Save the Ocean Life and Save Earth

Single-use plastics ban approved by European Parliament 24 October 2018           Ocean plastic is often eaten by sea animals, with fatal results.  GETTY IMAGES The European Parliament has voted for a complete ban on a range of single-use plastics across the union in a bid to stop pollution of the oceans. MEPs backed a ban on plastic cutlery and plates, cotton buds, straws, drink-stirrers and balloon sticks. The proposal also calls for a reduction in single-use plastic for food and drink containers like plastic cups. One MEP said, if no action was taken, "by 2050 there will be more plastic than fish in the oceans". The European Commission proposed a ban in May, following a surge in public support attributed to documentaries such as David Attenborough's BBC Blue Planet series. The measure still has to clear some procedural hurdles, but is expected to go through. The EU hopes it will go into effect across the bloc by 2021. The UK will also have to incorporate ...

Worth Protecting: See the Vibrant Marine Life of New Caledonia’s Coral Sea Photos show the diverse and beautiful species along world’s second-longest barrier reef July 12, 2018 By:    Christophe Chevillon   &   Aline Schaffer The diverse ecosystems in New Caledonia’s marine waters—including this reef wall in Chesterfield plateau, 500 kilometers west of the country’s main island—contain thousands of marine species, including damselfish and 48 species of sharks. Ten years ago, the lagoons of New Caledonia—a huge area of ocean containing several coral reefs and associated ecosystems—earned designation as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The staggering biodiversity of this area, which includes islands and coastline, features brilliant, healthy corals and thousands of species of plants and animals found nowhere else. The wealth of New Caledonia’s marine life extends well beyond its lagoons. In an effort to conserve the country’s natural ecosystems, the government cre...

Whale Died After Eating 80 Plastic Bags 2 June 2018                        AFP/ THAIWHALES     Helpers tried to stabilise the whale but it died on Friday afternoon A pilot whale has died off southern Thailand after swallowing 80 plastic bags, Thai marine officials say. The whale vomited five bags during a vain attempt by conservation officials to save it in a canal in Songkhla province. The bags, weighing about 8kg (17lbs), had made it impossible for the whale to eat food, a marine expert said. A recent report warned the amount of plastic in the ocean could triple in a decade  unless litter was curbed. Thailand is a major user of plastic bags and its government last month announced it was considering a levy on them. They are believed to kill hundreds of marine animals there each year. The small male pilot whale had been discovered ailing and unable to swim in the Na Thap Canal last Monday.   ...

Plastic Bag-Swallowing Sperm Whales – Victims of Our Remorseless Progress Philip Hoare   @philipwhale   Wed 23 May 2018 15.34 BST The news that Mediterranean whales have died after ingesting our plastic waste comes as no surprise – but seems to be an omen for fallout from our disruption of the natural world .                                A sperm whale plays with plastic waste in the Atlantic. Photograph: Ullstein Bild/ullstein bild via Getty Image Plastic bags have been  blamed for the deaths of sperm whales in the Mediterranean . The Athens-based Pelagos Cetacean Research Institute found that more than a third of the sperm whales found dead in Greek waters had stomachs blocked by plastic waste. But this comes as no surprise to whale watchers. In a plangent 2011 report by same researchers on a mass sperm-whale stranding, a combination of factors – noise from naval exerc...