Positive ocean news: August 2022 edition
From a rare sea slug sighting in Scilly to a whale rescue in Shetland, we've rounded up the most positive ocean news stories from August. Enjoy!
Rare sea slug sighting
Credit: Allen Murray
What a find! One of our Seasearch volunteers discovered a new species of sea slug has been visiting UK waters.
Diver Allen Murray found the brightly coloured and incredibly rare Babakina anadoni sea slug during a dive near the Isles of Scilly. It's only been seen a handful of times in the world, mainly along the coast of Spain and further south in the Atlantic.
Findings like this from our Seasearch volunteers are so important in helping us to understand and better protect our marine wildlife. If you want to get involved, find out more on the Seasearch website.
Single-use plastics bill
Credit: Unsplash
The Welsh Government have taken a positive step towards reducing plastic pollution, by publishing a draft bill to ban the sale of most common single-use plastics, including straws, cutlery, drinks stirrers, and plastic bags.
Our Great British Beach Clean data from 2021 shows that in Wales, plastic and polystyrene accounted for 82% of all beach litter, with an average of 120 pieces per 100 metres. Legislation banning single-use plastic would help to tackle the plastic pollution problem.
If you'd like to find out more and take part in this year's event, head to our Great British Beach Clean webpage.
Stranded minke whale rescued
Credit: Hugh Harrop
A small community in Shetland came together to save the life of a stranded minke whale. Initially presumed dead, once the rescuers realised the mammal was still breathing, they pulled together to get the whale out of the shallows and back into the ocean.
Read the full story on the BBC website.
Chinook salmon returns
Credit: Flickr
In very exciting news, the endangered chinook salmon species has returned to McCloud river in California, after 80 years.
With California's rivers warming, chinook salmon haven't swam in the river since 1942. In an effort to save the species, 20,000 endangered eggs were recently delivered by helicopter and put in to a remote area in Shasta County. The local community will be watching closely for the eggs to hatch.
Read the full, fascinating story on the CBS news website.
How much you cleaned up
August was a busy month for beach cleans. Our fantastic volunteers and supporters collected 59 bags worth of litter from beaches around the UK. This removed a huge 192kg of pollution from our beaches that will have ended up in our ocean. A big thank you to everyone who took part in a beach clean this month.
If you'd like to get involved with a beach clean, why not take part in our upcoming Great British Beach Clean? If you don't live by the sea, no problem - you can get involved with our Source to Sea Litter Quest instead.