Warm waters draw sharks off Israel's Mediterranean coast

France24 – AFP, 20 April 2021 

This picture taken on April 20, 2021 shows an aerial view of people using their
phones and cameras to film a shark swimming past in the shallow Mediterranean
Sea water off the Israeli coastal town of Hadera north of Tel Aviv JACK GUEZ AFP

Hadera (Israel) (AFP) -  Dozens of sharks gathered Tuesday in warm waters of the Mediterranean near an Israeli power plant, drawing sightseers in what has become an annual occurence. 

The sharks' fins sliced through the swallow waters just metres (yards) away from bathers eager to take photos of them near the city of Hadera. 

Sandbar and dusky sharks, which are known to frequent the waters, can grow up to three metres (10 feet) in length. 

The sharks gather each year near where the power plant's hot water outlet gushes into the Mediterranean Sea. 

The Israel Nature and Parks Authority warned both amateur and professional divers against swimming with the creatures. 

"The interaction with sharks is neither predictable or controllable, and in recent days there has also been a change in the sharks' behaviour," the authority wrote. 

The sharks are endangered and it is illegal to harm, feed or harass them, the authority added. 

Most of those in the waters off Hadera on Tuesday were dusky sharks, though some were the slightly smaller sandbar sharks, said Aviad Scheinin, an expert on apex predators at the University of Haifa. 

In the Mediterranean, the sandbars are endangered and there is not enough data on the dusky sharks to determine their status, he told AFP. 

The mostly female dusky sharks come in late November and leave in early May, Scheinin said. 

"We think it might be something to do with the reproductive cycle," he said. 

The mostly male sandbar sharks arrive in January, although this season researchers found one female among some 20 males, he said. 

"We're not sure why they are coming. It's an open question," he said of the sandbar sharks.

Investigators look into role of sea foam in surfer deaths

DutchNews, May 13, 2020 

Friends and family of the dead surfers have been placing flowers on the beach.
Photo: Robin Utrecht HH

Dutch sea research institute NIOZ is investigating the possible role of a thick layer of sea foam in the death of five surfers off the coast of Scheveningen on Monday evening. 

Several experts have suggested the surfers may have become disorientated in the foam, which according to some eyewitnesses was over two metres high as it approached the harbour wall. 

Sea foam is formed when sea water has a high concentration of dissolved organic matter from algal blooms and is whipped up by the wind. 

‘There was a lot of foam and this may be due to the large quantity of algae,’ researcher Katja Philippart told broadcaster NOS. ‘This might be due to the good weather of recent days, combined with the strong winds.’ 

However, Philippart told NOS she is not aware of any cases in which people have been suffocated by sea foam. 

One body has not yet been recovered and the search resumed on Wednesday morning. Two other bodies were found earlier on Tuesday morning and two others died after being pulled from the sea on Monday evening. Three of the men who died came from The Hague, the other two from Delft. 

The Hague mayor Johan Remkes told reporters at a press conference that a thorough investigation into what happened would now take place. ‘How can it be that people with so much experience and who knew this place so well came to die,’ Remkes said. 

In total, 10 people are thought to have been in the water at the time, a group of six, a group of three and one single surfer. 

Community 

Friends and family of the dead have been flocking to the location where the five men died, to leave flowers and comfort one another. The deaths have caused shock throughout the Netherlands’ surfing scene. 

‘These were very experienced surfers and swimmers, with a great love for the sea and their sport,’ the Holland Surfing Association said. ‘They were caught up in extraordinary circumstances and lost their lives in such a tragic way.’

Environmental activists pluck plastic from world's beaches on mass cleanup day

Yahoo – AFP, 21 September 2019

Volunteers in Manila scoop up coastal trash as part of the World Cleanup
Day initiative

Thousands of volunteers wielding nets and bin bags scoured coasts, parks and riverbanks across the globe Saturday, in a litter-picking drive highlighting the vast quantity of trash dumped worldwide, a day after mass international climate protests.

Campaigners took part in World Cleanup Day from Manila to the Mediterranean, as hundreds of thousands of people across the world take part in demonstrations and activities calling for urgent action on the environment.

