Oceans

For the first time, the amount of aquatic life — such as fish, clams and shrimp — that was farmed outpaced wild-caught aquatic life in 2022, according to the United Nations’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). In the UN’s latest The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture report, it found that aquaculture, or farmed aquatic […]

Schools of fish can resemble a single organism as they speed through the ocean in search of food or gather to defend their territory. A new study has found that it is also easier for fish to swim through turbulent water if they are in a group compared with swimming alone. “The ecological and evolutionary […]

There are five oceans and five first-place winners of the 11th annual Photo Competition for United Nations World Oceans Day (UN WOD). The winners were announced at the United Nations headquarters in New York City on Friday, June 7.

To call our attention to all that the ocean does for us and all that we do to it, the United Nations is hosting a special program for World Oceans Day (UN WOD) on Friday, June 7, 2024. 

A new study has found that the planet’s oceans are experiencing a “triple threat” of oxygen loss, extreme heat and acidification. The researchers discovered that, as global heating has worsened, increasing stress has been placed on marine species, with as much as 20 percent of the world’s oceans affected by these threats. “The global ocean […]

The Norway chapter of World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF-Norway) is bringing a lawsuit against the Norwegian government for allowing mining of its seabed, claiming the country has not properly investigated the negative impacts. WWF-Norway said the decision to proceed with deep-sea mining breaches Norwegian law and sets a “dangerous precedent,” a press release from […]

A new report from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has found that about half of all mangrove ecosystems in the world are at risk of collapsing, meaning they are considered vulnerable, endangered, or critically endangered by the organization’s Red List of Ecosystem standards. Further, about 19.6% of mangroves, nearly one in five, […]

In a historic win for a group of small island nations — including the Bahamas, Antigua and Barbuda — the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) has found that human-produced greenhouse gas emissions absorbed by the world’s oceans are considered marine pollution. In its first ruling related to climate, the tribunal — […]