NOUADHIBOU, Mauritania — On a busy weekday, the coastal strip of Bountiya in Nouadhibou, Mauritania’s second-biggest city, is eerily quiet. This was once the beating heart of the West African…
A massive Amazonian fish yields the unique and once overlooked leather prized by luxury brands and Texas cowboys.
At the end of 2024, the Azores stood as a beacon of hope and a global leader in ocean conservation, having created the largest network of marine protected areas (MPAs)…
On Feb. 17, 2016, the gears ground into life at the massive Belo Monte hydroelectric plant, on the “Large Curve” of the Xingu River, or Volta Grande do Xingu, in…
KILWA, Tanzania — For some fishers in Tanzania’s Kilwa district who were among the first to receive fishing boats under a government-sponsored program, the vessels are proving to be a…
Ancestral fishing knowledge is now obsolete after dams broke the river’s rhythm, scrambling ancient fishing spots.
2025 was a key year for ocean policymaking, marking the midway point in the U.N. Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development. The past 12 months brought landslide multilateral wins…
A Mongabay investigation that revealed Brazilian state-run institutions bulk-buying shark meat for public schools, hospitals and prisons has won second place in the national category of the 67th ARI/Banrisul Journalism…
Rampant sand mining in the Mekong River is directly weakening critical seasonal river flows that sustain Southeast Asia’s largest freshwater lake, new research indicates. The Mekong’s annual wet season flood…
KATHMANDU — A year ago, the appearance of the Asian small-clawed otter in Nepal created a buzz, given that the species hadn’t been seen in the country in 185 years.…
PADANG, Indonesia — At low tide along Padang's coastline, fishing boats sit idle, not because of rough seas, but because the water is clogged with timber. In late November, flash…
Diego Cardeñosa always knew he wanted to study sharks. But when he started his Ph.D., he had to make a choice: tagging sharks in the field — the “fun,” typically…
Southeast Asia’s Mekong River is one of the world’s most diverse and productive freshwater ecosystems, home to more than 1,000 fish species, including both the critically endangered Mekong giant catfish…
Much of the world’s albacore tuna catch, which usually ends up in a can, comes from the southwestern Pacific Ocean, where fishery managers just passed a new set of conservation…
MONROVIA — In Liberia, a country where small-scale fishers number in the tens of thousands, fishers go missing at sea every year. Some, like a crew of four rescued 54…
When a new treaty to protect biodiversity in international waters, or the high seas, takes effect in January, there’s an open question about how it will interact with the regional…
DOUALA, Cameroon — Henry Belle Ekam, 37, cuts a frustrated figure as he paddles his boat to the shore in the Bojongo neighborhood of Cameroon’s largest city, Douala. The fisherman…
Following up on a tip to the state’s poaching hotline, game wardens in California rushed to a popular fishing spot, Clifton Court Forebay, in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. They’d…
The way the oceans are managed is meant to be like a successful medieval commons. Most medieval commons weren’t open-access, but commoners had distinct rights in law and committees organized…
Fish were discovered to make sounds more than 2,000 years ago, but they have gone largely unheard by humans. While a typical, bustling coral reef may be home to dozens…
Amid negotiations last week on wildlife trade regulations by delegates from around the world, one item was left out of the discussions. South Africa had been expected to bring to…
Months after a container ship went down off the coast of India, toxic pollution still contaminates the water and plastic pellets still wash ashore. Meanwhile, cleanup efforts continue, fishing restrictions…
COLOMBO — From time to time, curious tales of “fish rain” grab media attention: fish seemingly fall from the sky, far from any bodies of water, following heavy downpours. The…
More than 180 nations gathering in Uzbekistan this week for the annual CITES conference could vote as early as Thursday on a proposal to regulate international trade in nearly 30…
*Sources have requested pseudonyms be used to protect their identity out of fear of retaliation from the government or mining companies BANGKOK, Thailand/RATANAKIRI, Cambodia — “When you touch the water of…
Sharks are some of the most threatened animals on Earth, with approximately one-third of all species assessed as threatened with extinction on the IUCN Red List. These animals are not…
HOPKINS, Belize — The Nassau grouper is drawn by the winter moon, between December and March, to special places where hundreds of the cryptic fish engage in a reproductive dance…
The United States is the main market for “ornamental” marine fish, those that end up as pets in aquariums. Now, a new study of U.S.-based online retailers has found that…
A new study has mapped whale shark stranding hotspots in Indonesian waters over the past decade and linked their occurrence to oceanographic dynamics, providing a scientific basis for targeted, preventative…
KARACHI — On Sept. 2, the government of Balochistan province in Pakistan declared the country’s third marine protected area, around Miani Hor Lagoon on the country’s central coast. The biodiversity-rich…
GASPÉSIE, Canada — In Quebec's Gaspésie region, Indigenous river guardians say they are in a race against climate change to protect the Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar). The Mi'gmaq Wolastoqey Indigenous…
As two coastal countries connected by the Atlantic Ocean and five centuries of shared history, Brazil and Portugal have long appreciated the value of “blue” or aquatic foods, including our…
