Photo: 1^st place, The Ocean Photographer of the Year: Rafael Fernandez Caballero. “A Bryde’s whale takes a bite”. Baja California Sur, Mexico. See more here.

Introducing our Ocean and Coastal news at a Glance. In our first edition, we are covering a two week news cycle, as it has been a particularly newsworthy fortnight.

WEEK 18 – 24 September

Climate: 

A group of UK charities have claimed that the UK has become the first nation to map and estimate the amount of carbon stored in its seabed habitats. The Blue Carbon Mapping Project, a collaboration of WWF, The Wildlife Trusts, the RSPB, and SAMs, reveals that 244 million tonnes of organic carbon are stored in just the top 10cm of UK seabed habitats, with seabed sediments such as mud being far more important than we think.

The Wales Net Zero 2035 Challenge Group published a series of seven reports on the 16th September, aiming to renew and rapidly accelerate Wales’s approach to achieving net zero.

The Planetary Health Check has been released, a report that analyses nine processes that help keep Earth’s life support systems stable (a.k.a. Planetary Boundaries). The thresholds beyond which these processes can no longer function properly have already been breached for six out of the nine boundaries, and the latest report suggests we are close to breaching a seventh planetary boundary, ocean acidification.

A vital ocean artery known as the Florida Current, a key indicator for the ocean’s ability to regulate Earth’s climate, has seemingly been weakening for decades. However a new report suggests that recent decline might not be quite as severe as suspected and the current has actually remained stable over recent decades. This hopefully translates into more time to prevent the most catastrophic slowing of ocean circulation than previously estimated.

Marine pollution: 

Leading medics warn of ‘profound public health crisis’ caused by plastics. The Plastic Health Council, a coalition of global medics and campaigners, have written an open letter to delegates ahead of the final round of talks for the UN Global Plastic Treaty in November. The letter said the UN treaty “must reduce the production volume of plastics, commit to funding sustainable chemistry research to create safe replacements, and mandate comprehensive testing of all chemicals in plastics”.

Science: 

Earthshot prize shortlist has been announced, including several marine and coastal focused organisations.

Antarctic krill lock away carbon in the deep sea at similar scales to Blue Carbon habitats, such as saltmarshes, seagrass and mangroves. However, krill are also impacted by global heating and potential overfishing, so should be considered for protections similar to these important habitats.

The ‘Plankton Manifesto’, a landmark document, was launched by the UN Global Compact Ocean Stewardship Coalition during the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on 23 September 2024. The Manifesto, emphasises the critical importance of plankton in addressing the interlinked global crises of climate change, pollution, and biodiversity loss.

Offshore Industries: 

‘World’s first’ AI-driven underwater vehicle has been used to inspect an offshore wind farm. The vehicle could revolutionise surveying of offshore wind farms and halve inspection times.

Cook Islanders joined hands in protest against the proposed deep-sea mining of polymetallic nodules containing valuable minerals in the Cook Islands seabed. Cook Islands reportedly boasts the world’s largest documented collection of mineral rich manganese nodules. Protestors are calling for a moratorium on deep-sea activities until the environmental risks have been fully evaluated.

Fisheries:

The Crown Estate, which owns the sea bed around large parts of the UK, published its latest map of potential development zones. While the Crown Estate have stated the Renewable energy sector creates “countless new opportunities within communities for skills and jobs, both onshore and at sea”, fishermen have warned proposals to expand planned wind farm sites off the Devon and Cornwall coast could devastate the fishing industry.

Meanwhile, The National Federation of Fishermen’s Organisations has said that The Crown Estate’s call for evidence timeline for future areas of development is “impossible to meet”.

A group of leading ocean experts have called for action to end the “ongoing destruction of our oceans by fishing” and say the current definition of sustainable fishing is “dangerously flawed”. In a paper published in the journal Ocean Sustainability, the researchers have laid out 11 “golden rules” which they say would help renew fish populations in order to feed future generations. 

Aquaculture: 

Cefas have written a  blog on the opportunities and challenges facing the seaweed industry in the UK and Europe, and their role in supporting this sector. 

