Positive ocean news: September '24 edition

Hundreds of beach cleans took place across the UK and Channel Islands during this year’s Great British Beach Clean.

The event, organised by the Marine Conservation Society and sponsored by Cully & Sully Soup, saw thousands of volunteers head to their local beach to remove litter and record what they find. The results will feed into the 30-year Beachwatch litter dataset, which is used to track litter trends in the UK and acts as evidence for campaigns to reduce litter pollution.

The Great British Beach Clean takes places every September, aligning with International Coastal Cleanup Day, which the collected data contributes to. This year, over 450 beach cleans were registered, with volunteers, community groups and businesses taking part in the citizen science event.

The findings will be released in the Marine Conservation Society’s annual State of Beaches Report in March 2025.

Learn more about the Great British Beach Clean

A loggerhead turtle which was found washed up on a Cumbrian beach has been released back into the ocean, following successful rehabilitation at Sea Life facilities.

The turtle was discovered in February, covered in algae and unmoving. The animal was cold-stunned in the cold British sea, and was suffering from pneumonia.

The team at Sea Life gradually raised its body temperature, cleaned its shell, gave it hydration injections, and closely monitored the turtle’s condition. Within days, it was able to eat and move independently.

Once the turtle was deemed fit and healthy enough to be returned to the sea, the Sea Life team secured a turtle passport so it could be flown to Portugal. After spending some time in an aquarium it was released this month.

Read more on the BBC News website

The 2024 Ocean Film Festival has launched, highlighting the beauty, challenges and importance of the ocean to audiences across the UK.

Now in its 11th year, the Ocean Film Festival has appeared in 14 countries, showcased films from 89 independent filmmakers, and donated over £21,000 to ocean charities.

Read more on the Ocean Film Festival website

As part of the East Caicos Project, led by Turks and Caicos National Trust and RSPB and supported by the Marine Conservation Society, turtle nesting surveys were carried out on the uninhabited island this month, with the project team finding extensive evidence of green turtle nesting activity.

Amdeep Sanghera, UK Overseas Territories Conservation Officer at the Marine Conservation Society, said, "I have to say, it's so rewarding to see this conservation impact, as I, along with our local partners, spent many years combing this stretch of beach and found nothing! This adds evidence to the overall body of work which is advocating for the community-based management of East Caicos and ensures the island's wildlife and neighbouring communities can thrive."

Oceanographers are believed to have discovered 20 new marine species on an expedition exploring seamounts in the Pacific Ocean.

The team also discovered a new seamount on the Nazca Ridge, an area 900 miles off the coast of Chile which is being considered for designation as a high seas marine protected area. Almost two miles tall, the newly discovered underwater mountain boasts a thriving deep-sea ecosystem, including ancient corals and sponge gardens.

During the 28-day expedition, led by Schmidt Ocean Institute, oceanographers captured the first camera footage of a live Promachoteuthis squid, a rare genus with only three known species. They also recorded the first sighting of a Casper octopus in the Southern Pacific and two rare ‘flying spaghetti monsters’ (Bathyphysa siphonophores).

The recent expedition is the third of its kind by Schmidt Ocean Institute. Since the expeditions, the number of species known to live in this area of the Pacific Ocean was 1,019 – there are now more than 1,300.

Read more on the Good News Network website

Scientists have developed a new chemical procedure which turns plastic waste such as single-use carrier bags and food containers back into materials which can be used to make new plastics.

By turning plastic waste into components which can be recycled into new plastic items, it reduces the amount of virgin plastic produced – and the fossil fuels used to make it.

Read more on the Good News Network website

Researchers in Florida are relocating queen conches from their increasingly warming habitat to cooler waters filled with potential partners so they can mate freely.

When in warm, shallow waters, queen conches become lethargic and infertile, with the species suffering a steep population decline in recent years due to rising sea temperatures. Moving them to cooler waters enables the molluscs to mate in more suitable surroundings.

As well as helping to preserve and restore the endangered mollusc, the project will improve the health of Florida’s coral reef.

So far, more than 200 conches have been relocated from the the middle of the archipelago to an offshore reef in the Upper Florida Keys. The team has since completed the first of at least 12 monthly checks on the conches, finding them all still there.

Read more on the Guardian website

In an effort to improve the sustainability of its products, LEGO has announced that 50% of its bricks will be made using recycled plastic by 2026.

The company is embarking on an eight-year investment strategy which will enable up to half of the fossil fuels in its plastics to be replaced with a sustainable resin made from food industry waste fats such as used cooking oil, or recycled plastic.

Although the move will increase production costs by around 70%, with sustainable alternatives costing 2-3 times more than traditional plastic, LEGO has said that the cost will be taken from its revenue, rather than passed on to consumers. It hopes that increased investment in the firms that produce sustainable alternatives will enable them to expand and reduce costs, so they can be more widely adopted.

LEGO has also expanded its Replay program in which users post their old LEGO bricks and pieces so they can be repurposed for LEGO sets.

Read more on the Good News Network website