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Exploring the policies and international agreements governing fisheries, seabed mining and the high seas.
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A landmark 16-year prohibition on commercial fishing in the once ice-covered central Arctic Ocean will allow nations to conduct research on marine life in a little-explored region that is rapidly changing as climate change accelerates.
The U.S. Senate unanimously passed the Save Our Seas Act to reauthorize a marine debris program and work with other nations to reduce ocean pollution. Backers hope the House will approve the legislation in 2018.
The global shipping industry will need to dramatically lower emissions if the world hopes to avoid dangerous climate change, but companies argue that the technology isn’t available yet.
Countries met at the U.N. climate talks in Bonn this month to discuss implementing the Paris climate accord to limit global temperature rise. Negotiator Hugh J. Sealy says only minimal progress has been made to help vulnerable small island nations adapt to global warming.
Budget shortfalls and aging ships are starting to undermine key climate-change data-collection programs that help scientists gauge the state of the world’s oceans.
Most of the planet’s coastlines are in the developing world. Western marine scientists and institutions could do better work by developing the scientific talents of the people who live there, says Asha de Vos, founder of Oceanswell.
An initiative called FISH-i Africa helps coordinate the efforts of eight cash-strapped countries to uncover and catch pirate fishing operators in the western Indian Ocean.
As this year’s meeting to implement the Paris Agreement to cut greenhouse gas emissions, marine advocates will be present to argue that ocean protections play a crucial role in fighting climate change.
More than 200 prominent scientists have signed a letter to Congress opposing legislation that would weaken the Magnuson-Stevens Act, the U.S. fisheries law that sets catch limits based on scientific evidence.
Researchers find that policies in Australia to compensate for the destruction of marine habitats from dredging, port construction and other developments are too poorly managed to prevent a loss of biodiversity.
As momentum builds for an international treaty to protect high seas biodiversity, national leaders and business executives at the fourth Our Ocean conference vowed to take action to fight climate change, plastic pollution and other threats to marine ecosystems.
Jessica Meeuwig Marine Scientist
More than 1,200 scientists from 45 countries have signed a petition calling on the Australian government to reverse a proposal to allow commercial fishing in marine protected areas, calling the action scientifically flawed.
Marine scientist Michael Beck says that an analysis of hurricane-related economic losses shows that conserving and restoring coastal reefs, wetlands and mangroves can prevent flooding and save hundreds of millions of dollars.
As the International Seabed Authority moves to permit the mining of unique deep-sea habitats, calls grow for it to disclose secretive deliberations about the environmental consequences of extracting valuable minerals from the ocean floor.
An archipelago off Norway’s northern coast is renowned for its beauty. It’s also near untapped oil-and-gas deposits. In light of recent demonstrations against oil-drilling in the Lofoten Islands, photojournalist Randall Hyman shares his experiences in the region.
A new exhibit at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History examines the narwhal’s role in indigenous culture and the possible reasons behind its unusual tusk.
Donald Scavia Professor of Environmental Engineering, University of Michigan
Too many nutrients washing into our waters create oxygen-deprived “dead zones.” But voluntary steps to reduce nutrient runoff and shrink dead zones just aren’t working, says environmental researcher Don Scavia.
Hydrothermal vent fields on the seabed are rich in copper, gold and other valuable metals, but scientists have found that some are home to unique animals found nowhere else on Earth.
It will take political courage and planning to make Russia’s Northern Sea Route the main thoroughfare of a healthy, unitary country – but there is no alternative, writes Morgane Fert-Malka, a French Moscow-based political analyst.
After years of talks, the U.N. has taken a major step toward an international treaty to preserve the biodiversity of the high seas to combat climate change, overfishing and plastic pollution.
A review of five years of research highlights the importance of the high seas to the global ecosystem and the peril they face from climate change, pollution and other human impacts.
After years of discussions, diplomats are meeting this week for a final push to put an accord protecting marine ecosystems in the open ocean before the United Nations General Assembly.
Andrew Sharpless Chief Executive Officer, Oceana
Oceana chief executive Andrew Sharpless says advocates need to pay close attention because lawmakers are quietly attempting to gut protections for marine ecosystems.
The key to mobilizing youth is to give them the autonomy to follow their own path to protect the ocean, says Daniela Fernandez, founder of the Sustainable Oceans Alliance.
Former Under Secretary of State Catherine Novelli says the U.S. has much to gain as global momentum grows to protect the seas from overfishing, pollution and climate change.
South Pacific nations that control large areas of the ocean are creating huge marine reserves to combat illegal fishing, protect coral reefs and ensure the survival of ancient cultures.
There is currently no international certification for mariners who navigate through icy Arctic waters, so industry is moving to fill the void, says Captain David “Duke” Snider, president of the Nautical Institute.
Just two years after limits were imposed to help the recovery of decimated tuna populations – which have suffered an estimated 97% decline in recent decades – fishing quotas are being exceeded, much to the dismay of environmentalists.
Hailing from Fiji, the president of the United Nations General Assembly, Peter Thomson, is intimately aware of threats to ocean health. He says talk will turn to action this week to fight climate change, overfishing and plastic pollution, and to protect the high seas.
With the ocean in crisis, national leaders, scientists, policymakers and activists are gathering in New York to hash out strategies to protect a crucial ecosystem.
Due to congressional budget cuts, the 38-year continuous U.S. Arctic satellite monitoring program is about to end, leaving researchers blind to ongoing Arctic sea ice losses.
The proposed U.S. federal budget would cancel a program that provides support to coastal Alaskan communities with everything from monitoring shoreline erosion to maintaining healthy ecosystems.
Four Arctic nations are submitting claims to the U.N. Commission on the Limits of the Law of the Sea to gain control of the ocean floor beyond the 200-nautical-mile limit. It’s not a race, but a huge scientific process.
Russian officials boast that their country’s Northern Sea Route will soon see a significant increase in traffic to export oil, gas and coal. But it’s probably best to temper expectations, says Malte Humpert, the strategic director and founder of the Arctic Institute.
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