November 2023 – News

Shipwrecks offer marine life a refuge from trawling: New research carried out by the University of Plymouth and the Blue Marine Foundation has shown that shipwrecks provide a refuge from trawling for many different marine species. The research, which was published in the journal Marine Ecology, surveyed five wreck sites off the coast of Berwickshire. It was found that the density of marine life was 240 per cent higher in the sites, and this increased to 340 per cent within fifty metres of wrecks. It is estimated that there are approximately 50,000 wrecks around the coastline of the UK. Read more on this story by clicking here.

World’s biggest trawler back in UK waters: The world’s biggest pelagic trawler has returned to UK waters this month. The Polish-registered Annelies Ilena is 144 metres (472ft) long and can catch, process and freeze 400 tons of fish every twenty-four hours. Previously known as Atlantic Dawn the vessel has proved controversial, with its previous owners being fined for contravening fishing regulations. The Annelies Ilena arrived in Stornoway harbour at the end of November and later moved to the waters off the Isle of Lewis to begin fishing. While countries such as Australia have banned super-trawlers of the Annelies Ilena’s size from operating in their waters the British government has yet to do the same, despite significant public pressure. Read more on this story here.

Research into juvenile cod numbers leads to warning over stocks: An article in the Guardian this month covered scientists’ struggles to locate juvenile cod in the North Atlantic, leading to a warning that the species may be heading toward a population crash. The paper followed scientists who have been working on research vessels since 2021 to locate immature cod. Across their natural range numbers have been decreasing – across twenty separate cod populations only two (one in the Barents Sea and one in Icelandic waters) are considered healthy. It is believed that cod numbers have been declining since 2013 with the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea – the body which advises governments on catch levels – going from recommending catches of 32,000 tons in the early 2000s, to now saying that there should be no catches at all for the next two years. While overfishing and accidental bycatch of cod are threats to the species, warming seas due to climate change may also be playing a part in the species’ decline. Cod are not through to be able to reproduce in waters warmer than 9.6C, but reproductive productivity declines as waters begin to warm and approach this level. Click here to read more on this story.

Increase in jellyfish in UK waters: An article on the BBC website this month stated that there has been a boom in the number of jellyfish in the waters around the UK. Reporting on findings by the Marine Conservation Society, they reported that the number of jellyfish had increased by 32 per cent in the last year. While jellyfish numbers do fluctuate over time it is believed that warming seas are making British waters more attractive to several different jellyfish species. The south west and Wales saw the biggest increase in jellyfish numbers, with the barrel jellyfish which can reach 3ft (1 metre) in diameter and the lion’s mane jellyfish and the Portuguese man o’ war, both of which can deliver a potent sting, have also increased in numbers. The long-term effects of increasing jellyfish numbers in UK waters are currently unknown, but it is clear that the number of jellyfish is set to increase in coming years as sea temperatures continue to increase. Read more on the story on the BBC News website by clicking here – https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-67301074 In a connected story ITV News said that beachgoers around the South West should not touch jellyfish-like creatures know Portuguese Man O’War which have been washing up around the region’s coastline. Dorset Wildlife Trust issued a warning that a growing number of the creatures were found on beaches and warned that they were capable of giving an “extremely nasty and painful sting” even after the creature had died. Read more by clicking here.

New figures reveal amount of sewage released into Thames: The issue of water companies pumping excess amounts of sewage into Britain’s rivers has come to prominence this year, leading to calls for the government to take action against the water companies. A story in this month’s Guardian will add to the pressure after it was revealed that Thames Water has pumped 72 billion litres of sewage into the River Thames since 2020, the equivalent of 29,000 Olympic-size swimming pools. Water companies are not legally obliged to report the amount of sewage they have released, only the number of hours which sewage was released for. However, in some areas monitors do register the amount of sewage released, and campaigners have used these to work out the levels of sewage being released into the Thames. It was calculated that in 2021 32 billion litres of sewage was released, and 14.3 billion litres last year. Thames Water has also been prosecuted by the Environment Agency, paying a £3.3 million fine earlier this year after admitting to killing 1,400 fish after releasing raw sewage into rivers. Overall, Thames Water has paid £35.7 million in fines since 2017. Munira Wilson, the Liberal Democrat MP for Twickenham, told the Guardian: “These horrifying revelations are proof that Thames Water needs to be ripped up. It is outrageous that Conservative ministers continue to sit on their hands and let Thames Water get away with this. The government is standing idly by whilst our rivers are poisoned and water firm execs pocket millions. The era of water firms putting profit before the environment must come to an end.” Read more on this story by clicking here.

Fin whale washes up on Cornish beach: A fin whale measuring 52ft (16 metres) long has washed up on Fistral Beach in Newquay this month. The beach was closed as work began to dismantle and remove the carcass and Cornwall Wildlife Trust said that samples of the whale were being taken to try and ascertain the cause of death. The whale was said to be malnourished and is the second of the species to wash up dead on a Cornish beach this year. Read more here.

Mackerel stocks are at risk from overfishing according to seafood companies: A coalition of seafood companies and conservation groups have said that mackerel stocks in the north east Atlantic are at risk due to the “collective failure” of the UK, Norway, Russia, the Faroe Islands and EU to set sustainable quotas. International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (Ices) sets the catch limit for mackerel based on scientific advice. All of the countries agree, in principle at least, not to exceed this level. However, when it comes to deciding on quotas for individual nations, no agreement can be reached, leading to countries deciding on their own catch levels and the total amount of mackerel being caught exceeding the limit set by Ices. After another meeting ended with no agreement, the coalition, which includes Tesco, Aldi, Sainsbury’s and Young’s, stated that they believed that the long-term sustainability of north east Atlantic mackerel was now at risk. The Marine Conservation Society downgraded mackerel on their sustainability list this year, moving it from green to amber, and the Marine Stewardship Council withdrew its blue tick which denotes sustainability for mackerel in 2019. Charles Clover, the author and co-founder of the conservation charity Blue Marine Foundation told the Guardian: “This is an overfishing disaster of potentially epic proportions” and said that the UK should “lead by example and declare a lower quota.” Erin Priddle of the Marine Stewardship Council told the same paper: “You can’t keep fishing above what the science says and expect things to be OK. Fish stocks are susceptible to crashes, as we’ve seen with the collapse of the cod stocks off the Grand Banks in the 1990s or the collapse of herring in the 60s.” A spokesperson for Defra said that the UK fishing industry and government had “exercised considerable restraint” in the long-term management of mackerel stocks and continued to take a “science-based but pragmatic” approach to future negotiations. Click here to read more on this story.