Latest news with #SirDavidAttenborough
BBC News
11-06-2025
- Science
- BBC News
Bottom trawling: Lyme Bay 'still recovering'
Part of the seabed off the Jurassic Coast is "still recovering" from the effects of bottom trawling 17 years after it was banned there, marine researchers have said.A consultation is being held on government proposals to extend the ban on the practice of dragging large nets along the fishing organisations have criticised the plans and questioned the environmental impact of bottom Emma Sheehan, associate professor of marine ecology at Plymouth University said, ending bottom trawling when Lyme Bay, off the Dorset and Devon coast, became a Marine Protected Area in 2008 has made a "positive change". The government proposal would expand the ban on bottom trawling from 18,000km2 to 48,000km2 (about 18,500 sq miles) of the UK's offshore areas that are already designated as protected. A UN Ocean Conference is taking place in France amid warnings from Sir David Attenborough that bottom trawling is destroying areas of the seabed and marine have studied the impact of ending bottom trawling in Lyme Bay since the introduction of the MPA. Scallops and conger eels Dr Sheehan said large areas of the bay had already been "heavily degraded" by 2008."[MPAs] tried to prevent the most destructive fishing methods so the seabed habitats that are so important for conservation and fisheries can be protected," she Sheehan said species including scallops, conga eel and black sea bream and appeared to have benefited from the ban."We keep seeing positive change, year on year. "We still haven't go a plateau in the recovery. We're nowhere near there - it's still recovering, year on year."The government's plan would see similar protections extended to 41 of England's 181 MPAs."It needs to happen - I'm in full support of this and it will have huge positive benefits for our marine environment," Dr Sheehan UK's National Federation of Fishermen's Organisations has opposed the move to ban bottom executive Mike Cohen previously said: "Trawling does not damage most of the seabed. "Trawls penetrate the sediment very little, if at all, in most areas and trawling has been carried out for well over 100 years," he said.A 12-week consultation will run until 1 September and will seek the views of the marine and fishing industry. You can follow BBC Dorset on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
Daily Mail
07-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Prince William discusses David Attenborough's new documentary for World Oceans Day
The Prince of Wales is marking World Oceans Day this year with an interview with Sir David Attenborough ahead of the release of his new documentary, Ocean with David Attenborough. Kensington Palace has released a new film of Prince William and the 99-year-old broadcaster and environmental activist, which sees the pair discussing the current state of the oceans. David's new documentary is set to release on Sunday June 8, which is World Oceans Day. The film has been created to shine a light on the damage humankind has wreaked on the ocean, as well as the opportunities we have to heal it. In their conversation, William and David spoke of the legendary biologist's work in ocean exploration, as well as reasons to remain optimistic for ocean recovery. At the start of the short film, David recalled the first time he ever put on a diving helmet - and nearly drowned as it filled with water. 'I suddenly felt water coming up,' he said, gesturing around his chin to show where the water level rose to inside the helmet when he first went underwater. 'I thought, 'This can't be right'. And by the time it got to about here,' he said, gesturing to his nose, 'I thought, 'I'm sure this is not right'. 'And of course if you've got this thing screwed on top of you, you can't breathe. You can't even make yourself heard, you know. Get it off me!' The documentary maker said his director at the time, Alastair Fothergill, then took the helmet from him and ignored a warning that it was faulty. 'I said, "It's a fault," and he said, "No, Lord, come on". And he put it on. I'm happy to say that he went under the water and he came up even quicker than I did because there was actually a fault on the thing.' In a 2016 interview in The Telegraph, Alastair also remembered the moment he resurfaced after trying to show David that there wasn't a problem with the helmet. 'I can still remember his gentle smile of satisfaction when he saw how quickly the helmet nearly drowned me as well,' the director said. Later in their conversation, William, who founded the Earthshot Prize in 2020, asked Sir David about how he felt when he got the chance to scuba dive for the first time and talk about it on camera. 'Once [Jacques] Cousteau invented the Aqua-Lung and the face mask, that was the moment when suddenly you moved into a new world, you were flying alongside fish, which was an extraordinary experience and the fish, of course, have no reaction to you really because they've never seen anything like you before.' Sir David also praised the underwater camera crew he has worked with over the years, who he described as 'fantastic' and 'happier underwater than they are on land'. William also asked Sir David what state he would say the oceans are in, based on what he has seen over the years. 