Young people have been at the forefront of the movement, with masses of children skipping school on Friday for a global climate strike, which teen activist Greta Thunberg said was "only the beginning".

Some four million people filled city streets around the world on Friday, organisers said, in what was billed as the biggest ever protest against the threat posed to the planet by rising temperatures.

Greta Thunberg, pictured in September 2018, began her climate school strike 

outside the Swedish parliament last year

It kicked off a week of climate action called for by Thunberg, who was among several hundred young activists attending a climate summit at the United Nations on Saturday.

The World Cleanup Day on Saturday is an initiative that has got millions into the streets and cleaning up litter across the globe since it began just over a decade ago.

In France, volunteers posted images of their trash hauls on social media -- heaps of assorted waste, soft drink cans and plastic containers.

A climate protest on the streets of Paris attracted some 15,000 people, according to a tally by independent consultancy Occurrence, but the rally was marred by clashes between security forces and a relatively small number of troublemakers.

"The conditions for a non-violent march are not in place," Greenpeace, a co-organiser of the event, said on Twitter, as police fired teargas at protesters.

Hundreds of thousands of young people have since mobilised - these demonstrators 

were out in Kiev on Friday

'For us to help'

While the types of trash collected varied, the common material in the bin bags across the planet was plastic, amid surging concerns over the environmental costs of single use items and microplastics in world waterways.

Plastic pollution is a major problem across Southeast Asia, but particularly in the Philippines, which -- along with China, Vietnam and Indonesia -- is frequently listed among the world's worst offenders.

In the Philippine capital, some 10,000 people swept across a long stretch of beach on heavily polluted Manila Bay, clutching sacks they filled with rubbish.

"It's for us to help the environment, especially here in Manila, there's a lot of garbage," Mae Angela Areglado, a 20-year-old student told AFP as she pitched in with the cleanup -- held right next to the city's huge Baseco slum.

Thousands turned out in Philippines to scour heavily polluted Manila Bay for trash

"(Plastic is) affecting the marine life because they think that it is food," she added.

In the Pacific island nation of Fiji, which is among the countries worst affected by sea level rises and has become a vocal advocate for global climate action, people scoured palm-fringed beaches west of the capital Suva, heaving discarded car tyres and engine parts from the coast.

On Australia's Bondi beach activists sifted through the sand, carting off bits of plastic and cigarette butts.

Youth leading way

The mass cleanup is coordinated by the Let's Do It Foundation, which began life in Estonia and says that 18 million people from 157 countries participated in the global cleanup day last year. This year, it says more than 160 countries are taking part.

A climate protest in Paris was marred by clashes between security forces 

and a relatively small number of troublemakers

"Garbage is a global problem and it affects all the people in the world. It knows no state borders," said the organisation's president Heidi Solba in a statement.

The group said about 30,000 people are participating in Estonia on Saturday in a drive focusing on small litter like bottle tops and cigarette butts.

Mart Normet, leader of the initiative in Estonia, said he drew hope from the enthusiasm of young people.

"When I look at the new photos on Facebook, I can see that the new generation is bringing a completely new attitude. Littering and damaging consumption are a thing of the past," he said.

Seventy-nine percent of the plastic ever made has ended up dumped according 

to a UN report from 2018

In Vietnam's capital Hanoi, around 1,400 volunteers went searching for litter under the scorching sun.

"Although our actions are very small -- like cleaning trash from the sidewalk -- it could spread a meaningful message," 18-year-old Hoang Thi Hoan told AFP, as motorists zipped by on a busy street.

Friday's strike organisers 350.org said the youth-led rallies were the start of 5,800 protests across 163 countries over the next week.

UN chief Antonio Guterres met young activists in New York on Saturday, telling them: "There is a change in momentum... due to your initiative and to the courage, with which you have started these movements."

Friday's climate strike was billed as the biggest ever protest against the threat 

posed to the planet by rising temperatures

A landmark UN report to be unveiled next week will warn global warming and pollution are ravaging Earth's oceans and icy regions in ways that could unleash misery on a global scale.

The World Health Organization (WHO) said in August that the level of microplastics in drinking-water is not yet dangerous for humans but called for more research into potential future risk and a reduction in plastic waste.

