Pacific fisheries summit gives a boost to albacore & seabirds
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…
Oceans News
Philippines’ newest marine protected area ‘sets inspiring example’ (commentary)
Climate change is pushing coral reefs to the brink. A new scientific report warns that the world has already crossed its first climate tipping point, and reefs could face long-term…
West and Central Africa tackle coastal erosion
Across many parts of Africa’s Atlantic coastline, the sea is advancing several metres inland each year, destroying homes, infrastructure, farmland and heritage sites. Many coastal communities have already been erased…
Seafloor survey in Cambodia finds simple anti-trawling blocks help seagrass recover
A recent study provides the first detailed map of Cambodia’s coastal seafloor habitats and finds that simple, low-cost anti-trawling structures are helping seagrass meadows recover and support small-scale fishers in…
Artisanal fishers in Liberia question benefits of new tracking devices from government
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…
Study finds more ‘laggards’ than ‘leaders’ among high seas fisheries managers
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…
Global manta and devil ray deaths far exceed earlier estimates: Study
Far more manta and devil rays die in fisheries than previously understood, with annual deaths surpassing 259,000 individuals, a new study has found. It suggests that fishing pressure on these…
As fish catches fall and seas rise, Douala’s residents join efforts to restore mangroves
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…
Unregulated tourism risks disrupting Timor-Leste’s whale migration
DILI, Timor-Leste — Whale tourism in Timor-Leste is booming. Tour operators report a healthy number of sightings and full bookings in the peak season of September to December, when hundreds…
Deep-sea mining interests raise alarms among Mariana Trench communities
U.S.-led plans to mine the deep seabed have gained momentum since President Donald Trump signed an executive order that called for the industry’s rapid formation to bolster U.S. national security.…
With a target on their bellies, can California’s sturgeon survive?
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…
What would this scientist tell Trump? Interview with Robert Watson, former chair of the IPCC
When U.S. President Donald Trump addressed the United Nations General Assembly in late 2025 and dismissed climate change as a “con job”, the scientific community reacted with alarm. Months earlier,…
‘Myopic’ fisheries managers toy with a new ‘tragedy of the commons’ (commentary)
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…
Can we create new inland seas to lower sea level rise? Interview with researcher Amir AghaKouchak
Sea levels are rising, threatening coastal areas, including cities, around the world. Due to climate change, the global ocean has already risen by 21-24 centimeters (about 8-9.5 inches) since 1880,…
New underwater acoustic camera identifies individual fish sounds, helping track threatened species
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…
Another threat to reefs: Microplastic chemicals may harm coral reproduction
As the sliver of a new moon shines over Kāneʻohe Bay, Oʻahu, millions of tiny orbs ascend from a reef and swirl in the water column. These spheres are bundles…
For fossil fuel-dependent islands, ocean thermal energy offers a lifeline
A small floating pilot device deployed off the Canary Islands could one day prove pivotal to unlocking clean energy for tropical island and coastal communities by harnessing seawater heat. At…
A rare bright spot for whales: Decades of conservation pay off for endangered population in Canada
Populations of northern bottlenose whales (Hyperoodon ampullatus), playful animals that resemble large dolphins, stretch across the Atlantic Ocean, with each group of whales living year-round in a particular deep ocean…
Philippine mangroves survived a typhoon, but now confront a human-made challenge
Mangroves in the Philippine city of Tacloban, the area hit hardest by one of the most powerful typhoons ever recorded, have recovered and even expanded beyond their pre-disaster extent, thanks…
Jean Beasley, who turned her young daughter’s dying wish into a mission to save sea turtles, has died
On the beaches of Topsail Island in North Carolina, the sight of a sea turtle crawling ashore has long signaled both urgency and hope. For many years, a woman with…
Lost at sea, found in Latin America: the journeys of discarded plastic bottles
Sandwiched between the frigid swells of the Pacific and the warm pulses of Latin American cities lie stretches of turquoise beaches that attract migrating whales and beachgoers alike. But these…
Healthy oceans are a human right (commentary)
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…
Indigenous knowledge and science join forces to save the choro mussel in Chile
Huellelhue means “place for swimming” in Mapudungun. It’s also the name of one of the rivers that flow through the Lafken Mapu Lahual Multiple-Use Conservation Area, established in 2005 in…
Behind Sri Lanka’s ‘fish rain’ lies a web of migrations now blocked by rising dams
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…
What’s at stake for the environment in Honduras’ presidential election?
Honduras will hold elections Nov. 30 for president and all 128 seats in Congress. The winners will hold office for the next four years, shaping the country’s environmental policies at…
Deep-diving manta rays use the ocean’s midnight zone to build mental maps, study suggests
In the darkness nearly a mile beneath the ocean's surface, where the pressure would crush a human and temperatures hover just above freezing, a creature with wings wider than a…
COP30: What did it deliver for the ocean?
Between Nov. 10 and 21, more than 56,000 delegates, including representatives from nearly 200 nations, gathered in Belém, Brazil, for the 30th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP)…
Abrolhos: A South Atlantic marine treasure in need of protection
Located off the south coast of Bahia state and the north coast of Espírito Santo state in Brazil, the Abrolhos Seascape is known for its rich concentration of marine biodiversity,…
‘Forever chemical’ contamination could undermine sea otters’ fragile recovery in Canada
Sea otters living along the coastline of Canada’s British Columbia province carry residues of “forever chemicals” in their bodies, according to a new study, and those living near dense human…
For sharks on the brink of extinction, CITES Appendix II isn’t protective enough (commentary)
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…
Study finds important Nassau grouper spawning site in Belize near collapse
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…
Lethal dose of plastic for seabirds and marine animals ‘much smaller than expected’
New research has found that even small amounts of plastic can be deadly to seabirds, sea turtles and marine mammals. While previous research has established that plastic can lead to…
Special series
Forest Trackers
- Satellite data show burst of deforestation in Myanmar rare earth mining hotspots
- 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
Oceans
- Scientists call for stronger action to save Indonesia’s vanishing seagrass meadows
- Antarctic conservation summit closes with stalemate on MPAs & krill fishing rules
- Norway’s proposal to double krill harvests raises tension at Antarctic conservation summit
- Nickel mining threatens Raja Ampat ecosystems, communities & conservation: Report
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
- Lithium mining may threaten a precious resource — water: Voices from the land (commentary)
- Indigenous guardians successfully keep extractives out of Ecuador’s Amazon forests
- Amid Venezuela’s illegal gold heist are armed groups, gangs & elites, report says
- Indigenous women in Peru use technology to protect Amazon forests
Endangered Environmentalists
- A killing with precedent: Kaiowá man’s murder fits a pattern in Brazil
- 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
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
