As Thailand’s fishing cats face habitat loss & conflict, experts seek resolution
Pacing paw-to-paw, the fishing cat hisses. About twice the size of a domestic cat, its grey-green eyes fix on the keeper who carries a tub of tilapia on the other…
Fish News
A Kenya marine biodiversity credit program restores mangroves — and livelihoods
MARERENI, Kenya — The scorching afternoon sun stretches across the semiarid landscape of Marereni, in Kenya’s Kilifi county, where salt and sea shape both the land and the lives that…
With coral-rich Churna Island now an MPA, Pakistan takes baby steps on ocean protection
KARACHI — From the sands of Manjhaar Beach on the far outskirts of Karachi, Pakistan, an island is just visible 10 kilometers, about 6 miles, offshore. Mist rising from the…
Two coasts, one struggle for octopus fishers battling overfishing and warming waters
ASTURIAS, Spain, and YUCATÁN, Mexico — On a mild February morning, Isaac Blanco quickly places half a sardine into each cage as his brother, Julio, steers their boat along the…
First-ever assessment highlights threats to Atlantic cold-water corals
They live in the ocean’s coldest, darkest depths, far from sight — but cold-water corals are far from safe. In a first-of-its-kind study published in Marine Biodiversity in June, a…
Illegal fishing and its consequences: the human toll of migration in Senegal
“I lost my sons, nephews, and grandson in this tragedy. I lost my older brother’s son. I can say that I lost almost ten relatives in this shipwreck. It is…
Predatory snakehead fish poses invasive threat after sighting in Sri Lanka reservoir
COLOMBO — The Deduru Oya reservoir in northwestern Sri Lanka has long been a favorite fishing spot for angler Ishanka Dissanayaka. In mid-June, he returned to the reservoir for a…
What happens to artisanal fishers when a deep-sea fishing port comes to town?
This is Mongabay's second story in a short series about the new Shimoni Fish Port. Read the first story here. SHIMONI, Kenya — On a drizzly March afternoon, more than…
Vanishing giants: The Indian Ocean’s biggest fish need saving (commentary)
I have spent much of my life studying predatory fishes in East Africa’s coastal waters, but never have I been more concerned about their future. The disappearance of the western…
Endangered humphead wrasse gets a lifeline from facial recognition tech
Among the many spectacular reef fishes swimming the Indo-Pacific corals, from Africa to Oceania, is the big-eyed, bulge-faced, thick-lipped, blue-green humphead wrasse, also known as the Napoleon wrasse. It’s among…
As a fishing port rises in Kenya, locals see threats to sea life, livelihoods
This is Mongabay’s first story in a short series about the new Shimoni Fish Port. Read the second story here. SHIMONI, Kenya — Behind the gates of a small, forested…
Glass eel smuggling booms despite bans, leaving species on the brink
Tiny, translucent and no longer than a finger, juvenile European eels, also known as glass eels, might not look like much. But demand for these slippery creatures, particularly in East…
Whales still aren’t ‘eating all the fish’ (commentary)
In a world full of bad news, there’s been good news in whale conservation. Many of the great whales are coming back. In fact, some populations have been recovering faster…
When heat waves hit, clownfish shrink to survive, study finds
Clownfish are known for their remarkable ability to change sex to survive. Turns out, one species, clown anemonefish (Amphiprion percula), popularized in the Pixar hit movie Finding Nemo, have yet…
Peru’s new bycatch training aims to help save hooked sea turtles: Q&A with fisher Gustavo Rosales
Attracted by bait, sea turtles off the coast of southern Peru often get caught on fishing hooks intended for mahi-mahi. Releasing the turtles is complicated as they’re heavy animals, and…
On its 50th anniversary, ‘Jaws’ continues to provoke shark conservationists
The movie Jaws, released on June 20, 1975, was one of the very first Hollywood summer blockbusters, and remains one of the highest-grossing films of all time, adjusted for inflation.…
Another way to check the health of a coral reef: Study the microbes in the seawater
Prochlorococcus, a genus of bacteria that’s key to oxygen production in the ocean, tends to disappear when faced with marine pollution. It lives throughout the sunlit layer of tropical oceans…
‘It’s our garden’: PNG villages fight to prevent mine waste dumping in the sea
Three communities in Papua New Guinea are waiting for the country’s Supreme Court to decide whether their concerns about the dumping of mine waste in the sea near their homes…
‘Madness’: World leaders call for deep-sea mining moratorium at UN ocean summit
This story was supported by the Pulitzer Center's Ocean Reporting Network, where Elizabeth Claire Alberts is a fellow. NICE, France — At the 2025 U.N. Ocean Conference (UNOC), taking place…
In Nepal, northernmost sighting of Eurasian otter raises hope, concerns
KATHMANDU — A Eurasian otter (Lutra lutra) found in the Karnali River in western Nepal marks the species’ northernmost record in the country, offering hope for range expansion but raising…
Bumble Bee asks court to dismiss lawsuit alleging forced labor in tuna supply chain
U.S. canned tuna producer Bumble Bee Foods has asked a court to dismiss a lawsuit alleging that it knowingly benefited from its suppliers’ use of forced labor by Indonesian workers.…
In a big win, Yurok Nation reclaims vital creek and watershed to restore major salmon run
