The organizers of a campaign against shark finning in the European Union have filed a formal complaint against the EU Commission, accusing it of mishandling their case and missing deadlines.

The European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) is an EU tool that allow citizens to participate in policy-making. The ECI known as “Stop Finning – Stop the Trade” calls for legislative action by the European Commission to completely ban the shark fin trade in the EU.

“The Commission made concrete commitments in July 2023 — including launching an impact assessment by year-end — and then simply stopped communicating,” Katharina Loupal, an organizer of the initiative, told Mongabay via email.

In 2023, the EU banned shark finning for all EU- flagged vessels and all vessels in EU waters. However, loose shark fins can still be legally traded — imported, exported or transited — in European countries.

Worldwide, shark populations have plummeted since the 1970s and they continue to be among the most threatened species on the planet.

Shark fins are in high demand in China and other Asian markets, often passing through transit hubs first. Despite international protections for several species, illegal trade is rife, often involving organized crime. However, there is also a thriving legal trade in shark fins.

The EU is a major fin exporter and transit hub, with Spanish and Portuguese fleets most commonly fishing for sharks in international waters. According to a 2022 International Foundation for Animal Welfare report, 45% of shark fin-related products imported into Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan in 2020 originated from EU member states.

In 2022, the ECI collected more than 1.1 million signatures from EU residents, meeting the 1 million threshold necessary to trigger legislative action.

A July 2023 letter from the European Commission stated that that it would “launch, by the end of 2023, an impact assessment on the environmental, social and economic consequences of applying the ‘fins naturally attached’ policy to the placement on the market of sharks in the EU.”

Loupal said the impact assessment was initiated but the follow-up process has been slow and unclear. She added that the EU Commission failed to adhere to the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights and the ECI regulation, which requires the body to “act within a reasonable timeframe and to keep organizers transparently informed.”

Once a complaint with the European Ombudsman, the EU’s accountability mechanism, has been accepted, the body assesses whether an EU institution has acted unlawfully and can open a formal inquiry.

A European Commission spokesperson told Mongabay via email that the impact assessment is expected to be finalized by the end of 2026. She said the commission is committed to “improving statistics on shark trade, stepping up the enforcement of EU traceability measures and engaging with international partners.“

Mongabay has reported on a similar situation in Brazil where the environment ministry has banned export of shark fins detached from the carcass; however, industry groups indicated they would challenge the new rule._

 Banner image: Shark fins and a dead hammerhead shark. Image courtesy of Earth League International (ELI).

WASHINGTON (AP) — March’s persistent unseasonable heat was so intense that the continental United States registered its most abnormally hot month in 132 years of records, according to federal weather data. And the next year or so looks to turn the dial up on global warmth even more, as some forecasts predict a brewing El Nino will reach superstrength.

Not only was it the hottest March on record for the U.S., but the amount it was above normal beat any other month in history for the Lower 48 states. March’s average temperature of 50.85 degrees Fahrenheit (10.47 degrees Celsius) was 9.35 F (5.19 C) above the 20th century normal for March. That easily passed the old record of 8.9 F (4.9 C) set in March 2012 as the most abnormally hot month on record — regardless of the month of the year — according to records released Wednesday by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The average maximum temperature for March was especially high at 11.4 F (6.3 C) above the 20th century average and was almost a degree warmer than the average daytime high for April, NOAA said.

Six of the nation’s top 10 most abnormally hot months have been in the last 10 years. This February, which was 6.57 F (3.65 C) above 20th century normal, was the tenth highest above normal.

“What we experienced in March across the United States was unprecedented,” said Climate Central meteorologist Shel Winkley. “One reason that’s so concerning is just the sheer volume of records, all-time records that were set and broken during that time period. But also this is coming on the heels of what was the worst snow year. And the hottest winter of record. So we’re seeing this continuation of extraordinary heat that took place during the winter months, continuing into the spring months as well. That’s where it’s really concerning, it’s just the duration of this heat.”

More than 19,800 daily temperature records were broken for heat across the country, according to meteorologist Guy Walton, who analyzes NOAA data.

By Seth Borenstein, Associated Press

Banner image: Juan Olmedo, left, and his wife Alejandra Delgado use an umbrella to shield from the sun while on a walk at Shoreline Park in Mountain View, Calif., March 16, 2026. Photo by Godofredo A. Vásquez via Associated Press

Authorities in Malawi have credited stronger monitoring and border controls with effectively ending the smuggling of invasive crayfish into the country, nearly a year after a major seizure from neighboring Zambia.

