Australian researchers have developed a low cost, miniature submarine for underwater research on ecosystems such as the Great Barrier Reef.

At around 25kg and 1.2 metres long, the Starbug, developed by the CSIRO ICT team in Queensland, Australia, is an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) small enough to be operated by one person from the shore, floating platform or small boat, without cranes or other specialised equipment.

Hawaii is one of a few locations in the world where manta rays can be observed in the wild on a regular basis. Divers see up to 3 dozen manta rays feeding nightly on Kona manta ray dives. However, there is currently no protection for these manta rays in state waters. Manta rays around the world are being killed for their meat, skin, cartilage, and branchial elements which are being used in traditional Asian medicines.

This week the Spanish Ministry of the Environment and Rural and Marine Affairs will put forward a new legislation to limit shark fishing in Europe’s top shark fishing nation, Spain. The Spanish Ministry plans to commit to three new legislations. The first is a prohibition on all hammerhead and thresher sharks, which are particularly vulnerable and heavily fished accidentally as by-catch on longlines. The second is to put a catch limit on short-fin makos and blue sharks which are heavily fished because they are targeted specifically by Spanish fisherman.