Seventy-nine percent of the plastic ever made has ended up dumped, with little reused or destroyed despite recycling and other initiatives to curb use, a UN report from 2018 said.

Dog pulled from ruff seas 220 kms off Thai coast to be adopted by rescuer

Yahoo – AFP, April 16, 2019

Local charity Smile Dog House has been caring for the dog, who will be adopted
by the oil rig worker who found him at sea (AFP Photo/Handout)

An exhausted dog found paddling 220 kilometres (135 miles) off the Thai coast is set for a new lease on life after an oil rig worker who rescued him promised to adopt the plucky pooch.

The tan-coloured dog, named Boonrod by his rescuers -- Thai for "survivor from karma" -- was fished from the ocean on Friday by rig workers who spotted his head bobbing between the waves in the Gulf of Thailand.

There was no indication of how he got there, or how long he had been lost at sea.

But local media speculated he may have fallen off a fishing vessel and paddled towards the rig.

Boonrod the dog was welcomed on the shore with a lei of

 yellow flowers and lots of neck scratches from port workers 

(AFP Photo/Handout)

Boonrod is recovering in Songkhla province under the care of a vet, an animal charity group told AFP Tuesday.

"Since he came onto the platform, he didn't cry or bark at all," Chevron worker Vitisak Payalaw said in a Facebook post chronicling the dog's rescue.

"He likely lost a lot of body water from the sea water."

Vitisak told AFP in a message Tuesday he plans to adopt the now-famous canine once he returns to shore at the end of the month.

Boonrod stayed on the rig for two nights before another vessel picked the pooch up on its way back to shore, arriving at a port in Songkhla province on Monday morning.

Local charity Smile Dog House has been caring for 

the dog, who will be adopted by the oil rig worker who 

found him at sea (AFP Photo/Handout)

In a video posted by animal rights group Watchdog Thailand, Boonrod was welcomed on the shore with a lei of yellow flowers and lots of neck scratches from port workers.

"Thank you for seeing the value of a little life that floats so far," said Facebooker Wanna Wongvorakul.

Boonrod was placed in the care of local charity group Smile Dog House.

"So far his health is ok... it's only skin problems that he's suffering from now," a Smile Dog House staff told AFP.

Protected nuisance gulls must go, say Rotterdammers

DutchNews, January 9, 2019 

A lesser black-backed gull flies through a Dutch street. Photo: Wim Verhagen via HH 

Rotterdammers whose lives have been made a misery by black-backed gulls for the last seven years, have written a letter to the city council asking for help, local broadcaster Rijnmond TV reports. 

The gulls, a protected species, have taken up residence on the flat roofs of homes at the Telderweg, Kemperweg, Van Poeljeweg and Moltzerstraat, and are keeping the inhabitants awake with their incessant and piercing screeching, especially between March and September when they are breeding. 

The birds are also more aggressive when they have chicks and have been known to attack adults and children. 

The council and housing corporation Havensteder have said they cannot do anything because the birds are protected but the harassed locals are pointing to Alkmaar, Haarlem and Leiden which have taken measures against nuisance gulls by dipping the eggs in corn oil which stops them from hatching. 

They also want a subsidy to put up netting on the roofs, a measure they claim is allowed, even taking into account the birds’ protected status.

‘Young gulls will always return to the nests to breed. In 10 years’ time they will completely dominate the streets whilst still being protected. Who is protecting the citizens?’, the letter reads.

Curled octopus spotted off Dutch coast by divers exploring wreck

DutchNews, October 16, 2018

A rare viewing of an octopus was made in the coastal waters off Callantsoog over the weekend, Noord Hollands Nieuws reports. 

The curled octopus (Eledone cirrhosa) was discovered by diver Mark Barto who was filming a shipwreck eight kilometres off the coast.

‘I was swimming away from the wreck for a bit when I saw it sitting on the bottom of the sea. I was the only one with a camera. (..) When you meet octopuses in tropical seas they are very shy but this one I could film close up. This is why I like what I do, it really rocks!’ he told NH Nieuws. 

According to Naturalis biologist Auke-Florian Hiemstra, the footage of the octopus is very special. ‘There had been no pictures so far of an curled octopus moving on the ocean floor in the Dutch part of the North Sea,’ he said.