'The awful thing is that it's hidden from you and from me, and most people,' he replied. Describing a scene in the documentary which shows deep sea trawling - a way of fishing that uses heavy nets and chains dragged along the ocean floor that is extremely destructive - Sir David said he had been 'appalled' at what humanity has done. 'It is just unspeakably awful,' he said. 'If you did anything remotely like it on land, everybody would be up in arms. 'If this film does anything, if it just shifts the public awareness, it'll be very, very important. I can only hope people who see it will recognise that something must be done before we destroy this great treasure.' Searching for reasons to be optimistic, William asked: 'What gives you hope? What inspires you? Have you seen any stories where you feel that there is hope that we can turn this around?' Sir David said that what has been 'heartening' to see is the ability to broadcast what's happening to the environment directly into 'people's front rooms'. 'Whole families sitting at home in comfort can actually suddenly see this coming up. Films like this can expose something new.' Sir David also said it was 'heartening' to be able to broadcast his documentary straight into people's homes The prince's final question to Sir David probed into the deep, mysterious unknown, as he asked: 'Do you think there are things down there we've never seen?' 'Beyond question,' the broadcaster answered. 'We're in the situation now when in fact it's possible to go into places where nothing like you has ever been there before. It's a huge privilege and excitement.' Earlier this month - as he celebrated his 99th birthday - Sir David said that his forthcoming documentary is one of the most important of his career. He said in a statement: 'After almost 100 years on the planet, I now understand the most important place on Earth is not on land, but at sea.' Prince William also released a new wildlife documentary that was released in May, and said that Sir David was a 'big inspiration' to him when he was growing up. His six-part series, titled Guardians, hopes to 'remind people that there are still wonderful parts of the world and there is still hope, and there's still amazing work to be done'. The prince's passion for protecting the environment and encouraging new initiatives that focus on conservation and recovery is clear through his Earthshot Prize, which awards five winners each year for their contributions towards environmentalism.
ABC News
26-05-2025
- Entertainment
- ABC News
David Dowsett
David Dowsett presents the Breakfast program on ABC Wide Bay. David describes himself as a "Nomadic Englishman". Now settled in Australia with his family, David has presented Breakfast, Drive and Sport shows in England, Denmark and Spain, interviewing an array of stars along the way; from Boy George to Sir David Attenborough! David has been a part of the ABC Wide Bay team since 2004, previously presenting the morning show, then switching to breakfast in 2016. "The Wide Bay Burnett is a beautiful part of the planet," David said. "My program looks to celebrate those wonders while at the same time highlighting the important issues to the area." When he's not on the air you may well find David on court swinging a tennis racquet. Before discovering microphones he played the satellite tennis circuit in Europe. When it became apparent that the guy on the other side of the net was hitting the ball inside the lines more than he was and that the umpire would not change his call (no matter how much he politely enquired!), David became LTA-qualified and coached tennis instead. As well as tennis, David enjoys horse riding and cycling.
Yahoo
25-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Celebrating 25 years of London's 'extra lungs'
Once the largest man-made wetland in any capital city of the world and described by Sir David Attenborough as an "extra lung for Londoners", the London Wetland Centre is now celebrating 25 years. With its shallow pools home to birds, mammals, amphibians, reptiles and insects, the area remains a radical, transformative, oasis in the suburbs of Barnes in south-west London. But it could have been very different. In the 1990s, the defunct Victorian reservoirs on the banks of the Thames were marked for development. Through the lobbying of the Wildfowl and Wetland Trust as well as its founder Sir Peter Scott, over five years the site was redesigned into a nature reserve. The site was owned by Thames Water and through a combination of Lottery money, donations and a partnership with Berkeley Homes it was bought and turned into this reserve and 280 homes. It was opened by Sir David who called it "sensational". Just two years later, Natural England designated it a Site of Special Scientific Interest. On its tenth anniversary, Sir David - who was back to launch the 10-year celebrations - said: "The reserve is the ideal model for how humankind and the natural world may live side by side in the 21st century." And BBC's Springwatch presenter Chris Packham described the centre as "one of the most important conservation projects of the past century". It makes you wonder if such a project could be delivered now in an area where land is so valuable and housing is in such short supply. Everywhere you walk on the site there are groups of school children being shown round - education was a key part of why it was created. You can see why. A cacophony of bird song can be heard; reed buntings, blackcaps, sedge and reed warblers are all