Our Scans · (LF.14) Life Below Water · Weekly Summary

In September 2015, 193 world leaders agreed to 17 Global Goals for Sustainable Development. If these Goals are completed, it would mean an end to extreme poverty, inequality and climate change by 2030.
Goal 14: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development.

• [New] Pet goldfish illegally dumped in a lake are endangering native fish species, the Environment Agency has warned. BBC News
• [New] Growing numbers of visitors bring risks including disease, invasive species and pollution to the delicate ecosystems of Antarctica and the remote sub-Antarctic islands that teem with bird life, sea lions and whales. gCaptain
• [New] The world's ocean plastic crisis could be dramatically reduced in just 15 years - and for less than $1bn (£750m). Positive News
• [New] The longer-term goal is to stop 90% of floating plastic pollution from reaching the sea by 2040, while also clearing existing accumulation zones such as the great Pacific garbage patch. Positive News
• [New] Rapid expansion of the salmon farming industry in Chile has been linked to ecological damage and concerns about worker safety, while Norway's wild salmon face an existential threat, with sea lice linked to salmon farms a contributing cause. The Tyee
• [New] The newly formed Marine Minerals Administration (MMA) anticipates holding three offshore lease sales during fiscal years 2026 and 2027, including in waters off American Samoa in August, the Northern Mariana Islands in November, and Alaska in December. IADC.org
• [New] Scientists now know with a fair degree of certainty, for example, that sea levels will rise one to two feet along the Gulf Coast and Eastern Seaboard by 2050, putting millions of homes at risk for regular flooding. Columbia Magazine
• [New] Global land and sea temperatures are forecast to be above normal nearly everywhere. Through my Asian lens
• [New] The North Sea has become the global epicenter of offshore wind, hosting more than 80% of Europe's installed offshore capacity, with regional plans to reach at least 300 GW by 2050 through the North Seas Energy Cooperation. Tony Blair Institute
• [New] Lake Charles Methanol II has contracted with us to transport and store up to ~1.3 million metric tons of CO2 annually from their project in Louisiana, where they plan to use advanced natural gas reforming and permanent geologic storage solutions to produce low-carbon hydrogen and methanol. MarketScreener
• [New] Additional risks come from ongoing attacks by Iranian-backed Houthi forces near the Bab el-Mandeb strait, a critical chokepoint for vessels leaving the Red Sea and traveling around the Horn of Africa. Yahoo News
• [New] The chaos terrain visible in Galileo images suggests that material moves between the ocean and the surface, which means surface samples could carry signatures of ocean chemistry. Anantam IAS
• [New] India plans to convert Prosopis juliflora, among the world's top 100 invasive species, into green methanol for marine fuel, linking ecological control with clean energy. UnderStand UPSC
• [New] The Indian Skimmer, with over 90% of its population in India, faces threats from habitat loss and river disturbances. Adda247
• [New] Non-state actors have reshaped risk calculations: Houthis' attacks in the Red Sea have forced shipping companies to reroute around the Cape of Good Hope. Al Jazeera
• [New] Ukraine's ninth confirmed strike on Rosneft's Tuapse complex, with satellite-verified fires across the oil pier, tank farm, and power plant, suggests a sustained attrition campaign against Black Sea export infrastructure that correlates with measurable disruption to Russian crude export capacity. Drone Warfare
• [New] The Marine Corps is approaching operational readiness for a distributed coastal sea-denial posture that could meaningfully complicate adversary naval freedom of maneuver in contested Pacific straits and littorals. Drone Warfare
• [New] The U.S. Navy is accelerating a fleet-wide C-UAS architecture in direct response to near-miss drone engagements in the Red Sea and the emerging threat environment around the Gulf of Oman blockade. Drone Warfare
• Future air pollution controls will fundamentally reshape oceanic nitrogen deposition, with cascading consequences for marine productivity and climate feedbacks, highlighting the need for coordinated NH3 and NOx management across the Earth system. EurekAlert!
• Coastal areas in the United States face many risks associated with rising sea levels and some areas are more vulnerable than others. The National Environmental Education Foundation (NEEF)
• Scientists expect global sea level to rise another one to eight feet by 2100. The National Environmental Education Foundation (NEEF)
• The second half of 2026 will almost certainly see the start of El Nino, a natural climate phase when warm water expands across the equatorial Pacific Ocean, heating the entire planet. New Scientist

Last updated: 11 May 2026