Marine scientists and volunteers spread more than 70 million eelgrass seeds off Virginia’s shores. Led by the Virginia Institute of Marine Science and with help from The Nature Conservancy, the project has grown to over 8,896 acres.
Samoa’s land mass accounts for less than three percent of its territory, and the country is largely dependent upon the ocean for food and income. To preserve this vital resource, the Samoa Government has committed to fully managing its ocean area and protecting 30 percent by 2025 through the Samoa Ocean Strategy.
Running Tide is using seaweed to sequester carbon off the coast of Maine while raising sustainable shellfish. Planting on the seafloor offers even more carbon sequestering capabilities than planting trees on land because kelp that sinks to the seafloor can hold carbon for centuries.
Ocean Voyages Institute’s marine plastic recovery vessel, S/V KWAI completed a 48-day expedition, successfully removing 103 tons of fishing nets and consumer plastics from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.
Scientists at Cornell University have engineered a new fishing net material that offers comparable strength to today’s solutions but can break down much more quickly when exposed to UV light.
Results from the trial were “really, really encouraging”, the project’s lead scientist Daniel Harrison from Southern Cross University said.
The move fulfills the country’s long-standing pledge to safeguard 30% of its marine waters.
The court’s decision makes production of thin plastics under 60 microns in thickness illegal with immediate effect.
Asda, Marks and Spencer, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s, the Co-op, Tesco and Waitrose sold 549 million single-use plastic bags in 2018-19, down from one billion in the previous year.
“We know it will degrade in a marine environment within six months, which, compared to the flow wrap that it’s currently in, it’s about 450 years.”
