Molasses tanker spill off Cumbrian coast could affect marine life: There were fears that marine life across the Cumbrian coast could be affected by molasses which leaked from a tanker after it ran aground outside this month. The 77-metre-long Belize-registered tanker Zapadnyy became stranded outside of Silloth Harbour on 10 February. While the tanker was eventually refloated, around 300 tons of molasses – a thick, treacle-like substance which is a by-product of the sugar-making process – leaked from the ship. Unlike oil, molasses sinks, and there are fears that the substance could affect marine life on the seabed. While it was hoped that the molasses would dissolve in the sea, Georgia de Jong Cleyndert, from North West Wildlife Trusts, told the BBC: “Molasses is an unusual spill and whilst it isn’t a toxin, it may still have a big impact on marine life. Unlike oil (which floats), molasses sinks and more resembles the spillage of raw sewage into the ocean. This is because it is organic rich and heavy. It may smother animals living on the seafloor or form a soup-like consistency with seawater and clog up the gills of fish.” The Zapadnyy had previously run aground in the same location in 2016. Read more on this story on the BBC News website by clicking here.
Russia to end British cod fishing in Barents Sea: Russia has said that it will end an agreement which has allowed British fishermen to catch cod and other whitefish in Russian waters. The agreement, which was signed in 1956 and remained in place during the entirety of the Cold War, allows British fishermen to catch cod, haddock and other whitefish in the parts of the Barents Sea which Russia controls. But UK-Russia relations have declined dramatically after Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, with Britain (along with many other nations) placing sanctions on Russia and sending weapons to Ukraine. The fishing ban appears to be retaliation for this. Vyacheslav Volodin, the speaker of the Russian parliament, said that the ban would help the British “lose weight” and said that Russian leader Vladimir Putin should be praised as “he gave us back our fish” which was “eaten for 68 years by the unscrupulous British.” Click here to read more on this story.
Falklands of “fishing free for all” in island’s waters: The Falkland Island’s government has claimed that the region’s fish stocks are being destroyed due to the failure to regulate an area of the high seas known as the Blue Hole. The area is north of the Falklands and around 200 miles off the coast of Argentina, meaning that it falls outside of any nation’s Exclusive Economic Zone, and, unlike most of the surrounding seas, there are no agreements to limit or regulate commercial fishing in the Blue Hole. Teslyn Barkman, a member of the Falklands Legislative Assembly, told the Guardian “This overwhelming unregulated activity is disastrous … It’s unreported, unrestricted but legal due to a lack of regional agreement as to how the area should be managed.” It is believed that many of the ships which fish in the area are Chinese and switch their transponders off when they enter the Blue Hole, meaning the true number of fishing boats operating there is impossible to ascertain. The situation is further complicated as the Falkland Islands are a British Overseas Territory, and relations between Argentina and Britain remain poor following the Falklands War in 1982, which saw Argentina attempt to take the islands by force, only to be repelled by the British. 649 Argentine and 255 British servicemen were killed in the conflict. Hernán Pérez Orsi, of Greenpeace Argentina, told the Guardian that the Blue Hole was a “key spot for biodiversity, not just in the region but across the world” and that while some Argentine lawmakers had engaged in attempts to regulate fishing, others had “removed themselves from discussions or created new barriers” due to not wanting to negotiate with the Falkland Islands government. Read more on this story by clicking here.
China accused of attempting to “intentionally destroy” disputed shoal: The Scarborough Shoal is a series of small rocks and reefs in the South China Sea. For decades China and the Philippines have both claimed the shoal, which is home to commercially valuable fish, shellfish species and sea cucumbers. Both nations have conducted naval exercises next to the shoal in attempts to assert their sovereignty over the area, and, in 2012, the dispute made international news when a Philippine attempt to arrest Chinese fishermen saw China send more than thirty vessels to the shoal. The dispute came back into the news this month when the Philippines accused China of trying to “intentionally destroy” the shoal. Nazario Briguera, a spokesperson for the Philippines’s Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources said that Chinese vessels had pumped cyanide into the shoal’s waters, causing damage which would cost $17.8 million to the region, according to the newspaper The Philippine Star. However, the Philippine Coast Guard said they had yet to see any evidence that Chinese vessels had deployed cyanide in the area. This led the Chinese state-run newspaper, The Global Times, to say that the country had been “groundlessly smeared” by the Philippines. Read more on this story here.
Whales draw crowds to Cornwall: Hundreds of people have watched humpback whales off the coast of Cornwall this month. The species is considered rare in British waters, but recent years have seen a growing number of humpback sightings off the south west coast of England. Three humpback whales were spotted by student Luke Stoppard, who studies marine and natural world photography. He told the BBC that the crowd watching the whales grew from a few people to almost 300 once news of the sighting began to spread on social media. Read more on this story by clicking here.