Daniel Shailer
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danielshailer.bsky.social
Daniel Shailer
@danielshailer.bsky.social
Marine reporter @ Britain's most northerly newspaper, The Shetland Times 🌊
bits for AP, Guardian, New Yorker, Scientific American, Private Eye, Ferret—from CDMX, Tucson, Pittsburgh, NYC & LDN
[email protected]
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I'm thrilled to share that I’ve been picked as a winner of the National Academies Eric and Wendy Schmidt Awards for Excellence in Science Communications (@scicommexcellence.nationalacademies.org).

www.nationalacademies.org/news/2025/10...
While other Scottish councils spent their share of nature/coastal adaptation funds on... nature/the coast, Shetland slushed the money into its general coffers for stuff like IT and vehicle maintenance.

"Completely unacceptable" said
@scotwildlife.bsky.social's @ruchirlives.bsky.social.
Council slushed £750k of government climate funding into general coffers
Money from government nature and coastal adaption funds has been spent on council “vehicles, ICT [and] maintenance”, officials confirmed.
www.shetlandtimes.co.uk
November 6, 2025 at 12:48 PM
I'm thrilled to share that I’ve been picked as a winner of the National Academies Eric and Wendy Schmidt Awards for Excellence in Science Communications (@scicommexcellence.nationalacademies.org).

www.nationalacademies.org/news/2025/10...
October 23, 2025 at 3:56 PM
HUGE (if mixed) news week for Shetland's crabs 🦀

First beachcombers find a rare Columbus crab the size of a 50p coin. Then a scientific fracas about whether subsea cables "mesmerise" crustaceans.

And we found some less good news:

www.shetlandtimes.co.uk/news/release...
Releases of toxic delousing chemical doubled at salmon farms last year
Releases of a delousing chemical which “desertifies” the seafloor more than doubled at Scottish Sea Farm sites last year.
www.shetlandtimes.co.uk
October 16, 2025 at 1:43 PM
A compressor at Shetland's oil terminal broke for *nine* straight months last year, pushing the isles' entire methane emissions to a near decade high.

"It's an embarrassment for the whole community."

@alexjarmitage.bsky.social @r-dixon.bsky.social

www.shetlandtimes.co.uk/news/broken-...
Broken equipment at Sullom Voe caused decade-long peak in emissions
Shetland's methane emissions reached their highest level in a decade last year, driven by broken kit at EnQuest’s Sullom Voe terminal.
www.shetlandtimes.co.uk
October 14, 2025 at 8:28 AM
Reposted by Daniel Shailer
🔴 NEW: Lochs in Orkney, the Highlands and the Outer Hebrides are among waters containing high levels of toxic pollutants with health risks known as ‘forever chemicals’.

Our latest investigation: theferret.scot/orkne...
October 12, 2025 at 9:00 AM
Reposted by Daniel Shailer
🔴 NEW: A consultancy firm which took part in a government pilot for fast-tracking salmon farm applications did an “independent” evaluation of that same pilot — prompting critics to call it a “sham” and claim a conflict of interest could threaten the marine environment 🧵
August 21, 2025 at 7:00 AM
New with @theferret.scot:

How one boat’s engine trouble exposed a broader breakdown in fishing rules and the government’s investigation.
🔴 NEW: A fishing boat off Shetland broke down and abandoned more than 80km of netting in the sea for almost a month, prompting fears sea life and the marine environment may have been damaged.

Find out more: theferret.scot/shetl...
July 24, 2025 at 9:23 AM
Glad to contribute a little bit of shoe leather to this great report from @desmog.com's @ellen-ormesher.bsky.social.
🔴 NEW 🔴

Why is a Norwegian oil giant sponsoring school classrooms in the Shetland Islands? Critics fear that Equinor’s latest UK education deal is aimed at quelling opposition to its plan to drill the vast Rosebank oilfield in the North Sea.

✏️ @ellen-ormesher.bsky.social reports: buff.ly/R9WWWuk
Shetland Schoolchildren Study in Classrooms Sponsored by Norwegian Oil Giant
This story was published in partnership with Norway’s E24. Norwegian oil company Equinor is spending more than £200,000 to sponsor science classrooms in the Shetland Islands, as it seeks approval for…
www.desmog.com
July 7, 2025 at 2:49 PM
Reposted by Daniel Shailer
NEW: A Norwegian company has drawn up plans for Britain’s first deep-sea salmon farm in waters off Shetland, prompting concerns it is an “experiment in factory farming” that could damage the environment. theferret.scot/norwe...
Norwegian firm's plan for UK’s first deep-sea salmon farm off Shetland prompts concerns
A Norwegian firm has plans for Britain’s first deep-sea salmon farm, off Shetland, prompting concerns it could damage the environment.
theferret.scot
June 8, 2025 at 7:19 AM