As measured and relishable as the nightly litany he read until 2001, Jefferson fathoms The Shipping Forecast from Utsira, named after a herring-rich Norwegian island, to Dogger, scene of a 1904 Russian attack on British trawlers mistaken for Japanese torpedo boats.

A French fisherman died today after a collision between a trawler and a passenger ferry.

Greenpeace's latest Rainbow Warrior differs dramatically from her two previous incarnations. The first boat (sunk by the French secret services) was a modified trawler. The second was a re-fitted schooner. But Rainbow Warrior III , which will take to the seas later this year, is a £20m custom-built mega-yacht, complete with helicopter pad, secure communications room and the latest electronic navigation equipment.

A South Korean fishing boat sank in the Southern Ocean's frigid waters yesterday, with 22 sailors feared killed in the open sea where vessels trawl for deep-water fish.

Three teenagers cast adrift in the Pacific Ocean for 50 days admitted yesterday that they had been in search of vodka.

Japan has released a Chinese trawler captain at the centre of a fierce row that has threatened ties between Asia's two biggest economies, Kyodo news agency reported. The agency had earlier said the captain would return to China on Saturday.

Japan today released a Chinese trawler captain at the heart of a intense territorial row with China that Tokyo had warned was threatening to damage Asia's two biggest economies, Japanese media reported.

China yesterday broke off high-level government contacts with Japan over the extended detention of a fishing boat captain arrested near disputed islands. The rare move pushed already tense relations to a new low, and showed China's willingness to play hardball with its Asian rival on issues of territorial integrity.

Japan has freed 14 crew members of a Chinese fishing vessel, nearly a week after their trawler and two Japanese patrol boats collided near disputed southern islets. But China attacked Tokyo's decision to keep the captain in custody.

The French are known for their unfathomable statements, as football fans will remember from Eric Cantona's musings about seagulls and trawlers. But we Anglo-Saxons had always assumed that the problem was one of cultural translation. We didn't know what they were going on about, but we assumed that they did. Well now we know otherwise. The incomprehension is more than mutual; it exists between compatriots too. How else can we explain the chasm of understanding between Gérard Depardieu and Juliette Binoche? Last month the actor lashed out in an interview saying the actress was a performer who "has nothing, absolutely nothing". Now Mme Binoche, usually known for her sweetness on and off screen, has suggested M. Depardieu might be suffering from psychological problems.

There's something comforting about Springwatch, isn't there? While ITV recruits armies of minor-league slebs to navigate their coastlines (on which, more to follow), the BBC is content to give us Gordon Buchanan in Springwatch High Seas. And what a wise move it was to. He was an absolute joy: charming, irresistibly enthusiastic, not to mention genuinely knowledgeable on all the things that matter – in this instance, mackerel and killer whales. He was trying to find the latter, by following the former, all while sticking to the British coast: yes, killer whales in Britain! It was all terribly exciting.

First-class trip to a brave old world

With Somali buccaneers heading south in search of a safe haven, the islanders fear for their honeymoon reputation and fishing livelihoods. Daniel Howden reports from Port Victoria

The perennial favourite takeaway dish has survived many fads, famine and wars to keep its place firmly in the nation's heart