Squid news
Researchers have captured the first ever footage of giant squid in US waters . Grainy black and white footage was captured of a giant squid , Architeuthis dux , attacking bait attached to a low-light camera deployed in the Gulf of Mexico . The footage of a young , four-metre Architeuthis dispels theories that the squid is a passive predator , as it can be seen lunging at the camera assembly . Meanwhile in Japan , the coastal town of Noto has been criticised after spending £ 164,000 of emergency coronavirus funds on a statue of a giant squid , apparently to promote local tourism .
Principal polluters
Twenty companies are responsible for producing more than half of all the single-use plastic waste in the world new research has concluded . Among the global businesses responsible for 55 per cent of the world ’ s plastic packaging waste are both stateowned and multinational corporations . Exxon Mobile is revealed to be the largest single-use plastic polluter in the world , contributing 5.9 million tonnes to the global waste mountain , according to analysis by the Minderoo Foundation of Australia . The largest chemicals company in the world , Dow , which is based in the US , created 5.5m tonnes of plastic waste , while China ’ s oil and gas enterprise , Sinopec , created 5.3m tonnes .
The ( not so ) elusive basking shark
Paul Cox reports on the Shark Trust ’ s latest advice for those who find themselves close to the gentle giants of British seas
Almost unbelievably , I ’ ve never seen a Basking Shark . Definitely come close a few times . I even surfaced from a dive once to discover that one had passed by overhead while I was giving all my attention to a ballan wrasse eating a stone . But , for whatever reason , I ’ ve never seen one in the flesh . Until a few weeks ago .
Despite my personal poor record , the Shark Trust has a long and distinguished history with British Basking Sharks . Way back in the late 90s , we were part of the coalition that achieved protection for the species under the Wildlife and Countryside Act . It was the first UK shark to enjoy such protection , and to this day they ’ re protected by law from any form of disturbance . And I ’ ve found myself in recent years involved in numerous discussions about the whys and wherefores of making contact – or not – with our gigantic friends .
So , this year , we thought it was high time to update our Basking Shark Code of Conduct . And to have a push on getting it ‘ out there ’ for as many water users as possible . At this point it ’ s worth saying that the code of conduct was put together by people way more experienced than me , based upon the legal obligations , best practice and working knowledge of animal behaviour .
The code is designed to give practical advice to water users whether boating , kayaking , paddle-boarding or swimming . At the heart of the advice is the simple message to avoid disturbing the animal ( s ). Not only is it a legal requirement , but it also makes sense for both the animals and the observers .
Alongside producing the code of conduct , we ’ ve been collecting records from incidental sightings for two decades . But the project needed re-invigorating . Last year we took over the Marine Conservation Society ’ s long running survey of basking sharks and combined their historic records with our own . This combined data-set going back to the 1980s can be of real benefit to scientists and policymakers . But it ’ s vital that we keep it up to date . We know that records to the database are patchy at best . They ’ re heavily skewed towards the South West , while we know that many , many more sharks are being spotted every year , especially off Western Scotland . So , we really need those records from wherever the sharks show up .
There are some signs of positivity . Through strong protection we now have populations showing early signs of recovery . And we have the opportunity for more and more people to engage with and learn to love a genuine wildlife icon . As long as this can happen without disturbing the animals then hopefully the good news will continue .
And my sighting ? Well , all I can say is it was a whopper ! And the experience of encountering a small group of feeding sharks in choppy seas gave a valuable insight into the practical challenges of keeping your distance . With the best will in the world , sometimes the best thing to do is just stop and wait for them to pass . You can download the code of conduct , find out more and record your sightings
at www . baskingshark . org www . sharktrust . org
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