03 Dec 2024

A third of sharks, rays, and chimaeras are threatened with extinction, says a new landmark report. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has released a report, Global Status of Sharks, Rays and Chimaeras, that highlights new knowledge compiled by 353 experts from 115 countries and stresses the urgent need to address overfishing and bycatch […]

27 Nov 2024

As the clean-up continues in areas hit by Storm Bert, forecasters, environment officials and politicians have been strongly criticised over the warnings issued before the storm and the fitness of flood defences to cope with increasingly common extreme weather (The Guardian).   Photo credit: Ray Bilcliff   The Environment Agency said that lessons learned from […]

27 Nov 2024

COP29 ended with a deal in which rich countries promised to raise $300bn a year by 2035 tripling climate finance support for developing countries. However, many poorer countries were left outraged by the deal, and the financial settlement also fails to consider the effect of inflation.   Photo credit: Markus Spiske   The UK government […]

27 Nov 2024

Defra has published bathing water results showing that 92% of English bathing waters meet water quality standards. The number of monitored bathing waters in England rated as poor and unfit for swimming has more than doubled, from 18 to 37. Out of the 450 sites regularly tested this summer for bacteria related to sewage discharges, […]

27 Nov 2024

The Environment Agency has published the outputs of a project exploring new approaches for examining the impact of droughts on English catchments and water supply systems, with the aim of increasing preparedness and understanding the range of interventions to take in different droughts.   Photo credit: Tom Fisk   Background This project explored new approaches […]

27 Nov 2024

Ofwat, the economic regulator for English and Welsh water companies, says it had used new powers to ensure that bonuses at the three companies were paid by shareholders and bondholders – rather than through customer bills – because the payments had not “adequately reflected overall company performance issues”. The companies are Thames, Yorkshire, and Dŵr […]

27 Nov 2024

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has drafted information and guidance on storm overflows, in collaboration with Ofwat and the Environment Agency. This covers existing policy and legislation, and it aims to support water and sewerage companies and the regulators in managing and regulating storm overflows in England. The associated consultation is […]

27 Nov 2024

Operational Health and Safety Officer (UK based) Closing date: 10 January 2025 www.ocean-ecology.com WHY OCEAN ECOLOGY? We are a leading marine environmental consultancy specialising in providing survey, technical and advisory services to organisations delivering and governing the global blue economy. We recently became part of DNV, the world’s leading classification society and advisor to the maritime […]