Davie Khumbanyiwa, the fisheries department officer responsible for monitoring, control and surveillance, said the department has increased inspections for redclaw crayfish (Cherax quadricarinatus), a species farmed in Zambia but native to Australia and Papua New Guinea.

“Our monitoring now also includes fish farms along the borders, spot checks in markets and river systems that are within the catchments with Zambia,” Khumbanyiwa told Mongabay.

He said Malawi is collaborating with authorities in Zambia, Tanzania and Mozambique. “Our intention is to make sure that we don’t have those exotic species here.”

 Jeremiah Kang’ombe, a fisheries expert at the Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources, said strengthening border controls is key.

“Our borders being porous, this is the first line of defense when it comes to smuggling of these alien species. It will ensure some biosafety measures are applied accordingly,” Kang’ombe told Mongabay.

In May 2025, Malawian authorities arrested four people from Zambia carrying a quarter-ton of live redclaw, a violation of fisheries and environmental regulations. The contraband was incinerated and the smugglers fined and released. Since then, the Malawi fisheries department says, increased monitoring has not detected any more smuggled crayfish.

One of the Zambians told investigators at the time that this was his second trip; earlier in 2025, he had brought 20 kilograms (44 pounds) of redclaw to a Chinese buyer. The seized 250 kg (550 lbs), for which the Zambians were to be paid $1,700, was also reportedly for a Chinese buyer for use in a Chinese restaurant.

Environmentalists and fisheries experts said the fines, between $29 and $86, were too small to be a deterrent, and noted the Zambians could have been sentenced to a year in prison.

“However, as department, we are somewhat satisfied that the Court upheld our request to destroy the contraband,” Maxon Ngochera, the senior deputy director of fisheries, told local media.

Research shows redclaw were introduced to Zambia from Australia in the early 2000s for aquaculture. The crayfish are aggressive and prey on native fish and their eggs. They also reproduce quickly, outcompeting native species for food and shelter, and can carry pathogens that cause disease outbreaks in other species.

A Malawi fisheries department report warned that if the crayfish gained a foothold in the country’s rivers and wetlands, it would damage ecosystems, communities and the economy.

In a statement after the May 2025 seizure, the fisheries department said a crayfish infestation could lower fishery yields, economically harming the country’s estimated 82,000 fishers, plus the half-million people involved in processing and selling fish.

“The decline of native fish populations due to invasive species would jeopardize these livelihoods and food security,” the department said.

Banner image: Crayfish seized by officials in May 2025. Image courtesy of Malawi Department of Fisheries.

Thailand’s massive surge in data center development is prompting concerns about water shortages and pollution in already stressed regions.

Mongabay’s Gerry Flynn reports that more than 70 data center-related projects are planned or underway, driven by global demand for AI and supported by government tax incentives. These projects are concentrated in the country’s Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC), a special economic zone aimed at expanding the region’s petrochemical, auto and electronics hubs while attracting future tech industries.

Some residents said water scarcity was their primary concern. Data centers require enormous amounts of water for cooling — one planned facility is expected to require 3.3 million cubic meters (116.5 million cubic feet) of water annually, roughly equivalent to the consumption of nearly 37,000 residents, according to Mongabay’s calculations based on a study on water in the EEC area.

Such water demands put tech giants like Google and Microsoft in direct competition with local farmers and fishers who are already struggling with water shortages. Water levels in reservoirs, like Chonburi province’s Khlong Luang reservoir, are already dropping, leading to fears that further industrial development will leave residents without running water.

Beyond water shortages, observers warn of additional hidden environmental costs. Cooling systems often use chemicals, such as chlorine, to prevent bacterial growth, which can contaminate local waterways and harm ecosystems, including crab farms.

Thailand’s electricity grid is heavily dependent on fossil fuels, roughly 85% from gas and coal, so increased electricity demand from data centers risks driving up carbon emissions and air pollution.

Locals and activists interviewed by Mongabay said they were excluded from the decision-making of these projects. Pudit Thamphayun, head of the subdistrict where a 0.2-gigawatt hyperscale facility is being constructed, said there has not been an environmental impact assessment (EIA). “As head of the subdistrict, these things all pass through me — I’ve not seen it,” he said.

