Europe’s indigenous eel population has decreased by 70 percent over the past 30 years with botanists blaming change in their natural habitat, as well as a virulent parasite carried in a species of Japanese eel imported for agricultural purposes in the early 1980′s. Source: Reuters

Tests on water taken from Russia’s Lake Baikal show the newly re-opened Baikalsk Pulp and Paper Mill continues to pollute, even though it is not yet running at full capacity. Source: Reuters

Greenpeace activists in the Netherlands protest about a shipment of whale meat on the NYK Orion, docked in Rotterdam en route from Iceland to Japan. Source: Reuters

Scalloped hammerhead and oceanic white tip sharks are denied conservation measures that environmental campaigners argue are vital to safeguard their future. China and Russia helped Japan defeat a US-endorsed proposal at the Convention in International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) meeting in Qatar that would have boosted conservation efforts for these species of shark. Source: Reuters

Arctic oceanographers in Canada report that their latest voyage on the CCGS Amundsen research vessel shows the Arctic is heating up much faster than previously believed. Source: CBC News

The January 2010 announcement from the Crown Estate of the successful bidders for 32GW of offshore wind power in the nine Round 3 offshore wind zones within UK waters will bring new engineering and financial challenges. The Round 3 offshore wind energy generation development aims to deliver a quarter of the UK electricity needs by 2020, at a cost estimated to be around GBP75bn. The challenges of deep water installation require new technological approaches. Source: The IET/E&T

Tonnes of dead fish are washed up on the banks of a Brazilian river after high temperatures and continuing drought afflict the Amazon basin. Source: Reuters

The Dead Sea may soon shrink to a lifeless pond as political strife in the Middle East blocks vital measures needed to halt the decay of the world’s lowest and saltiest body of water. Environmentalists will plead for help at the coming Copenhagen climate talks summit. Source: AFP

Morocco is the biggest producer of red seaweed in the world, with over 14,000 tons a year. The algae is source of a natural gelling agent used in food, but constant harvesting by locals is putting the region’s ecosystem at risk.

Powered solely by the sun, a solar passenger ship which can carry up to 60 people goes on its maiden voyage in Berlin.