Tag: oceans

AMSA is seeking for feedback up to January 8th, 2023 with regards to the proposed changes to Marine Order 98 that deals with the prevention of pollution from anti-fouling systems. The ban on cybutryne will begin on 1 January 2023. The new regulations will prohibit all ships from applying or re-applying anti-fouling systems which contain cybutryne.

Human Rights at Sea has added its support for the need to include measures to address illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing and forced labour in seafood supply chains in the development of a U.S. Ocean Climate Action Plan (OCAP).

Ocean 20, a new sustainable growth strategy for the G20, led by the World Economic Forum (WEF) with the Government of Indonesia, was launched on 14 November 2022, ahead of the G20 Leaders' Summit in Bali, Indonesia.

Officially celebrated as “UN Day”, the 24th of October marks the anniversary of the entry into force in 1945 of the UN Charter, the founding document that brought the United Nations into being. As the heart of the UN’s actions, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) focus global efforts and attention on 17 specifically pressing issues, including poverty, inequality, climate change, war, injustice, etc. Where do we stand?

A new regional strategy and action plan to improve marine biosecurity through biofouling management in Latin America has been developed and agreed during a regional meeting in Guayaquil, Ecuador, from 26 to 27 September.

Until now, satellites could only measure sea ice thickness between October and March, when the ice and snow are cold and dry. In the warmer months, melt ponds on top of the ice floes confused the instruments, which could not be used to distinguish between melted ice on an ice floe and the ocean. However, thanks to a new study involving UCL researchers, an algorithm was trained on thousands of simulations of satellite data to reliably distinguish between melt ponds and the ocean.

MSC announced its decision to adjust course around Sri Lanka to keep away its vessels from endangered blue whales in the area, encouraging other shipping lines as well to take a more southerly route south of the official (TSS) shipping lanes.

The OceanCleanUp  team just published its latest findings on the composition, origins and age of plastic debris accumulating in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch (GPGP) in the journal Scientific Reports. The new study reveals 75% to 86% of plastic debris in the Great Pacific GPGP originates from fishing activities at sea.

Ocean plastic pollution was a focus at the recent UN oceans conference, which issued a declaration in support of an earlier decision by the UN Environment Assembly to start negotiations for a global plastics treaty. IMO also participated in the conference, highlighting its commitment to addressing climate change ocean issues for a more sustainable future.

In June 2022, new requirements on biofouling management entered into force for ships in Australia, reminding us that the problem is yet to reach its peak, amid a continuous increase in seaborne trade.