KLAMATH, California — The Pacific Ocean fog hung densely over the narrow mouth of the Klamath River in this coastal rainforest in northern California. Redwood, Douglas fir and alder disappeared…
Villagers in Sumatra bring ancient forest flavors back to the table
Nurul Nazipah’s favorite dish to cook is one that involves going into the Muaro Jambi forest to pick from among 120 different types of herbs and edible greens that grow…
Samoa’s new marine spatial plan protects 30% of the country’s ocean
Samoa, an archipelagic country composed of nine islands in the South Pacific Ocean, is on the frontline of climate change. Rising sea levels, ocean warming and acidification all pose significant…
Marine artificial upwelling, problematic climate solution slow to advance
Artificial upwelling is a geoengineering climate solution with a long history. The concept: mimic natural ocean upwelling by pumping cold, nutrient-rich seawater up from ocean depths via pipes to the…
Only a tiny % of the deep seafloor has ever been visually observed: Study
For national and international policymakers, decisions on how to regulate — and whether to allow — exploitative human activities such as deep-sea mining require good information. A new study suggests…
New map highlights complex web of marine migrations
Where are all the marine animals going? Given the vastness of the oceans, the countless species that live in them, and the lack of a global data set, it’s not…
Tuna fishing devices drift through a third of oceans, harming corals, coasts: Study
A recent study reveals that drifting fish aggregating devices (dFADs), widely used in tuna fishing, have spread to more than a third of the world’s oceans. These devices harm ocean…
In Pakistan, desert irrigation plans spark protests & fears among Sindh farmers
On April 6, Wajahat Hussain, a Sindhi human rights lawyer, spoke at a protest against the planned Cholistan Canal Project on the Indus River in Pakistan. “We will continue fighting…
Central Java villages take fast fashion to the cleaners at Indonesia’s Supreme Court
SUKOHARJO, Indonesia — Sarmi recalls the unusual blight that fell over Gupit village around 2017, when doves and finches appeared to vanish from the sky. “With pollution that acrid and…
The blobby little sea squirt that stowed away across the Pacific to California
In 2023, biologists Lauren Stefaniak and Marie Nydam had time to kill before their university workshop on marine invertebrates began, so they drove to a marina not far from Los…
Venomous snakes, freshwater fish among legally traded species most likely to become invasive in US
Although a superpower, the U.S. is under constant invasion — we’re not talking humans here but meek-looking plants and animals that have caused ecological havoc. Take, for instance, the tiny,…
Special series
Forest Trackers
- Narco airstrips beset Indigenous communities in Peruvian Amazon
- 15 illegal narco-trafficking airstrips found near Peru Indigenous communities
- Satellite data show bursts of deforestation continue in Indonesian national park
- Fires rip through Indigenous territories in Brazilian Amazon
Oceans
- First-ever assessment highlights threats to Atlantic cold-water corals
- Major coral loss in Vietnam’s first marine protected area: Study
- When heat waves hit, clownfish shrink to survive, study finds
- Samoa’s new marine spatial plan protects 30% of the country’s ocean
Amazon Conservation
- ‘World’s largest’ carbon credit deal in the Amazon faces bumpy road ahead
- New conservation model calls for protecting Amazon for its archaeological riches
- Brazil dredges Amazon rivers to ease drought isolation, raising environmental concerns
- ‘We need white men on our side to save the Amazon from destruction,’ 92-year-old Indigenous Chief Raoni says
Land rights and extractives
- Indigenous Bajo suffer child deaths & toxic sludge amid green energy push
- ‘Colombia’s Amazon peoples provide solutions’: Interview with José Homero Mutumbajoy
- Should mining companies consider no-go zones where isolated Indigenous peoples live? (Commentary)
- Brazil sets a date to remove illegal miners from Munduruku land, more details await
Endangered Environmentalists
- Environmental & rights activists flee and hide as M23 captures DRC’s cities
- Environmental journalist in Cambodia shot and killed by suspected logger
- Vietnam sentences yet another energy expert over renewables research
- Mother Nature Cambodia activists sentenced to prison — again
Indonesia's Forest Guardians
- On a Borneo mountainside, Indigenous Dayak women hold fire and defend forest
- Fenced in by Sulawesi national park, Indigenous women make forestry breakout
- In Borneo, the ‘Power of Mama’ fight Indonesia’s wildfires with all-woman crew
- Pioneer agroforester Ermi, 73, rolls back the years in Indonesia’s Gorontalo
Conservation Effectiveness
- How effective is the EU’s marquee policy to reduce the illegal timber trade?
- How sharing and learning from failures can transform conservation (commentary)
- Is planting trees as good for the Earth as everyone says?
- Failure in conservation projects: Everyone experiences it, few record it
Southeast Asian infrastructure
- An ‘ocean grab’ for a property megaproject leaves Jakarta fishers grounded
- Study: Indonesia’s new capital city threatens stable proboscis monkey population
- Indonesia’s new capital ‘won’t sacrifice the environment’: Q&A with Nusantara’s Myrna Asnawati Safitri
- Small farmers in limbo as Cambodia wavers on Tonle Sap conservation rules