California coastline stripped of plants prized in Asia

Yahoo – AFP, Jocelyne ZABLIT, May 14, 2018

The Dudleya plant, such as this one shown by a California Department of Fish and
Wildlife officer, is said to be highly prized in China because of its resemblance
to the lotus flower (AFP Photo/Handout)

Los Angeles (AFP) - The tip came from a woman standing in line at a post office in a small town in northern California.

A customer was shipping dozens of boxes to China, and the caller suspected they were filled with abalone, a highly-prized shellfish listed as an endangered species.

But fish and wildlife officers who responded to the call instead uncovered an international smuggling ring that has been stripping the bluffs along the northern California coastline of Dudleya succulent plants and shipping them to countries in Asia where they are used for decoration.

"The poachers literally fly into the US just to get these plants so they can ship them to Korea, China or Japan," said Captain Patrick Foy, of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. "They are ripping them out of the ground and selling them between $40 and $50 dollars a piece."

The plant, which grows in bud-like circles and resembles an artichoke, is called Dudleya farinosa and is native to the rugged coastlines of Oregon and northern California.

Foy said several suspects from Asia have been arrested in recent months in connection with the heists, including two Koreans and one Chinese national who were nabbed on April 4.

The trio had entered the country as tourists and were detained as they were about to ship 1,334 of the plants overseas. An additional 1,000 Dudleya were later found in their hotel room.

'They favor remote locations'

The three men -- Tae Hun Kim, 52, and Tae Hyun Kim, 46, both of North Korea, and Liu Fengxia, 37, of China -- are scheduled to appear in a California court on May 16, charged with several felony and misdemeanor counts. If convicted, they face up to nine years in prison and steep fines.

At least two other similar cases are pending.

Two unidentified men stand beside a load of Dudleya succulent plants, allegedly stolen

 by international poachers from remote cliffside locations along the northern California 

coast (AFP Photo/California Department of Fish and Wildlife)

Foy said he believes poachers in the last year have quietly been slipping into the country, targeting remote areas along the coast and digging up "thousands and thousands" of Dudleya before stuffing them into boxes with crumpled up newspaper and putting them in the mail.

"They go in at night or during the day... and seem to favor locations that are not well traveled -- places where you can park your car and walk half a mile and not be seen by a lot of people," he added.

"These are people who are taking every plant that they can find and they are shipping them by the hundreds of boxes at a time."

Authorities said they fear the plant, also known as "bluff lettuce," could end up on the endangered species list if the poaching continues and are warning of the detrimental effect on the environment.

"They are ripping the plants out of their habitats and they are trampling other plants while they are doing it," said botanist Stephen McCabe, emeritus director of research at the University of California Santa Cruz Arboretum.

"It's just disgusting that they are going into the wild and stripping whole cliffs."

The Dudleya, which can continue to grow for years once potted, is said to be highly prized in China because of its resemblance to the lotus flower.

Foy said that while he understands the attraction, he was baffled as to why collectors were not simply buying similar-looking plants.

"Why these ones are so much extra special, frankly I have no idea," he said. "There are perfectly other nice succulent plants out there that can be purchased for five dollars at a nursery."

Fossils of 12 million year old whales found off Dutch coast

DutchNews, April 10, 2017

Fossils of five previously unknown species of marine mammals have been discovered off the Dutch coast. 

The fossils date back 12 million years and include the remains of the oldest direct ancestor of the blue whale. 

Fisherman and amateur fossil expert Klaas Post discovered the site, in the Westerschelde estuary near Terneuzen, in 2014. The area is around 30 metres below the surface and a few hundred metres wide, but was inaccessible until now because of shipwrecks. 

Last autumn fossils dating back around 40 million years were found near Walcheren. They include a primitive species of whale with distinctive back legs.

Dutch coast is now ‘super-storm proof’ again

DutchNews, November 7, 2016

A still from EO television series
‘If the dykes break’ 

A massive project to reinforce 10 weak places in the Dutch coastal defences has been completed and the country’s shoreline is super-storm proof again, the AD said on Monday. 

The final stage of the project was officially finished on Monday in the western part of Zeeland where a 10 kilometer stretch of coast line has been reinforced. Zeeland was one of the places that suffered most when the last superstorm hit the Netherlands in 1953.

