Breaking Waves: Ocean News

Exclusive: Defra issues new cull licences despite government adviser saying there is ‘no justification’ Badger cull licences have been issued by the government despite its own scientific adviser saying there is “no justification” for doing so. Leaked documents seen by the Guardian show the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs this month issued 17 new licences to continue culling badgers, overruling Dr Peter Brotherton, the director of science at Natural England, the government’s adviser for the natural environment in England. Continue reading...

Scientists are tagging sharks to map Pacific migration routes in a bid to expand marine reserves before more of these endangered species fall prey to illegal industrial fishing It’s a three-person job to land a 2-metre shark: two to wrap ropes around its thrashing tail and midriff, a third to clamp shut its powerful jaws. Hanging over the side of the Sea Quest fishing skiff, the crew work quickly to minimise any distress to the animal, a female silky shark. Once onboard, a hose attached to a saltwater pump is placed in her mouth, to irrigate her gills. Catching and tagging sharks is contentious among some researchers, who say it is harmful. But for Alex Hearn, a professor of biology at Quito’s Universidad de San Francisco in Ecuador, who has studied sharks for two decades, it is critical to understanding behaviour that could better protect one of the most endangered group of vertebrates on the planet. Continue reading...

Figures show breaches have rarely led to prosecution by Drinking Water Inspectorate since 2021 The drinking water regulator for England and Wales has brought only three prosecutions against water companies for providing poor quality water since 2021, despite 362 instances in which water was flagged as being unfit for human consumption. Periodically, members of the public or companies have informed the Drinking Water Inspectorate about water that has not been not safe for human consumption. In those instances, the DWI can issue legal instruments that require companies to put in place a package of measures. Continue reading...

Kilauea, one of the most active volcanoes in the world, has begun erupting in a remote area that last saw an eruption half-century ago, the US Geological Survey’s Hawaiian Volcano Observatory said. The eruption is about 1.6 km (1 mile) south of the Kilauea caldera, in an area within Hawaii Volcanoes national park that last erupted in December 1974. The area surrounding the caldera has been closed to the public since 2008 because of other hazards, including ground cracking, instability in the crater wall and rockfalls. Hawaii’s Kilauea, one of the most active volcanoes in the world, erupts Continue reading...