WEEK 25 – 1 October

Climate: 

Each decade around 13% of the ice in the Arctic Ocean is lost, but scientists are now exploring whether new technology can help refreeze the sea ice and halt its rapid decline. Engineers will use pumps to spread seawater on top of the ice that will freeze over winter and last longer into the summer months. However, the sheer size of the Arctic means there is doubt over whether the technology could be rolled out effectively and widely enough to make a significant difference, as well as the “risk of unintended consequences“.

The United Nations general assembly will hold a high-level meeting to address the existential threats posed by sea level rise as the issue climbs the international agenda. Low-lying Pacific island are pinning their hopes on UN meeting as sea rise threatens survival. As global temperatures rise and ice sheets melt, low-lying nations are experiencing extreme and regular flooding, frequent coastal erosion and persistent food and water insecurity.

Norway, Western Europe’s largest oil and gas producer, has launched the world’s first carbon storage service under the seabed. Northern Lights is a joint venture between oil and gas companies Equinor, TotalEnergies and Shell, with 80% of the cost of Northern Lights financed by the Norwegian government. The world’s overall capture capacity is still barely 0.1 percent of the world’s annual total emissions, and carbon capture technology remains heavily subsidised.

The Met Office and Cefas have joined forces recognising that a collective approach is essential to understand both the weather and climate drivers of marine heatwaves and their impacts on the health of our seas.  In June 2023, the seas around the UK experienced a marine heatwave, with sea surface temperatures reaching their highest levels for June since records began in 1850.

Marine Pollution: 

The true extent of oil pollution released into UK waters by the fossil fuel industry has been “significantly underestimated” and it is putting marine wildlife at risk. The conservation group Oceana said chronic oiling, defined as frequent, small-scale releases, into the North Sea was 43% higher than estimated over the last decade, due to an “opaque” system of reporting oil discharges and spills. Oceana is calling for an increase in inspections and enforcement measures to prevent spills and breaches.

In 2020, new regulations from the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) restricted how much sulphur oxide pollution ships can have in their exhaust. While shipping companies have largely complied and successfully diverted pollutants from the air by installing ship scrubbers, it was revealed this technology has instead sent a steady flow of heavy metals into the sea, contaminating marine life and causing millions of dollars worth of damage. The Swedish government announced a move to ban water discharges from open-loop scrubbers in its maritime territory starting in July 2025, and from all scrubbers by January 2029. The Danish government followed suit with the same ban dates. Meanwhile, China, Singapore, and Germany had already banned open-loop scrubbers in their coastal waters shortly after ships started installing them.

Two shipping companies have been given a $2 million criminal penalty for discharging oil into the ocean. The $2 million penalty includes $500,000 in organisational community service payments that will be used for funding maritime environmental projects in the eastern district of Louisiana, managed by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. Another probation condition is that the corporations must adhere to an environmental compliance plan which mandates audit, safety and inspection requirements over the next 4 years.

Offshore Wind: 

The Sustainability Joint Industry Programme (SUS JIP) has unveiled a new methodology aimed at improving the transparency and comparability of carbon footprints in offshore wind farms. Developed in collaboration with the Carbon Trust and 12 leading offshore wind developers, the framework provides a first-of-its-kind tool to help developers reduce emissions and allow investors to confidently assess projects based on their carbon impact. This initiative is part of a broader effort to help the global offshore wind industry accelerate decarbonisation and meet Net Zero targets by 2050. SUS JIP partners include industry giants such as bp, Ørsted, RWE, Shell, and TotalEnergies.

The Biden administration cancelled a planned auction of offshore wind development rights off the coast of Oregon after the state’s governor said she did not support the sale. The announcement was a setback to Joe Biden’s vision to deploy turbines along every U.S. coastline as part of his efforts to fight climate change. Offshore wind opposition has grown more sophisticated in the United States and beyond, with several active groups in Oregon. However, BOEM has responded they will continue to collaborate with representatives from federal, state and local agencies and Tribal governments, to coordinate on potential leasing and support ongoing stakeholder engagement processes on broader offshore wind considerations, such as the state-led development of a strategic roadmap for offshore wind.

Offshore Industries: 

The Center for Biological Diversity and the Wishtoyo Chumash Foundation have filed a formal notice of their intent to sue the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management over the agency’s failure to require updated development plans for oil drilling at the troubled Santa Ynez Unit off the California coast. They claim the agency is ignoring numerous harms from offshore oil and gas activity, including air pollution, risk of oil spills and contributing to climate change. 

