Positive ocean news: June '25 edition

The UK Government outlined plans to extend a ban on “destructive bottom-towed fishing gear" in around 30,000km2 of English seas, spanning 41 Marine Protected Areas. Currently, only around 18,000km2 are protected from the fishing practice.

A 12-week consultation has been launched, during which marine and fisheries stakeholders can submit their views and evidence on the issue.

If accepted, the plan would protect important marine habitats and species and support recovery and regeneration of seabed habitats damaged by bottom-towed gear.

The Marine Conservation Society, which has been campaigning to ban bottom-towed gear in MPAs for years, welcomes the proposal. “It’s important damaging practices in the marine environment are stopped to allow our ocean to regenerate. If the proposal is accepted – with no changes – this will be great news for our seas and those that call it home,” says Chris Graham, Head of Ocean Regeneration & Sustainable Seafood at the charity.

Read more on The Grocer website

On 1st June, a law banning disposable vapes came into force across the UK, with environmental charities welcoming the news.

Last year, around five million single-use vapes were estimated to be littered or thrown away every week in the UK, with littered vapes found on 68% of inland litter picks by Marine Conservation Society volunteers in 2024.

The newly introduced ban will help prevent harmful chemicals and microplastics from littered vapes leaking into the environment and posing a risk to wildlife. The move follows Laura Young’s successful Ban Disposable Vapes campaign, which was supported by the Marine Conservation Society, and its volunteers, Youth Ocean Network members and supporters.

Read more updates on disposable vapes

This means that the threshold of 60 countries needed to implement the treaty has now been met, with it potentially coming into force as early as January 2026.

The High Seas Treaty aims to protect marine life in areas of the ocean that are outside the boundaries of any single country. These waters cover almost two-thirds of the ocean, of which only 1% is currently protected.

As well as conserving vulnerable marine animals and habitats, these Marine Protected Areas would help ensure carbon stays locked into the seabed, rather than being disturbed and released back into the atmosphere by damaging activities such as bottom trawling.

Read more on the Guardian website

The Marine Conservation Society received several reports of a leatherback turtle seen swimming along England’s southwest coast, with the massive creature also captured on video.

The large leatherback was seen 500 metres off the coast of Devon, before travelling east. It was later spotted in Seaton and appeared to be in the area for several days, often seen feeding on the large number of jellyfish there.

Petra, who filmed the turtle off Branscombe, said, “At first, we thought it might be a dolphin. As we approached more cautiously, we were stunned to realise it was in fact a huge leatherback turtle - around 2 metres long. It looked like something from a prehistoric era: a living dinosaur.

"We sat in quiet awe, watching this magnificent creature swim around us, feeding. We didn’t follow it; it felt right to give this incredible animal the space and respect it deserved. We simply watched it disappear into the deep, grateful and humbled. It was a moment we’ll never forget.”

Seen a turtle in UK or Irish waters? Report your sighting

Samoa’s seas are filled with diverse habitats teeming with life. The MPAs will help protect critically endangered hawksbill turtles, spinner dolphins, blue sharks and a fish which is only found on the country’s reefs, Taei’s dwarfgoby, and humpback whales that use it as a migration route.

Samoa’s environment minister, Toeolesulusulu Cedric Pose Salesa Schuster, said that the plan is a “step towards ensuring that our ocean remains prosperous and healthy to support all future generations of Samoans, who will rely on the ocean like us and as our ancestors did.”

Read more on the Mongabay website

Within hours of the completion of a peatland restoration project in Wicken Fen, Cambridgeshire, rare wetland birds such as cranes and great egrets appeared.

As part of the project, Burwell Fen, which had been used for agriculture, was re-wetted, with birds such as spoonbills, curlews, and little ringed plovers appearing shortly afterwards.

A total of 590 acres of lowland peat are being restored through the National Trust project, with Wicken Fen general manager Emma Ormond-Bones saying: "It's providing the space and conditions nature needs to recover, while also helping to store carbon and make landscapes more resilient to future environmental challenges."

Read more on the BBC News website

More than three million larvae have been successfully reared, with more than 10,000 juvenile corals deployed across nine different reef locations.

The project involved using ReefSeed – a pioneering new technology that can produce millions of coral larvae for restoration, without the need for assistance from scientists on the ground.

The Maldives’ coral reefs have been badly impacted by bleaching caused by climate change, and the successful use of this new technology is hugely encouraging for future restoration efforts of these reefs and offers hope to the communities they sustain.

Read more on the Oceanographic website

In “one of the most significant steps in the aquatic rewilding of Portuguese rivers”, European beavers have seen in Portugal for the first time in 500 years.

Known as ecosystem engineers, beavers transform their surrounding environment, diverting water flow, creating ponds and wetlands teeming with wildlife, and preventing floods. Their reappearance in Portugal will hopefully help combat drought and wildfires by increasing water retention in dryland soil and creating dams to act as natural fire breaks.

“The beaver is a natural ally in restoring the health of our rivers and wetlands and has a fundamental role to play in our river ecosystems,” says Pedro Prata, Team Leader at Rewilding Portugal.

Read more on the Good News Network website