Insightful, Interesting, Inspiring Info . . .

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Links to television programs, documentary films, online articles, research information and news about the ocean environment and its wildlife.

The IUCN World Conservation Congress (WCC) has adopted Motion 032 with an overwhelming majority, signalling a global commitment to end bottom trawling on deep-sea seamounts in international waters.

Here are the key points of the motion:

• Goal: The resolution calls for a transition away from destructive fishing practices, specifically bottom trawling, on seamounts by the end of 2026.

• Support: The motion was adopted with strong consensus, receiving a "Yes" vote from 95% of States and government agency members and 99% of NGOs and Indigenous People's organizations.

• Justification: Seamounts are described as biodiversity hotspots and vital feeding grounds that are currently under threat from industrial bottom trawling. Scientific evidence, including the UN's Second World Ocean Assessment, consistently shows that this practice causes widespread, irreversible damage to fragile deep-sea ecosystems like cold-water corals and sponges.

• Impact: The adoption of Motion 032 is intended to bolster international efforts to protect the deep sea and sets the stage for a review by the UN General Assembly next year to determine if high-seas fishing nations and regional fisheries management organizations (RFMOs) have complied with long-standing UN resolutions for seamount protection.

  (Released 14 October 2025) 

Read more about this here.

 "An international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment."

The fifth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-5.2) to finalize a legally binding instrument on plastic pollution opened on August 5, 2025, in Geneva, Switzerland. This is a critical meeting, as it is the last scheduled session with the aim of finalizing and approving the text of the agreement.

The treaty's objective is to "end plastic pollution" and address the entire life cycle of plastics, from production and design to disposal and waste management. It is seen by many as one of the most significant environmental agreements since the 2015 Paris Climate Accord.

Without a strong treaty, the UN predicts that global plastic waste could nearly triple by 2060, with a significant amount leaking into the environment and oceans.

 A recent report in The Lancet highlighted the extensive diseases and health risks caused by plastics at every stage of their life cycle, from production to disposal.

 The cost of damages from plastic pollution could rise to hundreds of trillions of dollars by 2040, impacting economies, particularly in developing nations and small island states.

Read more about this here.

Endurance swimmer and ocean advocate Lewis Pugh, who was once dubbed  the "Sir Edmund Hillary of swimming", is swimming around the island of Martha’s Vineyard, where the movie Jaws was filmed, to highlight the perilous plight of sharks around the world. He is the first person to complete a long-distance swim in every ocean of the world.  Read more about this here.

 An interesting and informative article from Doctors Chris and Xand digging deeper into microplastics, exploring what impact they may have on our health and the wider impact on our environment.

Listen to this here.

 A team of scientists and filmmakers heads to Antarctica to study the most sophisticated hunts in the animal kingdom - killer whales making waves to wash seals off floating ice. Available on BBC iPlayer until December 2025. You can watch it here.

Humpback whales travel thousands of miles to feed in rich, icy Antarctic waters. Scientists who are following the whales reveal how that food supply could be affected by climate change. Available on BBC iPlayer until 6 June 2025.

NOTE: This programme is not currently available on BBC iPlayer

 You can watch it here.

 In this revelatory BBC Four documentary special, oceanographer Dr Helen Czerski and zoologist Dr George McGavin carry out an ‘autopsy’ on the ocean itself and reveal the startling changes it's undergoing. Moving the story beyond the well-known impact of discarded plastic on our seas, the autopsy will investigate the effects of high levels of life-threatening toxins on marine ecosystems and the invisible plague of micro- and nano-plastics saturating the water. The destiny of our oceans is on a knife edge and the window of opportunity to save them is rapidly closing.  Available on BBC iPlayer until 20 August 2025.

NOTE: This programme is not currently available on BBC iPlayer

 You can watch it here.