Latest news with #BritishWaters
Telegraph
09-07-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
Teach children how to catch Russian spies online, MPs told
Children should be taught how to catch Russian spies online, MPs have advised. Instead of relying heavily on the military for the defence of the realm. it has been argued that a 'whole of society' approach, from schools to the wider community, is engaged with to combat grey zone threats, which include cyber hackers who use sabotage, espionage and disinformation to wreak havoc online. The report, Defence in the Grey Zone, published on Wednesday, cited a disinformation curriculum taught at primary schools in Finland as an example of how to engage children about online risks such as Russian disinformation networks. The MPs behind the report said it was launched in 2023 because of the increased grey zone threat from Russia. The report quoted Sir Alex Younger, the former chief of the Secret Intelligence Service, who said Russia fundamentally 'sees itself at war with the West'. It also warns of the grey zone attacks that critical national infrastructure can be vulnerable to, such as the targeting of data cables and energy pipelines. Earlier this year, Nato military chiefs warned of the rising threat of global internet blackouts, after Russia was suspected of attacking undersea fibre-optic cables. It is understood that every couple of weeks the Royal Navy observes activity from Russian vessels moving through British waters. To counter this, the Ministry of Defence also suggests that the UK-led Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF), which was launched in 2014 to encourage greater levels of military integration between allies, has a great role in combating grey zone threats. The report concludes that if JEF is to protect critical seabed infrastructure and support extended military operations in the High North, it must possess credible, deployable capabilities. The committee calls on the MoD to consider reinforcing the bows of Royal Navy ships, including the future Type 83 Destroyers, to ensure they can operate for longer periods in the Arctic, as well as having a permanent presence in the Baltic to provide a more responsive deterrent against sabotage to undersea cables, and to protect shipping lanes used by UK troops to reinforce Nato's eastern flank. To lead this work across government, the report has called for the appointment of a dedicated minister for homeland security. In June, a Russian warship, the corvette Boikiy, passed through the English Channel in disguise, said to have broadcast a fake ID signal. In May, a Russian shadow Kilo-class submarine, Krasnodar, was detected in the Channel, forcing the Navy to deploy HMS Tyne to track it. Tan Dhesi, chairman of the committee, said: 'Our adversaries have purposefully blurred the line between peace and war. Grey zone threats pose a particularly insidious challenge – they unsettle the fabric of our day-to-day lives and undermine our ability to respond. 'Grey zone threats bring war to the doorstep of each and every one of us. These attacks do not discriminate; they target the whole of our society and so demand a whole of society response, in which we all must play our part.' Mr Dhesi called on the Government and industry to work with wider society to improve the UK's resilience. 'This means working with businesses, schools and community groups, to increase awareness of grey zone threats and to help us all take the steps needed to protect ourselves, for example, from cyber attacks, or from disinformation,' he said. 'The MoD plays an important part in defending the nation from grey zone attacks, but it is only a part. 'We must now assume that any vulnerability will be exploited against us. The industries and technologies we rely on most are clear targets for hostile states. 'This is why, in today's report, we are calling for a shoring up of our digital and cyber skills and protections.' He added that repeated damage to undersea cables emphasised the importance of protecting critical national infrastructure and called for the UK-led JEF to have additional capabilities that protect against Russian sabotage.
Bloomberg
01-07-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Offshore Wind Boosts Earnings for the UK's Crown Estate
Britain's seabeds helped the royal property company hand £1.1 billion ($1.5 billion) to the public purse in the year through March. The Crown Estate said its annual earnings, which were broadly stable compared to the previous year, are benefiting from short-term option fees generated by the latest round of leases awarded for wind farms in British waters.
The Sun
18-06-2025
- Science
- The Sun
UK waters could see surge in shark numbers scientists say, as they seek out new habitats
BRITISH waters could soon see a surge in shark species as they seek out new habitats, scientists say. These include increasing numbers of basking and spurdog sharks - which can grow up to 1.6 metres - and thornbacks, a type of stingray with spines. 2 Scientists have mapped out how those at threat of extinction will migrate for a better chance of survival as sea temperatures rise. The research - undertaken by the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas) - showed native oysters will be amongst the biggest winners. Experts say mobile species will cope best, but static creatures could struggle to adapt - with fears the sea pen could lose as much as 40 percent of their habitat by the end of the century. The ocean quahog, a type of clam that can live more than 500 years, is also predicted to find it harder to adapt. Bryony Townhill, marine scientist at Cefas, told BBC News: "As an island nation, we're hugely reliant on the sea for our food and for jobs. "Any changes that we see in our seas are particularly impactful." She added that movement of the 19 species could result in bigger catches for fishermen in coastal communities. Professor John Pinnegar, director of the Cefas Marine Climate Change Centre, said the biggest surprise from the findings was the possibility of native oysters thriving. "They've been declining and disappearing for 100 years - and yet the climate model suggests they should be doing fine and perhaps even thriving," he explained. Prof Pinnegar said although there is potential for new habitats, the vulnerable species still need protecting from the likes of fishing equipment, disease and pollution. Basking sharks are the second-largest living shark after the whale shark, and can grow up to 10 metres, or 32ft. They are not, however, a threat to humans, and live on plankton.