Fisheries:

England’s Marine Management Organisation (MMO) has launched an online survey to seek views on future management of demersal fisheries in Celtic Sea and Western Channel. Data collected from respondents will be used in the development of the FMP, which will subsequently go to public consultation and is due to be published by the end of 2025.

Environmental NGOs BLOOM and ClientEarth are filing legal action against the French government to ‘bring it into compliance with EU conservation laws’. France currently allows bottom trawling in Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in the Mediterranean, and the lawsuit in the Administrative Court of Paris aims to put a stop to this and set a precedent for protected areas across the EU.

Aquaculture:

Four North Wales coastal sites have been identified for ‘mega seaweed farms’. The ‘Project Madoc’ feasibility study was commissioned by the Seaweed Alliance. It found that Wales had the potential to farm 17,700 tonnes of seaweed per year by 2033. Were this to be realised, seaweed farming could create almost 1,000 jobs.

Conservation: 

The ‘100% Alliance for Sustainable Ocean Management’ campaign was recently unveiled, calling on all coastal and ocean states to commit to sustainably managing 100% of ocean areas under national jurisdiction. Led by the government of France, in partnership with the Ocean Panel, and coordinated by the World Resources Institute, the campaign will lead the charge for ambitious global action towards the next UN Ocean Conference. Its ultimate aim is to ensure that all ocean areas under national jurisdiction are sustainably managed by 2030. 

The highest ever recorded numbers of minke whales and the lowest number of basking sharks were observed in the Hebrides in 2023, as reported by the Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust. Their 20 year monitoring programme  suggests a possible association between these two highly mobile and long-lived species; when sighting rates for basking sharks are high, they are low for minke whales, and vice versa. NatureScot also revealed twenty-four species of cetacean have been recorded in the waters off the west coast of Scotland, of which only fifteen are recorded annually. The combined findings highlight the importance of long-term monitoring of these species and the threats facing them.

Protecting coral reefs and fighting malnutrition go hand in hand, according to Conservation International research. They suggest fish catches in coral reefs could increase by up to 20 percent by expanding sustainable-use marine protected areas.

Spending around £3 billion on creating and restoring wetlands around the UK in the next 27 years could yield at least £11 billion in benefits for society and the environment, new research has revealed. Wetland value was assessed on how it could; improve the nation’s water quality, shore up flood defences, store carbon, and boost health and wellbeing through time spent in nature. The Wildfowl and Wetland trust has mapped out 100,000 hectares of “wetland potential” around the UK.

Norway’s deep sea mining plans in the Arctic will cause irreversible harm to biodiversity, a new Greenpeace International report warns. It is said allowing deep sea mining would go in direct contradiction to their commitment in 2020 to  sustainably manage 100% of their ocean areas by 2025, through the High Level Ocean panel for a Sustainable Ocean Economy. However, despite the warnings from the scientific community, the Norwegian government aims to hand out the first licences next year, and for mining to start in 2030.

Understanding the true value of our marine ecosystems is essential for driving conservation efforts, and the JNCC Marine Monitoring Team has been working to fill information gaps in the marine evidence base. Their offshore surrey team are setting sail to the seas off St Kilda as part of the Defra-funded mNCEA (marine Natural Capital and Ecosystem Assessment) Programme, looking at the deep sea mud in the area and assessing the true value of St Kilda’s muddy marine habitats.

Nature and Heritage Minister Malcolm Noonan admits efforts to bring in laws to protect Irish waters ‘have been frustrating’, as the Government announced long-awaited legislation that will protect 30% of Irish waters is nowhere near coming to fruition and no updates on the Marine Protected Areas Bill could be provided. Fair Seas organised a rally, where protesters dressed in marine creature costumes placed toy seals around the gates of Leinster House.

Marine Communication: 

The Life at Sea 2024 photography awards have been announced. The seafarers’ photography competition, run by the ITF Seafarers’ Trust, offers a glimpse into a largely unseen world. The annual competition, which started during the pandemic, tracks the consistent issues faced by seafarers and captures key moments and their unique impact on those working at sea.

‘Our Oceans’ Netflix Nature Documentary Narrated by Barack Obama is set for a November 2024 Release. It promises to deliver some of the most incredible footage ever captured across all five oceans and seven continents.