Image caption Kevin Keane meets Prince Albert II of Monaco in Edinburgh

Who would have thought that inspiration for protecting Scotland's seas would come from a place with one of the shortest coastlines in the world?

The Principality of Monaco, on the Mediterranean, is leading the charge and has brought its campaign to the capital.

Ruling monarch, Prince Albert II, heads the Monaco Blue Initiative and has launched his 2018 conference at the University of Edinburgh.

Oceanographers and experts from across the globe have been meeting to discuss issues from ocean acidification to plastic pollution.

The Prince recognises that the seas are making a growing contribution to world economies but wants international agreement on how to balance that exploitation with environmental protection.

He told me: "The recognition that oceans have to be taken into consideration when you consider all issues concerning the environment, with climate change at the forefront of that, I think is extremely important.

"Without a healthy ocean we cannot have a good future.

"Not only in your region but in the North Sea, scientists have done tremendous work. But I also think they can contribute further in better understanding and better knowledge gathering on not only this ocean but oceans around the world."

Image caption Three miles: Monaco's coastline is minuscule compared to the conference's host country

Scotland's coastline is more than 7,000 miles long whereas Monaco's is less than three.

But its rich inhabitants with their expensive boats give it an impressive harbour and so the connection with the sea is obvious.

Beyond the recently documented concerns about plastic pollution, the environmental impacts of and on our oceans is less obvious.

"Half of the air that we breathe is produced by the oceans and if you just want to take home that concept then that's reason enough for us to be concerned about our oceans," Prince Albert added.

With aquaculture, largely sea farming, playing such an important part in our rural economies, Scotland's has a distinct relationship with the water.

On top of that is the growing demand for renewable energy from offshore wind, wave and tidal power.

Image caption Damage was caused to an unprotected reef in Loch Carron in 2017

Professor of Climate Studies at the University of Edinburgh, Sandy Tudhope, has been leading the conference.

He said people are "joining the dots" in our relationship with the oceans.

"The ocean is there as a resource but it's also fragile. It can be damaged. I think the public is becoming much more aware of that tension between opportunity and threat.

"It's definitely about how you work together. The phrasing is a 'blue growth' agenda and it's {about} how do you actually achieve something that supports economies, supports societies, supports cultural ways of life, but also respects life in the ocean and the services it provides to us environmentally.

"They can work together but it's difficult and it's challenging."

One major focus for the conference is the implementation of Marine Protected Areas.

These designations are already being rolled out in Scotland for the protection of ecosystems and sea features but the institute wants a global inventory of MPAs and a better understanding of their impact on climate change.

Environmental groups raised concerns in 2017 when fishing gear caused damage to a rare reef in Loch Carron which was not protected.

Robert Calcagno, Chief Executive Officer at the Oceanographic Institute, said: "I think the two major threats over the ocean are over-exploitation and pollution. Over exploitation is overfishing but it's also oil and gas. We need to use the ocean but we need to do it in a sustainable way." </s> Less than a week after President Donald Trump announced he was pulling the United States out of the Paris climate agreement, the United Nations is hosting its first ever Oceans' Conference in New York.

The aim is to find solutions to some of the toughest problems facing the oceans — that includes coral bleaching, plastic pollution, overfishing and rising sea levels.

The scourge of plastic pollution alone is a massive challenge and according to some estimates, plastic will outweigh fish by 2050 and 99 per cent of sea birds will have ingested plastic.

By the end of the week as the Oceans Conference comes to a close, the general assembly will aim to pass a call to action. </s> The UK has joined a global battle to safeguard the world’s coral reefs from climate change and rising sea temperatures, Environment Minister Thérèse Coffey announced today.

International work to protect these vital marine habitats is gathering momentum as coral reefs come under increasing pressure from climate change and human activity – and today the UK officially joined the Coral Reef Life Declaration, committing to safeguard coral reefs and bolster scientific research into the threats they face.

The announcement comes just one week ahead of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, where member states will gather in London to agree further global measures to protect our oceans.

From Australia’s iconic Great Barrier Reef, to 8,000 year-old cold-waters corals off the coast of the UK, the countries of the Commonwealth account for nearly half the world’s coral reefs – and over 250 million people across the Commonwealth depend directly on coral reefs for food and income.

Speaking from the National Oceanography Centre in Southampton, where High Commissioners and members of the UK’s science community gathered today to celebrate marine science across the Commonwealth, the Environment Minister Thérèse Coffey said:

Few people know the waters around the UK contain riches to rival the tropics – with our waters home to a vast array of cold water coral reefs that protect important marine life. Through tapping into the UK’s world-leading marine science and working with our partners across the Commonwealth, we will help to safeguard this vital habitat and protect our oceans for future generations.

