‘Like selling wolves from Yellowstone’: how protected US sharks are being sold off to foreign aquariums 15 October 2026 at 05:00

‘Like selling wolves from Yellowstone’: how protected US sharks are being sold off to foreign aquariums

15 October 2026 at 05:00

While anglers cannot take endangered sand tiger sharks, a loophole lets private firms catch the fish to sell abroad, profiting from Delaware Bay’s conservation success

Shortly after 12.45pm, what remains of a 300-metre line goes taut. Somewhere beneath the murky green surface of Delaware Bay, on the eastern US coast, a sand tiger shark has taken the bait of a mackerel chunk. Marine researchers at the University of Delaware haul the line towards a small boat as the shark’s grey-brown outline emerges.

It is a large animal: 225cm (7ft) long with a 90cm girth. Its mouth hangs open, revealing rows of jagged teeth. The researchers work quickly, measuring the shark, recording its sex, and taking blood and muscle samples. A tag is then fastened beneath its dorsal fin, through its thick sandpapery skin.

A perfect storm: how the super El Niño is devastating the fishing industry 15 October 2026 at 00:00

A perfect storm: how the super El Niño is devastating the fishing industry

The Guardian

By: Geoff Mann

15 October 2026 at 00:00

Peru’s anchoveta have made up about a 10th of the entire global commercial fishing catch since 1970, more than any other fish. A combination of warming seas and decades-long overfishing spells disaster

On 10 June 2026, the government of Peru made a decision that it knew would hurt one of the world’s major fishing industries. It stopped all anchoveta fishing boats from going out to sea, suspending the fishing season. At first the order was temporary, but in mid-August, the suspension turned into a total closure. This was no easy call. For one thing, it was a brutal blow to the Peruvian economy.

Peruvian anchovies – the scientific name is Engraulis ringens – are not the salty, punch-packing little fillets in a puttanesca sauce or caesar salad dressing. That is a different species – Engraulis encrasicolus – which is smaller, tastier and found mostly in the eastern Atlantic and the Mediterranean. Only a small part of Peru’s anchoveta catch is eaten in fish form. The rest – more than 90% – is immediately processed as fishmeal and fish oil, packed in sacks and barrels, and shipped to fish, shellfish and seaweed farms, factory farms and nutritional supplement producers around the world.

Bleached Coral Rebounded After Touching Healthy Coral, Study Finds 15 October 2026 at 09:20

Bleached Coral Rebounded After Touching Healthy Coral, Study Finds

NYT: Science

By: Raymond Zhong

15 October 2026 at 09:20

After sick corals were placed in direct contact with healthy ones of the same genetic makeup, they recovered at “incredible” speed, scientists found.

Scale back on hake and coley, seafood charity tells shoppers 14 October 2026 at 03:00

Scale back on hake and coley, seafood charity tells shoppers

The Guardian

By: Zoe Wood

14 October 2026 at 03:00

Declining stocks and increased fishing pressure have led to lower sustainability ratings for two popular cod alternatives

UK shoppers have previously been urged to avoid UK-caught cod and to buy European hake or coley instead – but now these fish are in trouble, too.

The Marine Conservation Society (MCS), an environmental charity, publishes its Good Fish Guide to help consumers and businesses make sustainable seafood choices. It uses a traffic-light system to rate seafood according to the health of fish stocks and environmental impact.

Scientists deploy a 24-armed secret weapon to save California’s kelp forests 13 October 2026 at 08:00

Scientists deploy a 24-armed secret weapon to save California’s kelp forests

The Guardian

By: Ben Tracy of Climate Central

13 October 2026 at 08:00

Team works to restore the sunflower sea star as 95% of these key underwater ecosystems have been decimated along the Pacific coast in past decade

Off the coast of Monterey, California, a team of researchers is gearing up for its first dive of the day into the cold and choppy waters of the Pacific Ocean.

On the back deck of the boat, Ashley Kidd, a co-founder of the non-profit Sunflower Star Laboratory, gave the divers their final command: “Dive No 1 … stars in the water.”

How Do Cuttlefish Hide? Scientists Search for the Secret to Camouflage. 12 October 2026 at 05:00

How Do Cuttlefish Hide? Scientists Search for the Secret to Camouflage.

NYT: Science

By: Alexa Robles-Gil

12 October 2026 at 05:00

Cephalopods are masters of camouflage. Scientists want to decipher how the process works in the brain.

Tourism expansion v turtle nests: the dispute dividing communities in one Tobago resort 10 October 2026 at 07:00

Tourism expansion v turtle nests: the dispute dividing communities in one Tobago resort

The Guardian

By: Jewel Fraser in Rocky Point · Tobago

10 October 2026 at 07:00

Plans for a 200-room project on an unspoiled beach have pitted developers against the conservationists fighting for smaller-scale schemes to protect the island’s habitat

Visitors to Rocky Point in south-west Tobago are drawn to its sandy beach, fringed by coral reefs and dark rock formations and carpeted with the fruit-bearing trees found on Caribbean coastlines – almonds, sea grapes, coconuts, and the poisonous manchineel. The beach is part of Back Bay, a 500-metre swathe of land, and trekking through its undulating terrain, thickly covered in bush and shrubs, feels akin to walking through a rainforest.

But this still relatively unspoiled location is at the centre of a struggle between two opposing interests – those who see large-scale development as the most profitable path and those who believe smaller, incremental developments owned by the community would be best.

Comebacks for wild tigers, tuna and sea turtles prove nature loss can be reversed, scientists say 7 October 2026 at 19:01

Comebacks for wild tigers, tuna and sea turtles prove nature loss can be reversed, scientists say

The Guardian

By: Matthew Pearce

7 October 2026 at 19:01

A landmark report reveals that the world must change the way it produces food to avoid a biodiversity collapse

Conservation comebacks for wild tigers, tuna and green sea turtles prove that global nature loss can be reversed, scientists have said. But a report warns food production must be the next “positive tipping point” if the world is to avert biodiversity collapse.

The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) analysed nearly 36,000 animal populations and more than 5,000 species, producing the largest ever database of vertebrate wildlife. Scientists found populations had declined by an average of 73% since 1970, showing that “nature continues to be degraded at an alarming scale”, with “no sign of losses slowing”.