Devon Maritime Forum > May newsletter:

Here's this month's newsletter from the Devon Maritime Forum - an excellent place to go for up-to-date information:

We hope you had a fantastic Easter and have been enjoying the wonderful spring weather, here is the latest newsletter from the DMF... This month's newsletter features your usual roundup of local and national stories, key marine research and reports and information on consultations you can get involved with. There is also special features on Mental Health at Sea, Invasive Species Week and Imogen Napper's research on 'biodegradable' bags. Read on to find out more... Upcoming Events May 18: Exe Spring Clean up 2019 Exe Estuary Management Partnership May 18: Plastic Free Spring Fayre North Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty JUN 4 - JUN 6: Challenge of Science Leadership Training Course Plymouth University Jun 8: South West Maritime History Society AGM South West Maritime History Society  Its Mental Health Awareness Week (13 - 19 May) and we thought we would highlight this amazing campaign by the Sailors Society. More than a quarter of seafarers suffer from depression. Long contracts at sea, thousands of miles away from families and friends – often with inconsistent or no Wi-Fi – can be incredibly isolating and challenging. Click HERE to find out more! Local News New Management Plan for the Outstanding North Devon Coast with ambitious plans to deliver improvements for places, people and wildlife, the updated Management Plan for the North Devon Coast Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty is now live more University Students Participate in Plastic Pollution Expedition to India scientists from the University of Plymouth are taking part in an all-female expedition studying plastic pollution in one of the world’s most iconic waterways more D&S IFCA Set to Close Public Shellfish Beds the D&S IFCA Byelaw & Permitting Sub-Committee has taken the decision to apply a temporary closure to public shellfish beds in both the Teign and Exe Estuary more New Drive to Cut Carbon Emissions Across Devon Devon County Council leader John Hart is pledging cash support towards a new drive to cut carbon emissions and tackle climate change more But what does 'biodegradable' mean?   Biodegradable plastic bags are still capable of carrying full loads of shopping after being exposed in the natural environment for three years! Imogen Napper of Plymouth University explains below:   “After three years, I was really amazed that any of the bags could still hold a load of shopping. For a biodegradable bag to be able to do that was the most surprising. When you see something labelled in that way, I think you automatically assume it will degrade more quickly than conventional bags. But, after three years at least, our research shows that might not be the case.” Full press release available here National & International News UN agency meets to tackle Pollution and Emissions by Ships this week is the 74th meeting of the marine environmental protection committee of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) more Mariana Trench: Deepest-ever Sub Dive Finds Plastic Bag an American explorer has found plastic waste on the seafloor while breaking the record for the deepest ever dive more Image: Reeve Joliffe Maritime UK Launch Inaugural National Awards Programme the Maritime UK Awards will be the first truly national maritime awards in the UK, organised by industry, for the benefit of industry more Scientists Test Radical Ways to Fix Earth's Climate scientists in Cambridge plan to set up a research centre to develop new ways to repair Earth's climate more Image: BBC Research and Reports Study Explores the Use of Robots and Artificial Intelligence to Understand the Deep Sea more (Plymouth University) New Study Reveals that Marine Diatoms have Evolved Novel Signalling Mechanisms for Environmental Sensing  more (Marine Biological Association) Ocean Acidification Impacts on Coastal Ecosystem Services due to Habitat Degradation more  (Emerging Topics in Life Sciences) The rise in ocean plastics evidenced from a 60-year time series more (Nature Communications)  Did You Know?   Invasive non-native species harm the environment and wildlife, are costly to the economy, and can even pose a risk to our health and way of life. Visit Natural Devon's 'Devon Invasive Species Initiative' page to find out more about invasive species in the county and surrounding areas. Consultations DEFRA Marine Strategy Part One: UK Updated Assessment and Good Environmental Status (20 June 2019) Environment Agency Draft National Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management Strategy for England  (4 July 2019) Sea-Changers marine conservation charities and not-for-profit organisations funding application    If you have any news or events that you would like included in the next edition of the DMF newsletter please get in touch

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Devon Maritime Forum > April newsletter

The DMF's regular newsletter is a great way to catch up with all sorts of sea-related news:

