Sent 17 October 2017. Part of Little Blue Letter.

"The sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in its net of wonder forever."
~ Jacques Cousteau
Last year, members of the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) reached a landmark agreement to create a marine protected area (MPA) in the Ross Sea. CCAMLR is now meeting again, with France & Australia pushing for another MPA in East Antartica (video). The meeting comes after a catastrophic breeding season for Antarctica's emblematic Adélie penguins.

Tuesday was International Sawfish Day - check out this infographic, this wonderful old drawing, and some cool art from ancient Iraq & Australia. See the saw in action here.Plastic is turning up everywhere, and a new study suggests that tiny particles can be absorbed into the brains of marine creatures and change their behaviour. But the tide is turning. In the UK, businesses are committing to phase out single use plastics and the ex-head of Asda recently railed against wasteful packaging (the packaging industry was not impressed, surprise surprise). Chile is banning plastic bags in coastal cities, Seattle will ban plastic straws & cutlery next year, and an Indonesian company is making edible/biodegradable packaging from seaweed. Time to #StopSucking and #TurnTheTideOnPlastic!

A new study suggests that floating wind turbines at sea could generate up to 3 times as much electricity as turbines on land, just as Scotland opens the world's first floating wind farm and France launches its first test project. In the future, we might also make fuel from seaweed. Elsewhere, ocean creatures are inspiring everything from pharmaceuticals to 3D camouflage.
Gif of the week
Homeslice, the first turtle to ever receive an MRI scan, is released back into the wild.
He was nursed back to health following a collision with a boat propellor.
Whale hello there!
Researchers at Woods Hole are using drones to sample a whale's blowhole discharge and map its microbiome. Drones are also capturing interesting social behaviors for the first time, while a recent study showed that whales and dolphins live in tightly-knit social groups, have complex relationships, talk to each other, and even have regional dialects!
#OceanOptimism
Fisher communities in Madagascar are celebrating 10 years of highly successful temporary fisheries closures. Blue Ventures, who supported this initiative and pioneered the use of locally managed marine areas, have released a toolkit to help others repeat their success.
Further reading
No boat? No budget? No sailing experience? But an urge for ocean adventure... No problem! Suzanne Van Der Veeken has been hitch sailing the world for 10 years, and in her new book, Ocean Nomad, she shares her experience and tips for getting out onto the water, from finding a boat to conquering sea sickness.
Congratulations
Congrats to renowned fisheries scientist Dr Rashid Sumaila for receiving the Volvo Environment Prize for 2017, and to Catherine Gemmell, Scotland conservation officer at the Marine Conservation Society, for winning the inaugural Young Scots of the Year prize for conservation.
Little Blue Letter is a splash of uplifting ocean stuff, lovingly curated by young ocean leaders and shipped straight to your inbox every Friday. Feel free to pass it on, encourage other ocean lovers to sign up, and follow along on Twitter. Missed the first edition last week? Catch up on the Our Ocean conference and other news here.