Positive ocean news: March ‘25 edition

A newly published report highlights the range of socio-cultural benefits people experience from the coast and sea, helping to build a holistic picture of the marine environment’s true value.

Using the Community Voice Method, the Valued Seas project collected data on the different values the St Austell Bay community derive from their coastal area. The findings highlight the importance of the sea to coastal communities in creating a sense of identity, socialising, and building relationships, recreation, and particularly, supporting mental and physical wellbeing.

By capturing the everyday value of the marine environment to those who live, work, and enjoy time there, Valued Seas aimed to ensure that these benefits could be included in Natural Capital Assessments so decision-makers can consider the full range of impacts that management decisions might have for people and nature.

Read more here

866 previously unknown marine species have been discovered through a mission which aims to improve our understanding of ocean biodiversity.

The Nippon Foundation-Nekton Ocean Census is setting out to record 100,000 species in the coming years to help unlock the mysteries of the ocean and help fill in the gaps in our knowledge of marine life before it’s too late.

So far, 10 expeditions have taken place through the mission, which consists of 800 scientists from over 400 international institutions. During these, a new species of shark, pipefish, sea butterfly, mud dragon, bamboo coral, water bear, sea sponge, crab, lobster, sea spiders, and brittle stars have been identified and recorded.

Read more on the Oceanographic website

Researchers at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute in California (MBARI) have been using underwater microphones to study the acoustic behaviour of various whale species, which can provide insight into how they’re responding to changing ocean conditions.

The findings show that the number of days in which humpback whale songs were detected rose from 34% to 76%, with the increases correlating with the availability of krill and anchovies. Other whale species sang more when krill was abundant, but the distinction of humpbacks is their ability to adapt to changes in the food web by switching between prey depending on which is abundant.

Read more on the Good News Network

New drone footage has captured the tusking behaviours of narwhals in the Arctic, shining a light on what ‘unicorns of the sea’ use their unique tusks for.

Narwhals are famous for their long tusks, which resemble a horn and can reacg up to 10-foot in length. Although experts have theorised about narwhals’ tusking behaviour, suggesting they’re used in courtship and to help sense the world around them, the creatures are notoriously elusive, making it difficult to observe them and find out more.

However, a new study by researchers from Florida Atlantic University’s Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute and Inuit communities in Nunavut in Canada’s High Arctic has recorded 17 distinct behaviours, including exploration, foraging, using their tusks to interact with fish and influence their behaviour, and blocking whales’ access to target fish.

As well as shining a light on the many ways narwhals use their tusks, the footage gives a real-time glimpse of their behaviour, helping scientists to understand how they’re responding to environmental changes caused by global warming.

Read more on the Discover Wildlife website

Surrounding the entire coast of Bawe Island in the Zanzibar Channel, it’s hoped that the marine reserve will help protect the area’s once abundant coral reefs and allow them to regenerate.

To support local fishers with the new fishing ban, houses will be built on Bawe island, providing private boat docks and easy access to areas outside the protected area where fishing is allowed.

Read more on the Oceanographic magazine

563 grey seals have been recorded at the South Walney Nature Reserve in Cumbria, England – the highest number ever counted at the reserve.

The number of seals rose from single digits in the 1980s and 90s to 518 in 2021, and now 563, in what has been called a great conservation success story.

Cumbria Wildlife Trust, which manages the reserve, monitors the seals’ behaviour and how they respond to different factors, including human activity in the sea surrounding Walney Island (there is no access to the area in which the seals are located).

Although people are asked to stay at least 100m away from the seals at all times, the colony can be observed through the Trust’s webcam.

Read more on the ITV News website

This follows a decline of Belizean shark species from 2009 to 2019 due to shark fishing in the area, with the Caribbean reef shark being is the country’s most fished shark species.

However, there is hope for the globally endangered Caribbean reef shark, with Belize's population rebounding beyond previous levels within four years of the no-take zones being established. As well as marine scientists and management authorities, fishers have played a key role in this success by helping to conduct research, enforce restrictions and report illegal activities in the area.

Hector Martinez, a shark fisher who helps tag the sharks for research, said, “Every day that shark fishers are out on the water, not catching sharks and instead doing research, is a day you might be saving 100 sharks. There is no law, no regulation, nothing that you can put in place that would have that effect.”

Read more on the Mongabay website