18 Jun 2026
UK rivers face increasing risk of climate ‘whiplash’
Image description: River Tees flowing through a forest alongside Barnard Castle, County Durham. Photo by Tom Maclean on Unsplash Climate change could push UK rivers to dangerous extremes and bring more frequent rapid swings between wet and dry conditions, a phenomenon known as hydroclimatic whiplash, according to research led by the University of East […]
16 Jun 2026
Common octopus reaches Scotland as UK bloom enters second year
Photo by Dear Sunflower A dramatic surge in common octopus populations off the south-west coast of England has spread as far as Scotland and Wales, with sightings now reported across a range of coastal sites that would have been almost unthinkable just a few years ago. New findings from the Marine Biological Association (MBA) confirm that […]
16 Jun 2026
Satellite data reveals long-term decline in ocean productivity across UK waters
Photo by Smithsonian Ocean productivity across large parts of the north-east Atlantic has been declining steadily for two decades, according to a new study by scientists at Plymouth Marine Laboratory (PML) published in Frontiers in Remote Sensing. The findings raise significant concerns about the future health of marine food webs, fisheries and the ocean’s capacity to absorb […]
09 Jun 2026
Oceans under ‘severe and accelerating’ pressure, third UN assessment finds
Photo: Shanemyersphoto / Adobe Stock A deepening crisis The third UN World Ocean Assessment, launched on World Ocean Day (8 June 2026), warns that the world’s oceans face a deepening crisis driven by climate change, pollution, overfishing and biodiversity loss. Compiled over five years by approximately 600 experts from 86 countries, the 1,352-page assessment is the only […]
09 Jun 2026
Mangroves are rebounding globally but sea level rise threatens to drown their carbon stores
Photo by Timothy K Two studies published this week paint a complex picture of the world’s mangrove forests: globally they are growing for the first time in decades, but rising seas risk pushing them past a tipping point that could turn some of the ocean’s most valuable carbon stores into net emitters. A rare […]
02 Jun 2026
Cornwall regulator proposes emergency limits on octopus potting
Photo by Annie Spratt Cornwall’s inshore fisheries regulator is proposing an emergency byelaw to restrict octopus potting by larger vessels, as concern mounts over the impact of an unprecedented population bloom on the region’s crab and lobster fisheries. Cornwall IFCA announced on 26 May that its members will consider the measure at a quarterly meeting […]
02 Jun 2026
Baltic Sea dead zones spreading as shadow fleet oil spill risk grows, BBC warns
Photo by Jacob Fryer Standing in a harbourmaster’s office on the Danish island of Bornholm, Tom Nielsen surveys walls lined with sepia photographs of a busier era. “We used to have 55 boats at one time, and now we have one left,” he told BBC Future. “You could walk across the harbour from one fishing […]
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