calling to each other. Noticeably, there are lots of insects including damsel and dragon flies. Its location on the Thames is helpful to migrating birds who use it to guide themselves. And all of this is probably just a couple of miles from busy Barnes. Reserve manager Adam Salmon has been here since the beginning. "Back then we hoped it would turn into something like this. "It used to be old concrete reservoirs - biodiversity wasn't that great, there were a few ducks, but by putting in so many different habitats, we were hoping to send the biodiversity through the roof and that's what has happened." The site's transformation has been a success, he noted. "Bird diversity has gone through the roof, we have amazing dragon fly assemblage here now with 19 breeding species. We have water voles, grass snakes, slow worms are flourishing and the wild flower meadows that came from nothing, that we had to seed, many of them are species rich," he said. She added: "Education is going to remain a core priority with this site being an amazing place for learning and enjoyment, and we have got so much potential to do so much more. "So I think forming those international networks, engaging with young people locally and further afield, we are going to continue being a really important site for learning in terms of how to create and manage wetlands." This rich diversity has proved popular with tourists. "We engage quite frequently with international groups as we are the blueprint," said general manager Alexia Hollinshead. "We have had groups from Korea, from China, from Singapore, from Israel to see how we run an urban wetland site and how they can take that learning back to their countries." Listen to the best of BBC Radio London on Sounds and follow BBC London on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to London Wetlands Centre Britain's loudest bird making a comeback in London London Wetland Centre celebrates 10 years
BBC News
25-05-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
London Wetlands Centre: 25 years of London's 'extra lungs'
Once the largest man-made wetland in any capital city of the world and described by Sir David Attenborough as an "extra lung for Londoners", the London Wetland Centre is now celebrating 25 its shallow pools home to birds, mammals, amphibians, reptiles and insects, the area remains a radical, transformative, oasis in the suburbs of Barnes in south-west London. But it could have been very different. In the 1990s, the defunct Victorian reservoirs on the banks of the Thames were marked for the lobbying of the Wildfowl and Wetland Trust as well as its founder Sir Peter Scott, over five years the site was redesigned into a nature site was owned by Thames Water and through a combination of Lottery money, donations and a partnership with Berkeley Homes it was bought and turned into this reserve and 280 homes. It was opened by Sir David who called it "sensational".Just two years later, Natural England designated it a Site of Special Scientific its tenth anniversary, Sir David - who was back to launch the 10-year celebrations - said: "The reserve is the ideal model for how humankind and the natural world may live side by side in the 21st century."And BBC's Springwatch presenter Chris Packham described the centre as "one of the most important conservation projects of the past century". It makes you wonder if such a project could be delivered now in an area where land is so valuable and housing is in such short supply. Everywhere you walk on the site there are groups of school children being shown round - education was a key part of why it was created. You can see why. A cacophony of bird song can be heard; reed buntings, blackcaps, sedge and reed warblers are all calling to each other. Noticeably, there are lots of insects including damsel and dragon flies. Its location on the Thames is helpful to migrating birds who use it to guide themselves. And all of this is probably just a couple of miles from busy Barnes. Reserve manager Adam Salmon has been here since the beginning."Back then we hoped it would turn into something like this. "It used to be old concrete reservoirs - biodiversity wasn't that great, there were a few ducks, but by putting in so many different habitats, we were hoping to send the biodiversity through the roof and that's what has happened." The site's transformation has been a success, he noted."Bird diversity has gone through the roof, we have amazing dragon fly assemblage here now with 19 breeding species. We have water voles, grass snakes, slow worms are flourishing and the wild flower meadows that came from nothing, that we had to seed, many of them are species rich," he said. She added: "Education is going to remain a core priority with this site being an amazing place for learning and enjoyment, and we have got so much potential to do so much more. "So I think forming those international networks, engaging with young people locally and further afield, we are going to continue being a really important site for learning in terms of how to create and manage wetlands." This rich diversity has proved popular with tourists."We engage quite frequently with international groups as we are the blueprint," said general manager Alexia Hollinshead. "We have had groups from Korea, from China, from Singapore, from Israel to see how we run an urban wetland site and how they can take that learning back to their countries."
