Greenland shark found washed up on Cornish coast: An extremely rare Greenland shark has been washed up on the coast of Cornwall. The shark was found on the beach at Newlyn on the 13th March but was taken back out to sea by the tide. It was recovered for a second time when it was found by a boating company on the 15th March. Greenland sharks are typically found in depths of several thousand metres in the deepest parts of the world’s oceans. It is believed that this Greenland shark would have been around 100 years old. This would only make it a juvenile in Greenland shark terms as the scientists have calculated that the species can live for at least 272 years and may possibly have a lifespan of 500 years. A necropsy, the first on this species carried out in the UK, is set to be performed on the shark. Read more here.
Teesside marine creature deaths could continue: The long-running issue of marine creatures washing up dead on the coast of Teesside is set to continue this month with more dredging set to continue in the area. Large numbers of crabs, lobsters and other marine animals washed up dead on the coast of Teesside and surrounding areas in December of last year, leading to fishermen and conservationists expressing concern that dredging and chemical usage in the mouth of the Tees may have led to the deaths of the creatures. A Defra investigation concluded that the creatures were killed by a naturally occurring algal bloom, but this was disputed by local fishermen and conservationists. An independent environmental researcher found that the dead crabs had high levels of the chemical pyridine (a chemical which is used as an anti-corrosion agent in marine industries, in their bodies and fishermen claimed that the dredging which is taking place in the mouth of the Tees is killing the creatures. This month it was announced that more dredging would take place in the Tees and the waste will be dumped at an area known as Tees Outer off the coast of Hartlepool. The Northern Echo said that this could potentially lead to the death of marine life, which will then be dragged southwards by the current. An article in the paper showed dead seals, brown crabs and lumpsucker fish on Teesside beaches and also carried a report that seals in the area were being born below their usual birth rate. Read more by clicking here.
Commercial fisherman in fuel protest stunt: A commercial fisherman has taken his fishing boat to a petrol station in Kent as a protest against high fuel prices. Chris Attenborough, the owner of the boat Holladays, took the vessel to a BP petrol station in Thanet to draw attention to the recent rise in prices. He told the Telegraph that a rise in the cost of red diesel – a type of fuel that can only be used by farmers, fishermen and those working in industry – had seen his daily fuel costs increase from £90 to £170 a day. He claimed that by using white diesel – the type sold to the public at petrol stations – he would save him money as he would be able to claim back VAT and fuel duty. Attenborough told the Telegraph that the fuel price rises meant that he would have to means “put more effort into fishing while trying not to do much damage to the fish stocks.” Click here to read more.
Survey finds more barriers to eel migration: A survey of the rivers Kennet and Pang in Berkshire has found that there are almost a third more barriers across the rivers than first realised, limiting the ability of migratory species such as silver eels to reach their spawning grounds. The study was carried out by volunteers for Action for the River Kennet who found that seventy-eight of the 221 barriers they identified had not previously been recorded. ARK said that once the study was completed they would recommend removing barriers that blocked the river or adding eel passes – gaps in weirs, sluices and dams which allow eels to safely pass through. Read more on this story by clicking here.
UN ocean talks collapse without agreement: Talks that were billed as a “once in a lifetime” chance to protect the oceans have collapsed without agreement. UN Member nations met in New York with the intention of trashing out an agreement to protect the high seas. These are the areas of the ocean which are beyond 200 miles from any nation’s coastline, meaning no country controls them. The high seas make up 64 per cent of the world’s seas and oceans, but only 1.2 per cent is protected. While fifty countries have joined the 30X30 campaign to protect 30 per cent of the high seas by the year 2030, others have been accused of “dragging their feet” and causing the talks to collapse. Russia and Iceland, for example, have demanded that fisheries are removed from any agreement on managing the high seas. The Guardian reported that it still may be possible to reach an agreement by the end of this year, but hopes now rest on the United Nations general assembly agreeing to more talks later in the year. Will McCallum, head of oceans at Greenpeace also warned that the longer the talks go on the weaker the agreement which is eventually reached at the end will be. Click here to read more on this story.
Endangered shark species found in pet food: A study reported in this month’s Guardian has found that several shark species, some of which are endangered, are being used in pet food. Furthermore, pet food manufacturers are using generic descriptions such as “ocean fish” or “whitefish” to disguise the fact that shark species are present in their products. Blue shark, silky shark and whitetip reef shark were the most commonly found species, although it was unclear if the sharks were being specifically caught for use in pet food, or if the remains of sharks that had been harvested for other purposes had been used. Dr Andrew Griffiths from the University of Exeter told the Guardian “There aren’t any specific rules against it … you could be unwittingly getting just about any fish.” Read more on this story here.
European countries dominate international shark trade: European countries have supplied so many shark fins to Asia that they make up almost half of the total trade, despite almost a third of the world’s shark species facing extinction and many others being classed as vulnerable. Spain alone sent almost 51,000 tons of shark fins to Asia between 2003 and 2020, with the Netherlands, Portugal, France and Italy also supplying significant numbers of shark fins. Shark finning, the practice of removing shark fins and then throwing the rest of the shark back into the sea, is banned in the EU but many species of shark can be caught and sold as long as they are not finned. It is believed that the demand for shark fin soup in China, Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan is a major contributory factor to the decline of shark species around the world. 188,368 tons of shark fins and related products were imported by Asian countries between 2003 and 2020. EU countries were initially responsible for 28 per cent of the total, but this increased to 45 per cent from 2017 onwards. Read more on this story by clicking here.
Wild fish stocks being wiped out to feed farmed salmon: The Guardian reported this month that huge quantities of nutritious oily fish such as mackerel, sardines and anchovies are being used to feed salmon in fish farms. The article was based on a study by Feedback Global which calculated that 460,000 tons of fish (three-quarters of which were edible) were used to raise 179,000 tons of salmon. They said that if the fish farming industry moved away from farming salmon and instead concentrated on other species such as carp and mussels then global seafood production would increase by 6.1 million tons while leaving 3.7 million tons of fish in the sea. They also said that there were ethical issues around the way the fish farming industry is currently structured as many of the feed fish are caught in the waters of poorer nations and then used to feed salmon which are sold to consumers in richer countries. Read more on this story by clicking here.
The Old Man and the Sea given trigger warning: A Scottish University has placed a trigger warning on the classic novella The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemmingway. Published in 1952, The Old Man and the Sea tells the story of Santiago, an ageing Cuban fisherman, and his quest to catch a giant marlin. The warning was placed on the book by the University of the Highlands and Islands due to the “graphic fishing scenes” contained within. The novel won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction and Hemingway went on to win the Nobel Prize for literature a few years after its publication. Many commentators saw the trigger warning as over-the-top and unnecessary, and a freedom of information request showed that the university had also placed warnings on other classic works such as Frankenstein by Mary Shelley and several Shakespeare plays. Read more here.