Sky News
27-05-2025
- Business
- Sky News
Boom or bust for fishing industry as octopuses swarm in UK waters?
Regulators are due to meet fishing industry representatives on Wednesday as the sector grapples with an "explosion" of octopus in British waters. Fishers along England's southwest coast have noticed a boom in the numbers and size of common octopus in the last few months. "As of February this year, there was just a massive explosion in the population of octopus," said Alan Steer, a crab fisher based in Devon. "We went from catching nothing to catching 1,000 kilograms a day," with each cephalopod weighing between 2.5-3.5kg, he told Sky News. The octopus is a valuable catch, fetching more at the fish market than the crab that many local fleets are designed to fish for. And it's just as well, because the eight-limbed creatures are also devouring local crab and lobster species, leaving some fishers empty-handed. "Since the octopus have turned up now, we are seeing massive devastation to the crab and lobster and scallop stocks in the pots," he said, with just empty crab and lobster shells rattling around inside. He reckons his crab and lobster catches are down by about 70%. More research needed The common octopus has long been present in British waters, but scientists say more research is needed to understand the causes of the recent bloom. It could be due to warmer waters or that there are fewer predators like tuna, cod, and sharks. The octopus can creep in and out of the pots through small openings designed to allow small crabs and lobsters to escape, a conservation measure to maintain the populations. But the boon for those cashing in on the octopus may be short-lived. Previous "blooms" of octopus, recorded in 1899, 1950 and 2022, saw the animals stick around for a season or two, before disappearing in cold winters. It can then take crab and lobster stocks three or four years to recover, Mr Steer told Sky News. "It's good at the minute... but our real concern is this is another cycle that we've seen in the past and they will disappear along with any crab fishery that was already there." In the meantime, the conservation body that enforces the escape hatch rule has come with a workaround. The Devon and Severn Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority (IFCA) said the escape holes can be closed off if fishers were trying to catch octopus only, in which case they'd have to throw any other catch back into the sea. Sarah Clark, its deputy chief officer, told Sky News the influx was a "concern". She said: "We're going to be trying to gather as much information about octopus and what we do in the next coming months, years, if the octopus fishery remains within the South West. And that's obviously a big 'if', because we don't know if the octopus will be here again next year." On Wednesday, they will meet government regulator the Marine Management Organisation and the fishing industry, to find out what support fishers need. A series of meetings are focussing on collecting data, the impact on other species and how to determine whether the octopus are here to stay. Dr Zoe Jacobs, from the National Oceanography Centre (NOC), said the recent "marine heatwave", which has seen water temperatures 2.3C higher than average, might be behind the reported early sightings of barrel jellyfish, increased numbers of seabass and pods of dolphins spotted in shallow inshore regions.
Daily Mail
25-05-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
Invading hoard of octopuses from the Mediterranean devour shellfish caught by British fishing crews - leaving shortages at restaurants
An invading horde of hungry octopuses from the Mediterranean is decimating crab fisheries in British waters. Shellfish wholesalers say the huge influx has resulted in swingeing cuts to restaurant orders, leaving chefs scrambling to keep their kitchens stocked. The canny octopuses, thought to have been lured north in their thousands by unusually warm UK waters, have learned to raid fishermen's pots through a small 'escape hatch' – designed to allow juvenile crabs and lobsters to crawl free. And while they will dine on all shellfish, crab is considered their favourite prey. The owner of one Devon boat, Brian Tapper, of Plymouth, said: 'The octopuses are ruining us. They're coming in the side hatch – it's like McDonald's for them. They are just sitting in there until they're full. They'll go through 50 pots eating lobsters, crabs and even scallops. By the time we come along, there's nothing left.' Barry Young, of Brixham Trawler Agents, said the octopuses were 'decimating the crab fishery', although boats targeting them were enjoying a bonanza, with more than 27,000kg of the cephalopods landed at Brixham on a single morning last week. 'We'd normally be lucky to get 500 kilos,' said Mr Young. 'Long-term, it will be a massive problem for restaurateurs who are trying to source shellfish.' He added that the last time Brixham saw octopus catches on a similar scale was more than 70 years ago, when spring sea temperatures were also high. The current 'marine heatwave' has meant southern UK waters are around 2.5C higher than normal. At The Winking Prawn restaurant in Salcombe, manager Andrew Hartle said his Brixham crab order had been cut by a quarter. He added: 'We're lucky because we also work directly with three or four Salcombe boats and can ring around to get what we need. But it's clear that crab is in very short supply. 'Restaurants with a single supplier are going to have problems.' Pot escape hatches are mandatory under a by-law imposed by the Devon and Severn Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority (D&SIFCA). It will consider next month whether permit rules can be eased. In a statement, the authority said it was aware of 'significant difficulties being experienced by the fishing industry… in respect of predation by octopus'. It added: 'Fishers are reporting that the entry and exit to pots may be through escape gaps fitted in pots. D&SIFCA is aware that this is having an impact on fishers' catches of shellfish and their livelihoods.'