Somnuck Jongmeewasin, research director at the NGO EEC Watch said the development of the EEC should have been accompanied by a strategic environmental assessment to account for the broader impacts of such large-scale development programs.

“The EEC policy started in the wrong direction,” Somnuck said, adding that, because there was no strategic environmental assessment, “we don’t even know [whether the resources are available].”

Thailand’s Office of National Water Resources told Mongabay it had “implemented a comprehensive water management strategy to support urban development and industrial growth without compromising the water supply for agriculture or public consumption.”

Sarayuth, a biochemist turned crab farmer, notes that while data centers are “better” than traditional factories, they intensify the struggle for survival for agricultural communities. “You have to understand, this is my home and I’m telling you, it’s already broken,” he said. “It can’t get much worse here.”

Read the full story here.

Banner Image: A data center under construction in Chonburi province, Thailand, that locals say is being built to host Google and TikTok servers, December 2025. Image by Andy Ball for Mongabay.

Tuvalu is a remote Polynesian nation made up of three reef islands and six atolls. Home to fewer than 11,000 people, Tuvalu is 1,100 kilometers (680 miles) from its nearest neighbor in Fiji. Yet dispite its isolation and small population, new research shows that the ocean ecosystems around Tuvalu are polluted with microplastics.

A team of researchers collected 201 individual fish from 44 species around Funafuti Atoll, the capital of Tuvalu. They removed the gastrointestinal tracts of the fish and tested them for the presence of microplastics — plastic particles smaller than 5 millimeters (0.2 inches).

Of the 201 fish sampled, researchers found microplastics in 75 individuals (37.3%). Fish from more developed areas of the world have been found to contain much higher rates of pollution; one study from the U.S. West Coast found 99% of fish were polluted with tiny bits of plastic.

These microplastic particles often originate indirectly from the breakdown of plastic debris and directly from personal care products and industrial chemicals.

Frequently transported by rivers, once microplastics arrive in oceans, they easily disperse throughout ocean ecosystems and bioaccumulate in food webs. When fish ingest microplastics, the particles accumulate in their gastrointestinal systems where they can cause internal damage to organs and affect reproduction, behavior and metabolism, the study notes.

Scientists have found microplastic everywhere they’ve looked, Margaret Spring, chief science and conservation officer of the Monterey Bay Aquarium, not involved with the study, told Mongabay in an email.

“From the highest mountains and inland lakes and rivers to the ocean’s surface to the seafloor, as well as in our food and drinking water we are finding microplastics and nanoplastics,” Spring said.

Microplastics have already been found throughout human bodies, including in brains and placentas, raising serious concerns for human health. That’s a particular worry for South Pacific nations like Tuvalu, which depend on the sea for their diet.

Amanda Ford, a member of the research team, said in Science Daily, “While microplastic levels in Pacific fish are generally lower than in many industrialized regions, Pacific communities rely far more heavily on fish as a primary protein source.”

 Small islands like Tuvalu are vulnerable in many ways.

“Small island states are uniquely and disproportionately affected by the endless flow of plastics and related pollution. They are also heavily reliant upon seafood for both sustenance and livelihoods. The discovery of microplastics in fish around Tuvalu confirms the urgency of the call to end plastic pollution, starting at the source,” Spring said.

Banner Image: Funafuti Beach in Tuvalu. Image by Stefan Lins via Flckr. (CC BY 2.0.)

BRASILIA (AP) — Indigenous people in Brazil have marched in the capital, Brasilia, to protest what they say are violations of their land rights. They accuse large corporations of advancing farming, logging and mining projects on their lands. The protest is part of the annual Free Land Indigenous Camp, Brazil’s largest Indigenous mobilization. This year’s gathering comes amid rising reports of violent attacks against the Pataxo people in Bahia state. Indigenous women have been protesting since February in Para state against a massive gold mine project. Despite some advances under President Lula, Indigenous rights remain under pressure from Congress and economic interests.

By Gabriela Sá Pessoa, Associated Press

Banner image: Indigenous people march during the annual “Acampamento Terra Livre,” or Free Land Encampment, Brazil’s largest annual Indigenous mobilization that focuses on land rights and environmental protection, in Brasilia, Brazil, Tuesday, April 7, 2026. Image by Eraldo Peres, Associated Press.