Positive ocean news: January ’26 edition

In recognition of her services to the natural marine environment and the communities of North Wales, and the success of the Hiraeth Yn Y Môr project which she led, Ffion Mitchell-Langford, the Marine Conservation Society’s Community Engagement Projects Lead, has received a British Empire Medal (BEM) in the King's New Years Honours List.

Ffion said, "This Honour extends to the incredible community members and colleagues I have the joy of working with, day in and day out.

She will continue her efforts to improve the health of the marine environment and will be driving further impact for people and the sea through our Atlantic Coast Programme.

The Treaty has been ratified by 83 countries, helping to create a network of marine sanctuaries across the globe which protects around 60% of the world’s ocean. It will establish a process for creating Marine Protected Areas in international waters and requires states to assess and disclose the environmental impacts of any activities outside their jurisdiction to prevent damaging activities proceeding unnoticed.

Other countries, including the UK, have yet to deliver on their commitments to ratify the Treaty. ENGOs including the Marine Conservation Society, Oceana, Greenpeace and RSPB have signed an open letter urging the UK Government to urgently write this landmark treaty into law.

Read more on the Mongabay website.

So far this winter, 15 North Atlantic right whale calves have been born – an encouraging increase for the struggling population.

North Atlantic right whales are one of the most threatened cetaceans on Earth, and it’s thought that around 50 new calves would be needed each year for the population to truly recover.

However, there is hope. By the end of 2024, there were an estimated 384 North Atlantic right whales, a 7% increase from 2020. Some of the mothers entering the breeding pool this winter are first-time mothers, and some are giving birth at shorter intervals.

Every birth counts for this vulnerable population, and these latest figures show that there is still time to secure a future for the species.

Read more on the Mongabay website.

The ban prohibits the production, import or sale of any product containing PFAS, where an alternative to PFAS already exists. These include clothes and cosmetics, textiles, footwear, and waterproofing agents, such as ski wax. French authorities are also required to regularly test drinking water for all types of PFAS.

Bans on these toxic chemicals are already in place in some US states and Denmark, with more to be introduced in 2026.

Read more on the France 24 website.

Harry, who’s 11, said: "I would like to raise as much as we need to save the ocean. We need the ocean for so many things and we're destroying it." The sale of his cards will go a a long way in helping to protect and restore the marine environment – thank you, Harry!

Read more on the BBC News website.

British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) saved four common dolphins after six became stranded on Westray, one of the Orkney islands.

Attempts were remade to refloat all six dolphins, which included two calves, but three seemed to have difficulties and remained close to the shore. One of them, however, managed to make its way further out and swim away.

Three days later, BDMLR also rescued a seal pup which was badly entangled in fishing gear. Most of the netting was removed at the scene, with the parts embedded in its neck removed later at the East Winch Wildlife Centre in Norfolk. There, the seal will be rehabilitated until it’s well enough to be released back into the wild.

Read more on The Herald website.

26 manatees have been released back into the wild last year following rehabilitation at ZooTampa, one of Florida’s main manatees rescue organisations.

It has rehabilitated 615 manatees since 1991, with 2025 marking the highest number of successful releases. The iconic species faces threats from boat collisions and habitat loss, with hundreds killed each year. ZooTampa’s rescue and release programme provides injured manatees with critical care and rehabilitation until they’re well enough to be returned to their natural habitat.

Later this year, it will unveil a new, state-of-the-art rescue facility in which visitors can see these life-saving efforts firsthand and observe these graceful marine mammals as they rehabilitate.

Read more on the Good News Network website.

The humpback whale which has become a regular visitor the Isles of Scilly has been identified as female, thanks to ‘one in a million’ images captured by a local wildlife watcher.

Pi, so called because of a pi-shaped scar on her fin, has visited the Isles every year since 2020, making her the most reliably recurrent humpback whale in the UK.

The photo, which was taken just as Pi was flipping on her back, allowed local and global cetacean experts to confirm that the whale is female. This has led to excitement at the possibility that she’s of breeding age – she’s thought to be at least seven or eight years old.

Although humpback sightings around the UK have become increasingly common in recent years as populations rebound following bans on commercial whaling, they still face threats such as fishing gear entanglement, ship collisions and the impacts of climate change.

News that Pi is female and potentially of breeding age has offered some hope that there may be mini Pis visiting our shores in the near future.

Read more on the BBC News website.