‘The likelihood of a super-storm is on average once in 100 years,’ said infrastructure minister Melanie Schultz. ‘That might not seem like bad odds, but without good protection, the damage could cost us over €100bn.’ 

In 2003, research by transport authority Rijkswaterstaat found that the power of the waves hitting the coast was greater than had previously been supposed. 

Engineers said that with storms expected to become more frequent and more powerful, some 10 stretches of dune or dyke needed reinforcing. 

The total cost of the project was €606m, €45m below budget according to infrastructure ministry figures.

Related Article:

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African nations hail maritime deal

Yahoo – AFP, Emile Kouton with Sophie Bouillon in Lagos, October 15, 2016

A French Navy helicopter chases a boat carrying suspected Somali pirates as
part of an anti-piracy naval mission on May 3, 2009 (AFP Photo/Pierre Verdy)

Lome (AFP) - African leaders on Saturday signed a deal to boost security off the continent's economically crucial coasts, hoping to shore up development by tackling maritime crimes like piracy and smuggling.

Congolese President Denis Sassou Nguesso hailed the African Union agreement as "historic", while Kenya's President Uhuru Kenyatta said it showed Africa's ability to put together a continent-wide strategy.

Sassou Nguesso said 43 nations had adopted the binding agreement -- which will see countries pay into a special fund for maritime security -- at a summit in Togo's capital Lome.

The deal is designed to improve information-sharing between African nations, a weakness that pirates and smugglers have benefited from in the past, slipping between territorial waters with little trouble.

The talks drew 18 heads of state -- an unusually high figure for an AU meeting of this kind, signalling the importance that governments have placed on the need to cut piracy and other crime in Africa's waters.

As he opened the summit, Chad's President Idriss Deby, the current AU chief, noted that some 90 percent of Africa's imports and exports are transported by sea, making maritime security key to the continent's economic future.

Of the AU's 54 member states, 38 have coastlines.

Deby said the charter would "allow the promotion of commerce and the exploitation of the huge potential of the maritime sector, as well as the creation of wealth and jobs in several industries".

Congolese President Denis Sassou Nguesso hailed the African Union agreement 

to boost security off the continent's coast as "historic" (AFP Photo/Marco Longari)

It would also "mark a decisive new step in the push to preserve the maritime environment", he added.

The deal will create new national and regional institutions to improve security in African waters, while the signatories pledged a string of measures to protect the maritime environment and fight trafficking in drugs, arms and people.

But Timothy Walker, a maritime security researcher at the Institute for Security Studies (ISS), said the deal would allow countries to withhold information from each other if they judge this to be in the interests of national security.

"It's a big step but it can not be the final step. There is still a lot of work to do," Walker told AFP.

Piracy in focus

"African leaders have started to realise that the maritime domain is a source of economic opportunity for the future," Walker added.

Togo's Foreign Minister Robert Dussey told AFP ahead of the summit that there was a clear need for African countries to work together to combat an upsurge in piracy in order to make full use of the continent's maritime resources.

Piracy, smuggling and other crimes at sea have cost the African maritime sector hundreds of billions of dollars in recent decades, according to the AU.

Large-scale illegal fishing also helps drive piracy as it depletes stocks, reducing the legitimate economic activities of coastal communities.

Suspected pirates keep their hands in the air as directed by a patrol from the 

guided-missile cruiser USS Vella Gulf, in the Gulf of Aden (AFP Photo/

Jason R. Zalasky)

In West Africa alone, the AU estimates that illicit fishing causes losses of 170 billion CFA francs ($285 million, 260 million euros) every year.

World piracy has been on the decline since 2012 after international naval patrols were launched off East Africa in response to violent attacks by mostly Somali-based pirates.

But the focus of concern has shifted to the Gulf of Guinea, where a new class of pirates -- mostly offshoots of militant groups from the Niger Delta -- have become active.

At least 27 attempted or successful hijackings and kidnappings at sea have been recorded off west Africa since April, according to the International Maritime Organization, compared to just two off east Africa.

The 17 countries lining the Gulf of Guinea have poor maritime surveillance capacities and have been trying for several years to boost cooperation to clamp down on piracy.

