Good morning pod,
How have you been this week? Whether you’ve had a great week or need cheering up, let’s kick off with this heartwarming video of aspiring conservationist Aneeshwar, 6, meeting his hero Steve Backshall (if you’re short on time, skip to 4:11 for the best bit):
🌊 Ocean 🌊
Plastic pause: a new U.S. Bill would ban unnecessary single-use plastic production (Oceana)
Must-sea: Have you seen this epic blue whale footage? (Instagram)
RIP Freddie Mercury: this week, a seal who became a local celebrity on London’s River Thames sadly died after being attacked by a dog (Metro)
Hampshire hatchery: a new UK oyster nursery aims to restore the species and create cleaner waters (Independent)
“The blob”: Why are millions of jellyfish washing up around the world? (LiveScience)
Enjoying Baleen? Make sure you’re subscribed so you never miss an edition:
Croc vs. shark: A photographer captured the battle between a crocodile and a bull shark… but who won?! (The Sun)
Climate reporting: Sky News is launching a daily prime-time show dedicated to reporting on the climate crisis (Sky News)
Whatever the weather: NOAA is upgrading its Global Forecasting System to improve its extreme weather predictions (EcoWatch)
#GoodbyeByecatch: Reminder there are only a few more days to sign WCD’s campaign to end bycatch (Whales.org)
Some killer (whale) legislation: The Russian ban on captive orca and beluga whales has been extended to 2023 (Whales.org)
Show your support by sharing Baleen: the weekly marine conservation digest
🤓 New studies 🤓
There have been a few cool new studies to put on your radar too:
Sediment supply: Iron (a scarce yet essential source of nutrition in the ocean) is being released from the seabed (Eco magazine)
Zzzzzzz: Octopuses have been found to experience both active and passive sleep and might even dream (NewScientist)
Invisible germs: Immunologists have found ocean bacteria so alien to us that human immune systems don’t recognise them (Live Science)
Who are you calling old? Fossil records indicate tiger sharks have existed for longer than previously thought (Science Daily)
Otherworldly ancestor: A headless sea monster lives inside you! (LiveScience)
Shell middens: new excavation methods could give scientists clues about how people lived thousands of years ago (The Conversation)
New moon: Tagged great whites are more likely to occupy shallow waters during the new moon. Could something spooky be going on? (Boston Herald)
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!)
The hot, deep take 🤯
Woah - the deep dive and hot take have combined this week to address the issue of the moment: the controversial new Netflix documentary Seaspiracy. So, buckle up and let’s dive in to hear the mixed opinions.
ConspiraSEA
First of all, why (oh why) did they miss out on the perfect pun?!
Revealing the harm caused by overfishing
Putting the name aside, the documentary opened many people’s eyes to the harm we’re doing to our oceans
Food security
Yet, several experts have pointed out the documentary’s lack of depth around food security and small-scale subsistence fisheries
Diversity & intersectionality
As well as highlighing troubling diversity issues within the documentary
What did you think? 🤔
For those of you who have already watched Seaspiracy, what do you think? Did it make you reconsider your impact on the ocean? Did a lack of depth frustrate you? Join the discussion in the comments…
Looking forward to hearing your thoughts when you’ve watched the show and we’ll be back in your inbox next week. See you then!
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, you can buy me a coffee