The Coral Reef Life Declaration was launched by Prince Albert II of Monaco at the Our Ocean conference in Malta in October last year to encourage countries to come together to protect coral reefs. So far 12 countries have signed the declaration, including Australia, Fiji and the Seychelles.

The UK’s waters are home to cold-water corals over 8,000 years old, with the only known coral reef in English waters protected as a Marine Conservation Zone (MCZ).

The Canyons MCZ, located off the Cornish coast, covers an area of more than 650 km2 and was designated in 2013 to protect the cold-water corals found there. There are also extensive reefs off the west coast of Scotland where there are seven Marine Protected Areas safeguarding this fragile habitat from damage.

The UK’s Overseas Territories also hold a huge array of tropical and cold water coral reefs. Through our Blue Belt programme we are currently on track to protect over four million square kilometres of ocean across the Overseas Territories by 2020, working with local communities to protect the coral species within.

This year has also been made the International Year of the Reef by the International Coral Reef Initiative – the leading organisation dedicated to protecting these habitats. </s> The world’s largest marine reserve aimed at protecting the pristine wilderness of Antarctica will be created after a “momentous” agreement was finally reached Friday, with Russia dropping its long-held opposition.

The deal, sealed by the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) at an annual meeting in Hobart after years of negotiations, will see a massive US and New Zealand-backed marine protected area established in the Ross Sea.

It will cover more than 1.55 million square kilometres (600,000 square miles) — roughly the size of Britain, Germany and France combined — of which 1.12 million square kilometres will be a no fishing zone.

“The proposal required some changes in order to gain the unanimous support of all 25 CCAMLR members and the final agreement balances marine protection, sustainable fishing and science interests,” New Zealand Foreign Minister Murray McCully said.

“The boundaries of the MPA, however, remain unchanged.”

The Ross Sea is one of the last intact marine ecosystems in the world, home to penguins, seals, Antarctic toothfish, whales and huge numbers of krill, a staple food for many species.

It is considered critical for scientists to study how marine ecosystems function and to understand the impacts of climate change on the ocean.

Moscow was the last government opposing the move, largely due to concerns over fishing rights, after China offered its support last year.

“We had a lot of talks with them. Secretary (John) Kerry reached out to Russian President (Vladimir) Putin and (Foreign Minister Sergei) Lavrov and I think that helped a great deal to convince Russia to come on board,” Evan Bloom, head of the US delegation at the meeting, told AFP.

“This decision is very important not just for the Antarctic but for efforts to promote world marine conservation.”

Moscow has signalled more commitment to conservation in recent times, designating 2017 as the Year of Ecology. It moved in August to significantly increase the size of a protected zone around Franz Josef Land in the Arctic.

While the Ross Sea plan got the go-ahead, time ran out at the meeting to reach agreement on a second proposed protected area — the Australia and France-led East Antarctica sanctuary covering another one million square kilometre zone.

Both reserve proposals have been on the table since 2012 with CCAMLR — a treaty tasked with overseeing conservation and sustainable exploitation of the Antarctic Ocean, also known as the Southern Ocean.

Consensus is needed from all 24 member countries and the European Union.

A third German-proposed plan is also in the works to protect the Weddell Sea, which extends from the southeast of South America over an area of some 2.8 million square kilometres.

“For the first time, countries have put aside their differences to protect a large area of the Southern Ocean and international waters,” said Mike Walker, project director of the Antarctic Ocean Alliance, calling the outcome “momentous”.

“Although there was not a decision on the proposed protection of the Weddell Sea and the East Antarctic this year, we are confident that these areas will be protected in the coming years, adding to the system of marine protected areas in the Southern Ocean.”

The Ross Sea is named after British explorer Sir James Ross and his great, great, great granddaughter Phillipa Ross said the family was thrilled it was safeguarded.

“The Ross family are euphoric that our family legacy has been honoured in the 175th anniversary year since James first discovered the Ross Sea, thanks to the individuals and organisations who have poured their hearts and souls into campaigning for its protection,” she said.

It culminates years of pressure by conservationists, including a campaign by the global civic movement Avaaz which was kickstarted by Hollywood superstar Leonardo DiCaprio.

