Investigation into sunscreen’s impact on marine life: Research published in an academic journal has highlighted the impact that sunscreen may be having on marine life. The research was published in Marine Pollution Bulletin with the lead researcher, Annalise Hodge from Plymouth University, telling the Guardian: “Current research has only scratched the surface of understanding how these chemicals [in sunscreen] can affect marine life.” Surprisingly large amounts of sunscreen can enter the sea and it comes of people’s bodies as they spend time in the water. A beach with 1,000 people going into the water can lead to 35kg (77lb) of sunscreen entering the sea. Hodge went on to say that it was “particularly concerning” that some of the chemicals were classed as ‘pseudo persistent pollutants’ which means they could accumulate within the marine food chain. The chemical benzophenone, which is used as a UV filter in sunscreen, was seen as one of the most concerning chemicals and its effects are currently being investigated by the European Chemicals Agency. The journal article called for further research into this area. Read more here.
Bounty offered for escaped Norwegian salmon: The global seafood company Mowi has announced a bounty for fishers who capture salmon after an estimated 27,000 fish escaped from a farm off the Norwegian coast. A 500 kroner (£36) reward is being offered for each salmon caught. The escape, involving about a quarter of the 105,000 salmon population, occurred at the Storvika V facility in Dyrøy municipality, Troms, following stormy weather that damaged the pen’s outer ring. The Norwegian directorate of fisheries reported the escape and confirmed that authorities were on-site the following day to inspect the facility. They also issued an order to intensify Mowi’s efforts to recapture the escaped fish, which weighed an average 5.5 kg (12.1 lbs) each. Mowi described the situation as “serious and very regrettable” and set up fish reception centres where captured salmon in exchange for the reward. Escaped salmon pose significant environmental risks, including reducing genetic diversity in wild salmon populations, increasing infections from sea lice in wild fish, and intensifying competition for spawning grounds. In Norway, which exports 1.2 million tonnes of farmed salmon annually, the impact on wild salmon has been severe. Last summer, wild salmon numbers dropped to a historic low, leading to the closure of thirty-three rivers to salmon fishing, while this summer Norwegian authorities have proposed closing forty-two rivers and three fjords. Read more on this story here.
Norway refuses to ban open-net salmon farming: In another Noorwegian salmon industry story, Andreas Bjelland Eriksen, the Norwegian climate and environment minister, has ruled out banning open-net fish farming at sea despite acknowledging the existential threat to wild North Atlantic salmon. Norway – the world’s largest producer of farmed salmon – has seen its wild salmon population halve since the 1980s, due to a combination of climate change and the salmon industry’s issues like fish escapes and sea lice. While Eriksen acknowledged the significant declines in wild salmon over recent years constituted an “existential threat” to the species, he said that his role was not to “stop or close down human activity itself” but to reduce the pollution and environmental harm caused by salmon farming to “acceptable levels.” Read more by clicking here.
EU urged to ban destructive fishing methods: French President Emmanuel Macron and EU Commissioner for Fisheries and Oceans Costas Kadis are being urged to combat destructive fishing practices in Europe’s protected marine areas by a coalition of conservation groups including Oceana, BLOOM and the Blue Marine Foundation, as well as the representatives of fishermen who use low impact fishing methods. The practice of seabed trawling, which drags heavy nets along the seabed, has been highlighted for its damage to marine habitats and causing significant CO2 emissions due to both the fuel fishing vessels use and through carbon which had previously been locked in ocean sediment being released as the seabed is disturbed. It has been estimated that 80 per cent of the EU’s seabed has been affected by seabed trawling. The Protect Our Catch campaign group sent an open letter to Macron and Kadis, urging action and the implementation of a Marine Action Plan to introduce low impact fishing methods. Read more on this story here.
Rare fish washes up on Canary Islands beach: A giant oarfish, a mysterious and little understood species, washed up on a beach on the Canary Islands this month, sparking fears that an earthquake or natural disaster would soon follow. The oarfish was found on Playa Quemada beach on Lanzarote in shallow water. The species is usually found at depths of hundreds of metres and any oarfish washing up on a beach is of interested to the scientific community. This particular oarfish appeared to be immature at only 2 metres (6ft) in length, but they can grow to over 15 metres (50ft) long. The fears of a natural disaster come from Japanese mythology where an oarfish washing up dead on beaches was said to be a sign of an impending earthquake. While there may be some evidence that movement of the tectonic plates on the seabed can cause changes in water pressure and the release of electrically-charged ions which could kill oarfish, there has yet to be any definitive proof to link giant oarfish and disasters. Click here to read more.
Fishermen say rising octopus numbers are decimating shellfish catches: A commercial fisherman from Guernsey has raised concerns about the impact of an explosion in the island’s octopus population on the local fishing industry. Steve Fallaize. A fisherman for over thirty years, reported a significant decline in the catch of lobster, crab, and shellfish over the past seven months, attributing this downturn to the increasing number of octopuses in the island’s waters. Fallaize described the dramatic drop in shellfish catches, noting that while the first half of 2024 had been successful, fishing “just died” from July onwards. His earnings have plummeted, and he revealed that he had pulled up more than 700 octopuses in the last seven months. Despite having an abundance of octopus to sell, there is little local demand, forcing him to instead use them as bait. Octopuses were rarely seen around Guernsey until their resurgence in 2020. Fallaize expressed his fears for the future, stating he would be doing his “best to survive” in the coming year and hoped to continue fishing, despite the additional challenges caused by the octopus boom. Read more on this story by clicking here.