Spring has arrived! We hope you have a fantastic Easter and enjoy the wonderful weather forecasted for the weekend, here is the latest newsletter from the DMF... This month's newsletter features your usual roundup of local and national stories, key marine research and reports and information on consultations you can get involved with. There is also special features on Blue Planet UK, and 'Naturally Healthy May' from the Devon Local Nature Partnership. Read on to find out more... Forum News The Devon Maritime Forum team were in attendance at the South West Marine Ecosystems conference #SWME 2019. The day was full of inspiring and informative talks, including an interactive discussion of observations and notable events in 2018, trends in fish records from Doug Herdson, an update on basking sharks sightings from Matthew Witt of the University of Exeter, and the latest on Plymouth's National Marine Park from Josh McCarty of Blue Marine Foundation. It was a fantastic event as usual and we are already looking forward to next year. Congratulations to our sponsor, Royal Haskoning DHV for being selected for the design of the foundation of the world's biggest wind turbine. RHDHV were chosen due to their extensive experience with the foundations of wind turbines, and strong knowledge of geo-technical challenges.  Upcoming Events APR 12 - MAY 9: Wave Energy Harvesting Exhibition Environment and Sustainability Institute, University of Exeter  MAY 5: Salcombe Crab Festival Salcombe APR 27: East Devon AONB Heritage Conference Norman Lockyer Observatory, Sidmouth JUN 4 - JUN 6: Challenge of Science Leadership Training Course Plymouth University  Local News Partners in Plymouth are continuing to work hard to tackle plastics pollution and reduce single use plastics in the city Britain’s Ocean City Plastics Taskforce held its quarterly meeting on 19 March 2019 more Plastic Free North Devon consortium formed North Devon is one step closer to becoming a plastic free district more Work to clear Devon’s largest fatberg finishes  a giant fatberg lurking under a Devon seaside town has been successfully removed more Exmouth café joins the growing ReFill Revolution to combat pollution from plastic bottles  The Sundowners café in Exmouth is the latest location in Devon to join a growing campaign which reduces pollution more National & International News Shark overfishing reflected in updated IUCN red list experts call for conservation action as more species qualify as endangered more Dead whale washed up with more than 40kg of plastic bags in its stomach marine biologists horrified to find 16 rice sacks and multiple shopping bags inside Cuvier's beaked whale more Image: Darrell Blatchley UK will  miss almost all its 2020 nature targets, says official report failure to protect wildlife, cut pollution and increase funding have left nature in 'deep crisis' more AI - The game changing innovation in shipping industry artificial Intelligence is nothing less than a miracle of computer science more Image: Intel Newsroom Research and Reports Antifouling paint particles in intertidal estuarine sediments from southwest England and their ingestion by the harbour ragworm, Hediste diversicolor more (Environmental Pollution) New research shows watersports participation is on the rise more (Royal Yachting Association) Application of the natural capital approach to the marine environment to aid decision-making more (DEFRA / SWEEP) The rise in ocean plastics evidenced from a 60-year time series more (Nature Communications)  Consultations Devon and Severn IFCA have your say on the management of bait digging (26 April) Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy strengthening the UK's offshore oil and gas decommissioning inbdustry: call for evidence (8 May) University of Exeter 3rd Climate change risk assessment: call for evidence (10 May) Sea-Changers marine conservation charities and not-for-profit organisations funding application  Blue Planet UK   It was fantastic to see Devon, as well as some of our forum members feature in the five-part series aired on the 25th March on BBC ONE. Plymouth and Rob Thompson featured in episode 1 (see video below). Rob is the director of Odyssey Innovation ltd - a company which uses recovered marine litter to produce the worlds only marine plastic recycled kayaks. Rob is also involved in projects such as the 'paddle for plastic' campaign which was launched to recover and recycle plastic from these otherwise inaccessible places and in doing so to raise awareness to the scale of the problem. Those of you who attended the #DMF19 Winter conference will be familiar with the amazing work of Marine Biologist, Author, and Underwater Cameraman, Dr Paul Naylor. Paul met with Chris Packham to discuss his underwater footage which gave viewers an insight into the curious behaviours of marine life, such as how spiny spider crabs Maja brachydactyla 'decorate' their carapace as a means of camouflage. You can see this video and more on Paul's Vimeo page. Professor Richard Thompson and PhD student Imogen Napper of Plymouth University also featured on Blue Planet UK for their work on the release of synthetic microplastic fibres from domestic washing machines.   Ocean Plastic Turned into Kayaks | Blue Planet Live | BBC Earth - YouTube May is Naturally Healthy Month! Devon’s natural environment is amazing and offers a variety of ways for us all to be naturally healthy. Naturally Healthy May is all about getting outdoors and enjoying our beautiful surroundings and feeling happier and healthier for it. Activities could include a coastal walk, having fun paddling in the sea, volunteering for a wildlife group, wild swimming, beach cleaning…there is something for everyone. “It is not a pill or potion but consider connecting with nature as a prescription. One that works, costs nothing and has no side effects. It is so easy to do, just take that step outside to start with. The most important thing is you enjoy it. Think of it as an opportunity to invest a bit of time in looking after yourself, your family and this place we call home.”  Dr James Szymankiewicz, North Devon GP and Chair of the Devon Local Nature Partnership. Visit naturaldevon.org.uk/naturallyhealthymonth for opportunities to try something new and get involved. If you are delivering Naturally Healthy activities please let the Devon Local Nature Partnerhsip know so they can add your event to the website and please help spread the word via social media #naturallyhealthy @Devon_LNP   If you have any news or events that you would like included in the next edition of the DMF newsletter please get in touch

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