“There’s massive momentum in the world right now to protect our oceans,” said Avaaz campaign director Luis Morago. “The Ross Sea is just the start.” – AFP </s> Representatives from 24 nations agreed to create a zone that will encompass 600,000 square miles of ocean in the Ross Sea in Antarctica

SYDNEY — The world’s biggest marine reserve, almost as large as Alaska, will be established in the Ross Sea in Antarctica under an agreement reached by representatives of 24 nations and the European Union in Australia on Friday.

The policymakers and scientists agreed unanimously to create a zone that will encompass 600,000 square miles of ocean. Of that, 72 percent will be out of bounds to commercial fishing. The remaining 28 percent represents two research zones where scientists can catch limited amounts of fish and krill — tiny invertebrates that provide food for whales, penguins, seals and other animals — for research.

The area, which is mostly contiguous and hugs the coast off the Ross Sea ice shelf, will come under protection on Dec. 1, 2017, and remain a reserve for 35 years. The agreement was reached in Hobart, Tasmania, at the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources.

“This is a major step in marine conservation, not just for the Antarctic but internationally,” said Evan Bloom, head of the United States delegation to the commission.

“Part of it is the size, but the significance of this is that most of the marine protected area is a no-take area, and that involved 25 countries and complex, long-term environmental negotiations. It is one of the biggest steps for the international community,” Bloom, a director of the State Department’s Office of Oceans and Polar Affairs, said in a telephone interview from Hobart.

The Ross Sea marine park, in the Southern Ocean, had been on the commission’s agenda for about six years, and conservationists had been arguing for a no-fishing zone there for a decade, said Andrea Kavanagh, a director of the Southern Oceans Sanctuaries Campaign at Pew Charitable Trusts in Washington.

Although the commission did not reduce the total tonnage of fish that can be taken from the Ross Sea, vessels have been pushed into areas further out to sea and away from ecologically significant sites that include breeding and feeding grounds for whales, large fish, penguins and other sea birds.

“This is a great result for quiet diplomacy and honest toil,” New Zealand’s foreign minister, Murray McCully, said in a telephone interview from Auckland. “The fact that an agreement like this can be reached with the Russians, when there are so many difficulties, so many other political differences happening elsewhere. It is pleasing this can be isolated and agreed.”

The Ross Sea reserve includes the Ross Sea shelf and slope, and the Balleny Islands. Sea around two seamounts, one known as the Scott seamount, have also been included in the reserve. Seamounts, or underwater mountains, are habitats and foraging areas for marine mammals, birds and fish including Weddell seals, killer whales and Emperor penguins. </s> The Seychelles has announced a pioneering marine conservation plan backed by Leonardo DiCaprio as part of a debt swap deal with creditors.

In an agreement described as the first of its kind, the Indian Ocean nation is designating nearly a third of its waters - spanning areas that equal roughly the size of Great Britain - as protected, aiming to ensure the longevity of its unique biodiversity.

The archipelago's 115 islands have been isolated by continental land masses for millions of years.

The Aldabra atoll, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is home to the world's largest population of giant tortoises, critically endangered sea cows and spawning grounds for a number of rare species - but overfishing has hurt.

On Wednesday, the government signed a bill restricting nearly all human activity in the waters around Aldabra and overall setting aside more than 210,000 square kilometers (81,081 sq. miles) as protected areas.

The areas around Aldabra will ban all extractive uses such as fishing and petroleum exploration; the rest will be restricted to sustainable practices. The plan will be completed by 2021.

'A great honor and privilege,' the country's environment minister, Didier Dogley, said at the signing.

The deal with the country's creditors was brokered by US-based The Nature Conservancy.

Under it, $21 million (17 million euros) of government debt was swapped for conservation funding to protect the low-lying, ocean-dependent nation against the effects of climate change, including warming, rising and acidifying seas.

The deal was partly funded with a $1million grant from the foundation chaired by actor and environmental activist Leonardo DiCaprio.

'This effort will help the people of Seychelles protect their ocean for future generations, and will serve as a model for future marine conservation projects worldwide,' said DiCaprio.

'These protections mean that all species living in these waters or migrating through them are now far better shielded from overfishing, pollution, and climate change.'

At the height of its debt crisis in the late 2000s, the Seychelles was one of the world's top debt-ridden countries.

Its sovereign debt peaked at nearly $1 billion, according to the World Bank.

Today, the debt stands at less than half of that, according to the finance ministry.

The deal allows for a certain amount of money to be repaid into a trust fund to support conservation-related projects, organizers said.

While welcoming the deal, the CEO of the Seychelles National Parks Authority warned that certain threats to the Seychelles remain beyond control.

