Sent 23 October 2017. Part of Little Blue Letter.

"It’s too late to be pessimistic - we need action and love"
~ Yann Arthus-Bertrand
Bad news first: the meeting of the Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) wrapped up today, but despite the best efforts of France and Australia, pushback from China and Russia means that we won't get a new marine protected area this year.

More optimistically, the meeting of the Convention on Migratory species moved to protect six sharks species and Fiji (co-hosting the UN Climate shindig starting in Bonn next week) just launched their Oceans Pathway initiative, which aims to integrate Ocean issues into the climate talks.

Ocean lovers and landlubbers alike eagerly await the first episode of David Attenborough's Blue Planet II, which premieres on Sunday. The treasured 91-year-old naturalist has spoken of his sadness at seeing so much plastic pollution in our seas, but nonetheless remains optimistic. Judging by the trailer, BPII is going to be absolutely incredible. (If you click only one link in this email, make it this one - an astounding shot of a fish catching a bird in mid-air.)

Sea turtles appear to be bouncing back according to a big new study that looked at global conservation efforts. Researchers found that even small colonies can be saved. Other recent research has found that less emblematic herbivores, like limpets, help to protect ecosystems by eating plants and creating space for other plants and animals to thrive.

Can fish be depressed? New research is radically changing the way we think about fish cognition. Elsewhere, fish farmers are giving fish marijuana to calm them down (but it doesn't seem to work).
Gif of the week
Mobula rays leap as high as 2m out of the water... 
but we don’t really know why.
#OceanOptimism
Meet the defenders of the world’s last wild populations of African penguins in this lovely 5 minute video. Marine plastic can be reborn as plastic bottles and roads.
Tweet tweet
Science writer and cartoonist Rosemary Mosco introduced me to the mysterious beaked whales in an interesting string of tweets:

See this HUGE chunk of whales I've highlighted? It's a group called the Beaked Whales, and we know ALMOST NOTHING ABOUT THEM... [Read the full thread here]

An Alaskan journalist spotted this seal on an airport runway:

Fun Fact: Musk ox, polar bears and caribou are common sights at the Utqiagvik Airport. This is the first time staff recall a seal on runway.

Further reading
 • 7 Steps to Evaluating Science Online
 • The Low Hanging Fish (review of proposals to reduce fisheries subsidies)
 • Tips for communicating marine science to a teenage audience
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