Breaking Waves: Ocean News

Poultry sector growth plan risks UK national security, campaigners warn

admin — Sat, 18 Jul 2026 10:00:01 +0000

Government’s food security push is said to rely on animal feed imports with vulnerability to supply chain shocks

The government’s planned poultry sector growth plan is a risk to national security, campaigners have warned.

Wessex Water chief pockets above-inflation pay rise despite bonus ban over sewage spills

admin — Sat, 18 Jul 2026 07:00:51 +0000

CEO’s pay packet surges to £791,000 as union says public ‘sick of obscene pay’ and bosses ‘feathering own nests’

Wessex Water awarded its chief executive an above-inflation pay increase even as the company was banned from paying bonuses because of sewage spills, it has emerged.

Ruth Jefferson received a 14% base salary increase in October, from £590,000 to £670,000, before other benefits, according to accounts published this month. It was far above the 3.5% given to workers, and put her pay at 18 times that of the company’s median employee.

London Underground users should know about toxic dust risk, whistleblower says

admin — Sat, 18 Jul 2026 06:58:47 +0000

Former tube network cleaner says tribunal vindicated his health concerns, including about asbestos, that could affect public

A London Underground worker who was unfairly sacked after whistleblowing about his concerns over exposure to asbestos and other toxic dust has said he wants all tube passengers to know about the potential hazards his case has revealed.

More Canadian wildfire smoke shrouds US midwest, mid-Atlantic and north-east

admin — Fri, 17 Jul 2026 20:31:59 +0000

109 million people face another day of poor air quality as smoke from blazes in Ontario drifts over the US

Southern Water fined £7m after illegally dumping sewage off Kent coast

admin — Fri, 17 Jul 2026 14:56:01 +0000

Firm pleaded guilty to 13 offences over discharges at Margate and Broadstairs wastewater pumping stations

Southern Water has been fined more than £7m after illegally dumping sewage off the Kent coast between 2019 and 2021.

The company, described by the judge as having a “record of criminality” that was “an exceptionally serious aggravating factor”, pleaded guilty to 13 offences at Medway magistrates court last April over sewage discharges at Margate and Broadstairs wastewater pumping stations between 2019 and 2021.

Biodiversity fears as human-bred hybrid fish integrate into Philippines lake

admin — Fri, 17 Jul 2026 14:00:31 +0000

Escaped flowerhorn cichlids are causing concern for native species and about parasites capable of infecting humans

Escaped ornamental aquarium fish have integrated into a local ecosystem in the Philippines, but scientists say they may be threatening the native biodiversity of the lake.

Flowerhorn cichlids – human-bred hybrid fish prized for their bright-gold colour and prominent head humps – are believed to have escaped from breeding facilities into Lake Sampaloc, which sits in a volcanic crater, during a typhoon.

Jackdaw gasfield would create only 27 direct full-time jobs, documents show

admin — Fri, 17 Jul 2026 12:30:23 +0000

Campaigners say field will bring minimal benefit for UK economy, as industry lobbies Burnham for go-ahead

More people can fit on to the top deck of a standard London bus than will be directly employed on the new Jackdaw gasfield in the North Sea, industry documents show.

California braces for its sharkiest summer in a decade – but experts say don’t panic

admin — Fri, 17 Jul 2026 10:00:04 +0000

Young great white sharks are returning in large numbers, but researchers say humans are not on the menu

Surfers, swimmers and fishermen across California will be sharing the waves with an influx of visitors this summer: young great white sharks.

Juvenile white sharks are already appearing along the coastline, fleeing warmer than usual waters in Mexico during what’s expected to be an incredibly strong El Niño.

Climate change driving more rains that lead to deadly flash floods, experts say

admin — Fri, 17 Jul 2026 10:00:04 +0000

Over the last month, states across the country have experienced record rainfall and flash flooding

Climate change is driving increasingly common bouts of heavy rain in the US that cause deadly and damaging flash floods that will only become more frequent and intense as the crisis worsens, experts say.

Week in wildlife: a stuck raccoon, a hardy mouse and a well-camouflaged wildcat

admin — Fri, 17 Jul 2026 07:00:00 +0000

This week’s best wildlife photographs from around the world