A 100 metre by 100 metre* anchor-free zone will be established in Studland Bay in Dorset bay to protect the largest seahorse breeding colony in the United Kingdom.

Yesterday, French president Nicolas Sarkozy announced that France backs Monaco’s call for an international trade ban for Atlantic and Mediterranean bluefin tuna.

Ever wondered how the turtle got its shell? So has a Japanese team of scientist and they decided to investigate the subject by comparing turtle embryos with those of chicks and mice.

At a meeting in Paris last month, the General Assembly of UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) agreed to introduce a new thermodynamic description of seawater. The new description will be based on a new salinity variable called Absolute Salinity.

If everything goes according to plan, the world’s largest ocean observatory will be ready for use by late September, except for the instruments at one node which won’t be installed until next year.

An Australian frigate will be sunk off Terrigal on the New South Wales Central Coast to form an artificial reef.

Twelve thefts of exotic fish and pond equipment have been reported over a three-week period across Hull, East Yorks.

Humberside Police Community Support Officer Sam Gregory said all the evidence suggests the culprits are using the Internet to seek out their targets.

Of the 679 whales Japan reported killing during the hunt of 2008/2009, 304 were female. 192 of them were pregnant and four were lactating.

South Africa is officially adding the whale and the shark to the iconic Big Five group; turning it into the Big Seven.

Florida will soon have the strictest conservation law for the harvest of imperilled freshwater turtles in the U.S. The new legislation pertains to all freshwater turtles on Florida’s imperilled species list plus species that look similar to the imperilled species, which include common snapping turtles and cooters.

Indonesia is getting ready to sink foreign boats carrying out illegal fishing in Indonesian waters.

“We are glad the House`s Commission IV supports us in this,” Marine Resources and Fisheries Minister Freddy Numbery said at a meeting with the House commission this week.

Nova Scotia is not the only place with odd looking lobsters; the original Scotland also has some strange colour morphs dwelling in its waters.

If you visit the rock pool at Deep Sea World in North Queensferry, you can for instance encounter one electric blue lobster with white markings and one pitch-black lobster adorned with vivid orange colours that contrast beautifully against the dark areas. Picture here

A number of Japanese citizens living in the Ishikawa Prefecture have made some strange observations during the last few days.

A rare orange-and-yellow lobster has been found off the coast of Prince Edward Island in Canada. Instead of the drab colours normally sported by lobsters, this female specimen boosts a spotted orange-and-yellow pattern. According to specialists, she’s one in about 30 million.

The European River Otter (Lutra lutra) which was once almost eradicated from British waters is beginning to make a come-back thanks to improved environmental care and the reintroduction of captive-bred specimens.