» 2017



North Sea artificial island on Dogger Bank proposed as hub for offshore windfarm developments

The Guardian reports, 29th December 2017: Britain’s homes could be lit and powered by windfarms surrounding an artificial island deep out in the North Sea, under advanced plans by a Dutch energy network. The radical proposal envisages an island being built to act as a hub for vast offshore windfarms that would eclipse today’s facilities […]

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Marinet Special : Plastic in the Ocean

Awareness is growing of the huge, grave problem that plastic pollution of the ocean has created. We provide here a selection of articles and research reports published during the last 12 months (2017) which cover this “environmental crisis”, now considered by many to be as serious as climate change. These articles address not just the […]

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Plastic pollutes islands in the Arctic circle

The Guardian reports 16th June 2017: Beaches on remote Arctic islands are heavily polluted with plastic, a new expedition has found, demonstrating that the region is the dumping ground for waste carried northwards on the Gulf Stream. The shorelines of the Norwegian islands in the Svalbard archipelago and of Jan Mayen island were found to […]

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Plastic pollutes remote uninhabited Pacific island

The Guardian reports, 15th May 2017: One of the world’s most remote places, an uninhabited coral atoll, is also one of its most polluted. Henderson Island, a tiny landmass in the eastern South Pacific, has been found by marine scientists to have the highest density of anthropogenic debris recorded anywhere in the world, with 99.8% […]

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“Plastic pollution is a crisis comparable to climate change”, say US scientists

The Guardian reports 19th July 2017: Humans have produced 8.3bn tonnes of plastic since the 1950s with the majority ending up in landfill or polluting the world’s continents and oceans, according to a new report. The first global analysis of all mass–produced plastics has found that it has outstripped most other man-made materials, threatening a […]

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Scientists are trying to lab-breed corals that are resistant to global warming

The Guardian reports, 23rd December 2017: New super corals bred by scientists to resist global warming could be tested on the Great Barrier Reef within a year as part of a global research effort to accelerate evolution and save the “rainforests of the seas” from extinction. Researchers are getting promising early results from cross-breeding different […]

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4 Views on the Ocean Plastic problem, and possible solutions

We provide here a summary of 4 perspectives on the problem of ocean plastic pollution, and the solutions and difficulties which they foresee. They are:   Artists Project Earth and their Report and Campaign, 2017: Solutions for Ocean Plastics and Agenda for Action, by Prof. Edward Kosior and Irene Crescenzi. Algalita Marine Research Foundation, and […]

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UK Parliament Committee recommends deposit return scheme for plastic bottles

House of Commons Environment Audit Committee news release, 22nd December 2017: The Environmental Audit Committee calls for the introduction of a UK-wide deposit return scheme for plastic bottles, a requirement to provide free drinking water in public premises, and to make producers financially responsible for the plastic packaging they produce. Read the report summary Read […]

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Zero-emission vessels may enter shipping fleets by 2030

The Institute of Marine Engineering, Science and Technology (ImarEST) reports 12th December 2017: Lloyd’s Register (LR) and University Maritime Advisory Services have released a study that aims to demonstrate the viability of zero-emission vessels (ZEVs) and identify how they will become a competitive option for decarbonisation. According to the report, ZEVs will need to begin […]

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Discovery of marine fungus which “eats” plastic

Actionhub.com reports, 5th July 2017: Researchers from the University of Aveiro, Portugal, have discovered a form of marine fungus that degrades plastic, meaning it can potentially be used to combat pollution. There’s never been a time in which humans have been producing more plastic than now and unfortunately, tons of this ends up in our […]

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Seas-At-Risk organisation evaluates new fishing proposals, including electric pulse fishing

Seas-At-Risk press release, 21st November 2017: The European Parliament Fisheries Committee [has taken a decision which] seriously weakens marine environmental legislation. The European Parliament Fisheries Committee today [21st November] voted on a proposal that will revise legislation on the protection of fisheries resources and marine ecosystems. The proposal merges more than 30 existing regulations and […]

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Concerns rise over electric pulse fishing, say small boat fishermen

Lifeplatform.eu reports 5th September 2017: A meeting in Nieuwpoort, Belgium on 1st September, organized by Belgian inshore fisherman Jan De Jonghe and attended by a variety of commercial fishermen from the UK, Belgium and Holland as well as staff from the Low Impact Fishers of Europe Platform [LIFE] and researchers from the Marine Institute, highlighted […]

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EU Parliament’s Fishing Committee votes to legalise electric pulse sea fishing

Thejournal.ie reports 26th November 2017: A branch of the European Union has voted to allow an untested type of fishing that sends electric shocks through the seabed. The European Parliament fisheries committee decided to allow “electric pulse” fishing to be considered conventional, a move which would allow EU states to licence it like any other […]

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Electric pulse sea fishing explained : the practice and the law

Britishseafishing.co.uk reported in 2012, updated 2017: Pulse trawling (also known as electro trawling and electric pulse trawling) is a technologically advanced — and highly controversial — method of commercial fishing which has only been used on an experimental basis up until now, but appears to making a major breakthrough into mainstream commercial fishing across Europe’s […]

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Great Barrier coral reef : Is it capable of regenerating itself?

The Guardian reports, 29th November 2017: A group of “source” reefs have been identified that could form the basis of a life support system for the Great Barrier Reef, helping repair damage by bleaching, starfish and other disturbances. Researchers from the University of Queensland, CSIRO, Australian Institute of Marine Science and the University of Sheffield […]

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Salmon farming and sea lice : an analysis by BBC News

BBC News reports, 14th February 2017: As the latest figures reveal a significant drop in the weight of Scottish salmon being farmed in the last three months of 2016, BBC Scotland’s Business and Economy editor Douglas Fraser considers the impact of sea lice on the industry. Marinet Note: The Scottish Salmon Producers Organisation reported in […]

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Salmon farming has done great harm to fish and environment, says Jeremy Paxman

The Daily Telegraph reports, 12th August 2017: Salmon farming has done ‘enormous harm’ to fish stocks and the environment, Jeremy Paxman has warned, as he called for an overhaul of the industry to protect wildlife. The presenter, and keen angler, said many fisheries traded on the image that salmon arrived at the table ‘fresh from […]

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Salmon farms in Scotland displaying increasing levels of sea lice infection

Salmon and Trout Conservation Scotland reports, 30th October 2017: Following the formal decision (see link below) by the Scottish Information Commissioner that Scottish Ministers unlawfully tried to withhold information naming fish farms that had breached Scottish Government trigger levels for the numbers of adult female sea lice on farmed salmon, S&TC Scotland has now received […]

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UK Government to explore taxation as a means of preventing plastic pollution of the ocean

Letsrecycle.com reports, 22nd November 2017: Chancellor Philip Hammond has announced plans to investigate how the tax system and charges on single-use plastic items can reduce waste. Following the announcement in the chancellor’s Autumn Budget statement, 22nd November, HM Treasury confirmed the government will launch “a call for evidence in early 2018 on how the tax […]

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Wildlife Trusts call for new UK Marine Strategy following Brexit

The Wildlife Trusts, October 2017: A unique chance for the UK to become a world leader in marine management. Seize the moment! In 2019 the UK plans to leave the European Union. While it is important that we retain existing EU law through the Withdrawal Bill and anticipated Fisheries and Agriculture Bills, this departure is […]

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