'Like climate, for example,' Flavien Joubert said.

The new agreement has worried some who say their livelihoods will be severely restricted.

'If you protect everywhere, where (will) we go fishing?' Elvis Simon Dingwall said.

He echoed others who said they have to bear the brunt of the government's past economic failures.

The head of the Seychelles' state-owned oil and gas exploration entity, Patrick Joseph, said Petro Seychelles initially was resistant to the plan but now is cautiously optimistic.

'Provided this is done properly, we choose the right companies and we do a proper impact assessment before we drill, I feel like the country will definitely benefit from oil and gas resources,' Joseph said.

The Seychellois government is already benefiting from the confidence the deal has inspired in its creditors, with a separate bond deal now being finalized with the World Bank to help finance a transition to sustainable fisheries.

'The Seychelles is leading the way in terms of how it is going to manage its ocean territory... in a sustainable fashion,' said Benoit Bosquet, the World Bank's practice manager for environment and natural resources. </s> LONDON — The United Nations maritime agency is holding a weeklong meeting aimed at curbing emissions from ships.

Environmental activists say that while shipping contributes only 2-3 of global greenhouses gases, the industry's efforts are essential to combating climate change.

Proposals at the International Maritime Organization meeting that began Monday in London include keeping emissions below 2008 levels, but some shipping nations oppose such a cap.

European Union members and other countries want a 70 to 100 reduction in greenhouse emissions by 2050. They cite a study which found that alternative fuels, wind-assisted ships and electric engines could replace shipping fuels without endangering global trade.

Proposals to cut sulfur oxide emissions and to extend to the Arctic a ban on heavy fuel oil that already covers the Antarctic also will be considered. </s> Image copyright SPL

The amount of plastic in the ocean is set to triple in a decade unless litter is curbed, a major report has warned.

Plastics is just one issue facing the world's seas, along with rising sea levels, warming oceans, and pollution, it says.

But the Foresight Future of the Sea Report for the UK government said there are also opportunities to cash in on the "ocean economy".

They say this is predicted to double to $3 trillion (£2 trillion) by 2030.

The report says much more knowledge is needed about the ocean. The authors say the world needs a Mission to "Planet Ocean" to mirror the excitement of voyaging to the moon and Mars.

The Foresight reports are written by experts to brief ministers on medium and long-term issues of significance. This one has been signed off by ministers from four different departments as the authors emphasise the need for a joined-up oceans policy.

One of the authors, Prof Edward Hill from the UK National Oceanography Centre told BBC News: "The ocean is critical to our economic future. Nine billion people will be looking to the ocean for more food. Yet we know so little of what's down there.

"We invest a lot of money and enthusiasm for missions to space - but there's nothing living out there. The sea bed is teeming with life. We really need a mission to planet ocean - it's the last frontier."

Image copyright Getty Images Image caption The report projects an increase in the industrial capture of fish

Another of the authors, the chief scientist for the UK government's environment department Ian Boyd, agreed: "The ocean is out of sight, out of mind," he said.

He told BBC News: "There's a continuous process of exploring for new things to exploit in the oceans, and that's happening faster than we scientists can keep up with. My suspicion is legislation is also struggling to keep up - and obviously there are risks in that."

He said offshore wind farms, oil industries and mining firms were spreading into unexplored areas. "Scientists need to get in there faster than the commercial people or at least at the same time - to put proper regulation in place to govern those industries."

The report highlights many concerns, including the current worry about ocean plastic litter, which it forecasts will treble between 2015 and 2025.

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption A giant build-up of plastic was captured by underwater photographer Caroline Power

But it stresses that the ocean is being assailed from many different types of pollution - including run-off pesticides and fertilisers from farms, industrial toxins like PCBs, and pharmaceuticals.

The authors say if governments can identify ways of protecting biodiversity in the seas, there are riches to be harvested - including nodules of metals and possibly even cures for cancer.

They predict that the biggest industrial growth in the seas will come from offshore wind, followed by marine aquaculture and fish processing. The report also projects an increase in industrial capture of wild fish.

This latter suggestion alarmed Rachel Jones, a marine expert from London Zoo, ZSL. She told BBC News: "Given that 90% of global fisheries are either at or in excess of sustainable catch levels, I can't really see how they are going to expand capture fisheries."

Follow Roger on Twitter. </s> A landmark international agreement to create the world’s largest marine park in the Southern Ocean has been brokered in Australia, after five years of compromises and failed negotiations.

