Salmon companies operating in Tasmanian marine areas deployed almost 1,800 explosives in first half of 2026, government figures reveal
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More than 150,000 underwater explosives have been used to deter seals at Tasmanian salmon farms since 2016, according to new government data.
Department of Natural Resources and Environment (NRE Tas) data released last week revealed salmon companies directed almost 1,800 underwater explosives at seals at fish farms in the first half of 2026.
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Breaking Waves: Ocean News
09/21/2026 - 10:00
09/21/2026 - 10:00
New study describes two species, Anchiale robusta and Anchiale mabiensis, both found in far north Queensland
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Two new large stick insect species have been identified by Australian researchers, in a discovery they say illustrates how little we still understand about insect diversity.
The two species, both found in far north Queensland, are described in a study published in Austral Entomology.
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09/21/2026 - 09:00
New report shows key indicators of Earth’s health are ‘outside the safe operating space’ as climate disaster looms
The planetary life support systems relied upon by humans have deteriorated to their worst levels ever recorded amid ongoing pollution and habitat destruction, according to a key yet grim annual update by scientists.
Of the nine “planetary boundaries” that help determine whether life can flourish on Earth, seven are being breached at their highest ever levels of transgression, according to the latest planetary health check, a process that was established in 2009.
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09/21/2026 - 08:25
‘Godzilla-level’ phenomenon is supercharging the climate crisis and will have a huge impact on communities across the world
The “jaw-dropping” El Niño currently heating up the planet has burst through the highest temperature ever recorded for the phenomenon, several months before its expected peak.
The latest data shows the temperature rise at the heart of El Niño in the Pacific Ocean has now reached 3.05C. That is higher than the 3.02C set in late November 2015, the previous high set in the 150 years of modern records. This temperature is measured against the average of 1991-2020.
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09/21/2026 - 06:54
A large Amazon study suggests the most powerful conservation move may be protecting the forests that are already standing. Preventing damage from wildfires and logging delivered the greatest biodiversity benefits and nearly matched deforestation prevention for protecting carbon. Restoration remains important, particularly where forests have already been heavily cleared, but it was more expensive and less effective on its own.
09/21/2026 - 06:00
The Canadian government has committed C$25m to try to rescue the caribou in the province – but there is no agreement on how best to save the keystone species
The caribou of Quebec are at breaking point. The province, home to 15% of Canada’s population of woodland caribou, has seen numbers crash to about half of what they were a decade ago. For years, local First Nations people, researchers and environmental groups have criticised the provincial government’s lack of action on protecting caribou, an animal considered a keystone species by Indigenous peoples.
A recently announced agreement between the federal and Quebec governments has raised hopes that the province will finally be compelled to release a protection strategy. The federal government has committed C$25m (£13m) to the province for caribou over five years, with an additional C$15m for the First Nations communities on whose land the herds live.
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09/21/2026 - 06:00
Eco-moorings help to restore seagrass in just five years, boosting sealife such as seahorses, eels and crabs
One of the UK’s most precious underwater habitats – Dorset’s seagrass meadows – is recovering thanks to “eco moorings” designed to prevent the seabed being ripped up, a study has revealed.
Scars caused by traditional anchors in some areas of seagrass in Studland Bay have almost entirely vanished, which is boosting the number of seahorses that thrive in the submerged meadows.
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09/21/2026 - 05:00
Exclusive: The tax-funded brainchild of Dominic Cummings hopes to find ways to speed up wild species’ evolution
Vaccines for ash trees, skin treatments for newts and gene-edited swallowtail butterflies are among 14 tax-funded projects from the UK’s “invention agency” aiming to accelerate nature’s ability to adapt to the climate crisis.
The £54m accelerated adaptation programme from the UK’s Advanced Research and Invention Agency (Aria) – a public body that funds high-risk, high-reward tech projects – aims to investigate applications of biotechnology that can speed up wild species’ evolution and help them to adapt to new threats such as global warming and disease.
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09/21/2026 - 04:00
Children born after 2025 will experience three more years of brutally fire-conducive weather as global heating intensifies
European babies will face almost twice as much extreme fire weather as their great-grandparents if climate action does not ramp up quickly, a study has found.
Global heating under current policies will expose a child born in Europe in 2025 to three more years of brutally fire-conducive weather over their lifetime than someone born in 1950, the researchers found.
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09/20/2026 - 23:00
Unions, thinktanks and others say overhaul could provide investment Britain needs
Unions, thinktanks, environmental groups and charities have come together to call on ministers to boost the financial firepower of the national wealth fund to empower it to invest more in Britain and rebalance the country’s economy.
Lower energy bills, the revitalisation of the UK’s industrial heartlands and the provision of more high-quality jobs could all be unlocked by scaling up the NWF, according to a statement from organisations including the TUC, Greenpeace, WWF and the New Economics Foundation.
Turbocharging the retrofitting of homes and buildings.
Giving the public a bigger stake in critical infrastructure through taking part-ownership stakes in key projects.
Launching a targeted investment programme to bring new green industries to communities hit hardest by deindustrialisation.
Supporting a network of regional banks to funnel money into the small businesses that hold up local economies.
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