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biodiversity

Strengthening Sri Lanka’s preparedness to respond to oiled wildlife emergencies

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: Animal Health, biodiversity, International

Written by Jamie Small, from the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC), on behalf of JNCC and Cefas, The UK government's Ocean Country Partnership Programme (OCPP) team share updates on oiled wildlife response training recently delivered in Sri Lanka. JNCC and …

The power of plankton: Advancing our understanding of the role and value of plankton as marine natural capital

In this new Marine Science blog, scientists from Cefas, the University of Plymouth, and Environment Agency discuss new research by the Pelagic Natural Capital project (PelCap), which is helping to monitor the impact of human activities on plankton health in …

Safeguarding Global Coral Trade: The Power of a New Visual Guide for Border Inspections

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: biodiversity, International, Monitoring, Science, Vulnerable species, Wildlife trade
Pieces of hard coral during import check at Heathrow. Photo credit. Border Force.

It’s a dark, damp evening in February 2023 when staff from UK Border Force’s CITES team are called to Heathrow’s Animal Reception Centre to inspect a shipment of hard coral. A mismatch between the CITES permit and its packing list …

What do a Communications Officer, a Shellfish Scientist and a Fish Health Inspector have in common?

Posted by: , and , Posted on: - Categories: Animal Health, biodiversity, Careers, Education, Field Research, Fisheries, Science

Answer: They all graduated from a Zoology degree at the University of Exeter in 2016!  With the start of a new academic year, this time often comes with big decisions and a lot of uncertainty. Perhaps you’re making decisions on …

Into the deep: How Cefas science of the deep-sea is exploring uncharted waters

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: biodiversity, Deep-sea, Monitoring, Policy, Science

The deep-sea covers more than 60% of the Earth's surface. Deep-sea ecosystems are amongst the least well understood owing to the combined challenges of remoteness, vastness, and the difficulties of exploring its depths. The ‘deep-sea’ is a catch-all term that …

One year on: Cefas generates new tools and evidence to support marine natural capital programme

Natural capital refers to parts of the natural environment, such as forests, fisheries, rivers, biodiversity, land and minerals, that provide valuable goods and services to society. Much like human capital (labour, skills and experience), recent reviews recognise that natural capital should …

Making waves: recent contributions of Cefas fisheries science for the future of fisheries management in the UK

Fishing net onboard a boat

On Monday 17th July, the UK government’s Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) announced further steps to deliver a thriving, sustainable fishing industry and healthy marine environment following the UK’s exit from the European Union (EU). As …

Ascension Island and Lowestoft school twinning project: Connecting the next generation of ocean advocates

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: biodiversity, Climate Change, Education, Ocean literacy, Science
Two students in a classroom looking at food chain cards

Despite being separated by more than 7,000 kilometres and located in opposite hemispheres, with the diverse climates and marine environments of the South Atlantic and North Sea, a ground-breaking primary school twinning project, supported by Cefas and Ascension Island, has …

Q&A with Elena Couce: Paris Agreement vital to save world’s coral reefs

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: adaptation, biodiversity, Climate Change, International, Policy, Science

Coral reefs are one of the most important ecosystems in the world, supporting up 25% of the ocean’s marine life.  However, warming temperatures and ocean acidification have led to a decline in coral reef richness in much of the tropics.  In …