animals
Scilly Wally: the famous Walrus has been causing trouble in the Isles of Scilly and may now be moved to safety (BBC)
Yellow cells: a ‘forgotten’ paper shedding light into micro-algal symbionts has been resurrected (Phys.org)
Twilight zone: An area of the ocean particularly difficult to study may become easier to explore thanks to new tech (CNN)
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🚯 Pollution
Sea snot: remember Turkey’s sea snot? There may now be a similar outbreak in Greece (Globe and Mail)
NZ plastic ban: New Zealand to ban single-use plastic items inlcuding cotton buds, straws and polystyrene packaging (Guardian)
ACT plastic ban: and a similar ban has now come into effect in ACT (ABC)
Global regulation: the oil and chemical industry is lobbying against microplastic regulations (Unearthed)
Tipping point: a study suggests the effects of plastic emissions may soon be irreversible (Phys.org)
Plastic ban: Turkey’s ban on plastic imports is now in place. So what will happen to the UK’s packaging waste? (BBC)
Virgin plastic: scientists are calling for a treaty to phase out the production of new plastics (Guardian)
🐚🐠 Ecosystems
Reef milestone: scientists have crossbred wild and lab corals (Phys.org)
Nowhere to go: Florida’s reefs can’t escape climate change (Grist)
Super(yacht) request: a charity is asking the superyacht community to support its crowdfunding campaign (Marine Industry News)
Alien seaweed: important seagrass habitats are being threatened by an invasive seaweed species (Irish Times)
Reef mapping: NASA technology combined with divers’ data could be a game changer when it comes to coral mapping (Diver)
$6.4bn annually: an RSPB report suggests nature is one of our biggest weapons against climate change (Independent)
pH levels: Could alkalinising agents help protect the Great Barrier Reef? (Intelligent Living)
🎣 Fisheries
Fly shooting: Small-scale fishers are concerned about fleets which are devastating fish populations (Guardian)
Leave our fish alone: AMCS has criticised government for letting NZ trawlers fish for orange roughy in Tasmanian waters (National Tribune)
Thanks to everyone helping us reach new pod members by sharing Baleen!
❄️ Ice, ice, baby
Vanished: a four-mile Antarctic lake has disappeared (Independent)
Last refuge: a critical polar bear habitat may be at risk (BBC)
💰 Funding & opportunities
PhD opportunity: How can socio-cultural values be incorporated into marine planning & policy?
Whale shark volunteers: needed to support the Maldives Whale Shark Research Programme in July 2021
That’s all for this week - hope you enjoyed catching up on the latest ocean news.
Thanks for everyone who’s been in touch about my comms consultancy and copywriting services. I’m now booked up to the end of July and August is filling up quickly already. If you’re interested in working together, please get in touch asap! 🤓
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!)