The deal will need to be ratified by at least 15 countries before it comes into force, and Barthelemy Blede, an ISS maritime researcher in Ivory Coast, said it remained to be seen whether there was "real will" to make the deal a reality.

"It's a historic act, but it's one thing to adopt a text and sign it, and another thing to ratify it," he told AFP.

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Belated win for coastal protection in Spain

Environmentalists have won a decade-long battle to halt construction of a mega-hotel in one of Spain's largest coastal protected areas. However, the conflict between tourism and conservation is far from over.

Deutsche Welle, 24 February 2016

El Algarrobico has been for a decade one of the most controversial buildings in Spain

It was a clear win for environmentalists when Spain's highest court ruled the construction of a mega-hotel 'illegal'.

Just 14 meters away from El Algarrobico, a pristine beach of Cabo de Gata in southern Spain, the hotel - with its 21 floors and 411 bedrooms - stands vacant.

Its construction in the province of Almeria was dubbed one of Spain's biggest environmental scandals.

The Spanish Supreme Court recently declared the area environmentally protected and has banned construction. Environmentalists have hailed the decision a great success. But, the victory may have come a bit late.

A decade of confusion

"The countdown for the demolition of the Algarrobico's hotel has finally started," said Andalusian environment minister José Fiscal.

His triumphant announcement comes after years of backtracking and legal ambiguity with many locals holding the regional government responsible for the whole fiasco.

It all began in the 1980s, when construction of the hotel was first licensed. Then, the coastal area was not protected. But by the time construction began in 2003, that had changed and building was prohibited.

The hotel is located in a protected area within the natural park, Cabo de Gata

It wasn’t until 2006 that a local court first ordered an immediate halt to building. But the national environment ministry and the regional government of Andalusia failed to react to the ruling.

Then in 2012, the high court of Andalusia declared the hotel illegal and called for its demolition. But two years later, the court reversed its decision. The hotel was legal and building free to restart.

Now, 10 years after works were halted, Spain's Supreme Court has finally given the green light for its demolition.

The price of the victory

Tearing down the huge edifice will cost an estimated 7 million euros. The national and local government are to split the bill.

There is also the outstanding question of compensation for the hotel’s owners – who are demanding around 70 million euros.

Locals feel they too have lost out financially.

While environmental groups have long fought the hotel, it has always had majority support in the area – mainly for economic reasons.

"Once it was already constructed, it would have been best to make use of it," said Salvador Hernández, mayor of the nearby village of Carboneras.

Hernández argues the hotel would have brought much needed jobs to the village. "Instead, the people – through taxes – will pay for its demolition, and the consequences," he told DW.

Hernández believes the local community has emerged the biggest loser from a debacle that put Carboneras on the map for all the wrong reasons.

"Our village may be outstanding for many reasons, but our image has been destroyed by this scandal," he lamented.

The natural park Cabo de Gata is the largest coastal protected area in Andalusia

An uncertain future

And the construction that has loomed over Algarrobico for more than a decade will not disappear overnight.

The demolition is expected to produce around 60,000 cubic meters of waste, of which at least 40,000 cubic meters must removed and dumped. The remainder is to be used in the area’s recovery

Greenpeace at least sees an upside to this logistical challenge.

"The demolition work would bring around 400 new jobs," said Pilar Marcos, head of Greenpeace Spain’s coastal campaign.

"98% of the materials could be recycled. Moreover, it represents a new opportunity for sustainable tourism."

What the beach will look like once the process is over remains an open question. Whether it will be restored to its natural state – or become the site for new tourism services has yet to be decided.

Massive tourism is visible all along the Spanish coast

Tourism threatens conservation

According to WWF, tourism is one of the main causes for biodiversity loss in the Mediterranean region. Sea beds, coastal landscapes and marine dynamics are all at risk.

Spain is one of the world’s best-loved tourist destinations. In 2014, it was ranked third in the world for numbers of foreign tourists by the United Nations Tourism Organization.

But threats to environment from tourism are a problem the world over, with Mexico, China, Ecuador, Indonesia and Nepal just a few of countries where vacationers put the landscapes they come to enjoy at risk.