A couple of bits of marine conservation news that slipped by last week.
Firstly, the European Parliament has voted to ban the sale of seal products in the 27-nation EU in light of continuing outrage over the clubbing of seal pups in places like Canada.
The EU law, which would exempt seal products from traditional hunters among Canada's Arctic Inuit community, still requires the agreement of EU ministers to take effect but it is likely to be imposed by next year.
Labour MEP Arlene McCarthy, (at last a Labour politician who has done something right this year) who helped draft the rules said: "The vast majority of people across Europe are horrified by the cruel clubbing to death of seals and this law will finally put an end to the cruel cull."
In the EU, seals are culled on a much smaller scale in Sweden, Finland and the UK, mainly for fish stock management. The ban will not apply to such culling.
More importantly, Europe’s threatened sharks have been thrown a lifeline as the European Council announced their conclusions and priority actions regarding the Community Plan of Action for Sharks.
The Community Plan of Action for Sharks (CPOA) prioritise the need for a prompt review of the shark finning legislation and identify an urgent need to improve data collection to aid species management and conservation.
While shark finning is banned in Europe rules allow vessels to apply for a permit to remove shark fins at sea. Currently, five countries issue Special Fishing Permits: Spain, Portugal, Germany, Lithuania and the UK (where 80 tonnes of shark fins are landed per year).
The Shark Trust said it would continue to advocate for the UK Government to cease the provision of these permits.
Meanwhile, Fisheries Secretary Richard Lochhead said the plans for Scottish waters went further, only giving permission in exceptional circumstances.
Mr Lochhead said: "We know that some shark populations are critically endangered, and that is why we are proposing even tougher restrictions in Scotland, sending out a strong message."
Special fishing permits for taking sharks' fins were first issued in Scotland in 2004. If approved, the new restrictions would ban the granting of permits.
Mr Lockhead added: "In Scotland we will not sit back and wait for things to happen. We are determined to develop robust, workable procedures, proving beyond doubt that we are leading the rest of Europe on the conservation front."
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Scuba Diving Paradise South Pacific on BBC
Sunday nights might have felt a bit barren for scuba divers after Monty Halls bid farewell to the west coast of Scotland (not that he did much underwater exploring).
But fear not, BBC2 will this weekend launch a new series to sate our appetites while we wait for the summer jollies scuba diving in far flung destinations.
The South Pacific Ocean of Islands series will explore the "isolation of the region's islands, the extraordinary journeys wildlife and humans have taken to reach these remote specks of land and what happened to both after their arrival".
The BBC promises the series will include footage of undersea volcanoes attempting to form new islands, tiger sharks snatching newly fledged albatross chicks and bizarre human rituals that involve people jumping from 20-metre wooden scaffolds with only forest vines to break their fall.
The first programme this Sunday features remarkable (that's what they say) footage of a huge ocean wave filmed from beneath the surface, revealing features never before captured on camera.
"It reveals the hidden power of a four-metre-tall monster barrel wave. It also shows the first images of underwater spiralling vortices created by the wave's action," the BBC reports.
"I really wanted to slow the wave down, so it was like being there, immersed in that environment," says the BBC's Huw Cordey, series producer of South Pacific.
"I wanted to capture the scale of the event."
South Pacific: Oceans of Islands will be broadcast on BBC Two from Sunday, 10 May 2009 at 2030 BST.
But fear not, BBC2 will this weekend launch a new series to sate our appetites while we wait for the summer jollies scuba diving in far flung destinations.
The South Pacific Ocean of Islands series will explore the "isolation of the region's islands, the extraordinary journeys wildlife and humans have taken to reach these remote specks of land and what happened to both after their arrival".
The BBC promises the series will include footage of undersea volcanoes attempting to form new islands, tiger sharks snatching newly fledged albatross chicks and bizarre human rituals that involve people jumping from 20-metre wooden scaffolds with only forest vines to break their fall.
The first programme this Sunday features remarkable (that's what they say) footage of a huge ocean wave filmed from beneath the surface, revealing features never before captured on camera.