More than 1.5m sq km of the Ross Sea around Antarctica will be protected under the deal brokered between 24 countries and the European Union. It means 1.1m sq km of it – an area about the size of France and Spain combined – will be set aside as a no-take “general protection zone”, where no fishing will be allowed.

Significantly, the protections are set to expire in 35 years.

The agreement came on Friday at the conclusion of two weeks of discussions between delegates from 24 countries and the EU in Hobart, at the annual meeting of the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR).

Evan Bloom from the US state department, the head of the US delegation to the meeting, told the Guardian he was “thrilled”.

“I think it’s a really significant moment,” he said. “We’ve been working towards this for many years. It’s taken time to get consensus but now we have established the world’s largest marine protected area.”

It is the first marine park created in international waters and will set a precedent for further moves to help the world achieve the International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s recommendation that 30% of the world’s oceans be protected.

The Antarctic protections had been urgently sought because of the importance of the Southern Ocean to the world’s natural resources. For example, scientists have estimated that the Southern Ocean produces about three-quarters of the nutrients that sustain life in the rest of the world’s oceans. The region is also home to most of the world’s penguins and whales.

The Ross Sea is a deep bay in the Southern Ocean that many scientists consider to be the last intact marine ecosystem on Earth – a living laboratory ideally suited for investigating life in the Antarctic and how climate change is affecting the planet.

Andrea Kavanagh, the director of Antarctic and Southern Ocean work for the Pew Charitable Trusts, which has been working for years to achieve today’s result, said: “Today, CCAMLR made history by declaring the planet’s largest marine protected area in the Ross Sea.

“This landmark decision represents the first time that nations have agreed to protect a huge area of the ocean that lies beyond the jurisdiction of any individual country and shows that CCAMLR takes its role as protector of Antarctic waters seriously.”

The protections will not decrease the total amount of fish that are allowed to be caught in the Ross Sea, but it will move the industry away from the most crucial habitats close to the continent itself.

Russia has an industry catching antarctic toothfish there and the changes will push the fleet into waters where they will catch fewer immature fish, and where they won’t compete with as many orcas, who also rely on toothfish for food.

The agreement also establishes a large 322,000 sq km “krill research zone” that will allow for reseach catching of krill, but prohibit toothfish catching. Additionally, a 110,000 sq km “special research zone” will be established on the outside of the no-take zone, allowing catching of krill and toothfish only for research purposes.

“Today’s agreement is a turning point for the protection of Antarctica and the Southern Ocean,” said Chris Johnson, WWF-Australia’s ocean science manager. “This is important not just for the incredible diversity of life that it will protect, but also for the contribution it makes to building the resilience of the world’s ocean in the face of climate change.”

But the expiry of the protections in 35 years was a significant compromise. It came after five years of failed negotiations, with opposition from China and Russia which have fishing industries in the region.

The World Conservation Union definition of a marine protected area requires it to be permanent. “WWF has concerns that the Ross Sea agreement does not meet this standard,” Johnson said.

“We are optimistic that after years of deadlock at the annual CCAMLR meeting, today’s decision will spark renewed momentum for CCAMLR members to achieve permanent protection for the Ross Sea in coming years and also deliver marine protected areas in East Antarctica and the Weddell Sea.”

The Guardian understands that a proposal for 50 years of protection had been tabled but Russia wouldn’t agree.

Bloom said while the US and other countries preferred permanent protections, the compromise “was necessary in order for this to be adopted”.

Kavanagh said: “It can’t be overstated how difficult these negotiations were.”

“It took five years of talking about this one proposal exclusively to get it across the table. And if you look at other marine reserves that are permanent, they’re in one exclusive economic zone – it’s only one country that has to make the decision.

“And I’m positive that in 35 years, the conservation values that come out of the Ross Sea, the protections will be renewed. The world will be a different place in 35 years.”

The campaign group Avaaz had, with Leonardo DiCaprio, launched a petition calling for CCAMLR to establish “the world’s largest network of marine protected areas in the Southern Ocean, starting with the Ross Sea and East Antarctica”. It received more than 2m signatures, Avaaz said.

“There’s massive momentum in the world right now to protect our oceans,” said Luis Morago, campaign director at Avaaz. “Governments have just set the landmark target of protecting 30% of our oceans, and millions of people all over the world are pushing for more protected areas to achieve that goal. The Ross Sea is just the start.”
Prince Albert II of Monaco arrives in Edinburgh to launch an international conference of oceanographers and environmental experts to discuss the global marine environment, including oceanic acidification and plastic pollution, as well as the local creation of Marine Protected Areas in Scotland.