"It reveals the hidden power of a four-metre-tall monster barrel wave. It also shows the first images of underwater spiralling vortices created by the wave's action," the BBC reports.
"I really wanted to slow the wave down, so it was like being there, immersed in that environment," says the BBC's Huw Cordey, series producer of South Pacific.
"I wanted to capture the scale of the event."
South Pacific: Oceans of Islands will be broadcast on BBC Two from Sunday, 10 May 2009 at 2030 BST.
Hamilton Island winner
You've no doubt heard the news about the Brit who landed the "Best Job in the World" as the caretaker for Hamilton Island, on the Great Barrier Reef.
"I hope I can sell the reef as much as everybody is expecting," Ben Southall said after he was crowned the winner at a ceremony on Hamilton Island.
"My swimming hopefully is up to standard."
He starts "work" on July 1.
Well here's Southall's winning entry. Jammy so-and-so.
"I hope I can sell the reef as much as everybody is expecting," Ben Southall said after he was crowned the winner at a ceremony on Hamilton Island.
"My swimming hopefully is up to standard."
He starts "work" on July 1.
Well here's Southall's winning entry. Jammy so-and-so.
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Scuba Diving Dosthill
Back in front of my computer again after a manic week at work what with people being shot, a man being found with what he feared was a bomb strapped to his chest and another cannabis factory being busted.
A reporter's life is not a happy one. Well technically that's not true. It's a great job - even if it means standing on street corners for hours on end.
Despite the manic week, I still managed to get a scuba diving session in the pool in to help a recently qualified diver get more practice in a dry suit and dump a few pounds of weight at the same time. And my wife and I got in another trip to Dosthill to give her a bit more practice UK diving again in readiness for a trip next month.
No camera this time but we still managed to see an awful lot, pike, perch, carp, golden orf. And I showed her a bit of the quarry she had not seen before, skirting the edge of the bowl at 17m to take in the cars, Land Rover, tree and van. She also got to see the wall that leads to the back shelf as well.
Thanks to Lee Hatton there is a new map of Dosthill which is well worth checking out and might provide a few new spots you may have missed.
Ocean Acidification Study
Good news for us scuba divers, the UK government has launched an ambitious £11m five-year study into the impacts of ocean acidification.
Researchers are growing concerned that seas are absorbing CO2 at unprecedented rates and risking upsetting the delicate balance for life in the oceans.
The issue is now considered one of the major environmental issues of this century.
The study, co-funded by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and the Natural Environment Research Council (Nerc), will also examine the implications for people and the economy.
In a statement, Nerc said: “The associated increases in ocean acidity over coming decades are likely to be at a rate and on a scale unprecedented in at least the last 20 million years.
"Under such conditions, organisms creating aragonite skeletons face serious challenges.”
The study will focus on the Atlantic, Antarctic and Arctic oceans and assess how marine ecosystems are affected.
It is thought as much as half of all CO2 released by burning fossil fuels over the past 200 years has been absorbed by world’s oceans.
This has lowered the pH value of seawater and researchers fear it could result in a massive extinction of life in the seas.
Researchers are growing concerned that seas are absorbing CO2 at unprecedented rates and risking upsetting the delicate balance for life in the oceans.
The issue is now considered one of the major environmental issues of this century.
The study, co-funded by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and the Natural Environment Research Council (Nerc), will also examine the implications for people and the economy.
In a statement, Nerc said: “The associated increases in ocean acidity over coming decades are likely to be at a rate and on a scale unprecedented in at least the last 20 million years.
"Under such conditions, organisms creating aragonite skeletons face serious challenges.”
The study will focus on the Atlantic, Antarctic and Arctic oceans and assess how marine ecosystems are affected.
It is thought as much as half of all CO2 released by burning fossil fuels over the past 200 years has been absorbed by world’s oceans.
This has lowered the pH value of seawater and researchers fear it could result in a massive extinction of life in the seas.
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