Oceans

By David Miller Every two years, the World Wildlife Fund and the Zoological Society of London report on the health of the planet with an updated index of wildlife populations. This year, the numbers are especially bleak: Populations have already declined on average by 58 percent between 1970 and 2012. And unless we act quickly, […]

Boyan Slat, the 22-year-old Dutch inventor and CEO behind The Ocean Cleanup, announced today preliminary results of the organization’s latest major research mission, the Aerial Expedition, the first-ever aerial survey of an ocean garbage patch. Boyan Slat next to Ocean Force One, which will help accurately quantify the ocean’s biggest and most harmful debris—discarded fishing […]

The third annual Our Ocean Conference kicked off today in Washington, DC, to tackle some of the biggest threats facing our oceans, from plastic waste to climate change. Our Ocean Conference The two-day event is hosted by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry. Hundreds of world leaders, foreign and environment ministers, scientists, philanthropists, heads of […]

By Nadia Prupis People are driving marine ecosystems to “unprecedented” mass extinction, according to a new study published Wednesday in the journal Science. Large-bodied animals will be the first to go, the study says—blue whales, great white sharks and bluefin tuna, for example. Their size is part of their vulnerability, making them more susceptible to […]

Researchers from the University of British Columbia say that closing the high seas to fishing could help coastal fisheries, increasing catches by 10 percent. But our waters are now more polluted than ever, threatening the entire food chain. © Australian Fisheries Management Authority / WWF Fish have responded to warming ocean waters by moving north […]

By David Pinsky Every day, roughly half of the money Americans spend on food outside of the home is gobbled up by the U.S. foodservice industry. Wait, what’s foodservice? Companies that buy, transport, cook or serve the food you get at Subway, Burger King, a Beyoncé show or the Super Bowl, Walmart corporate cafeterias, the […]

By Robert McSweeney Rising sea surface temperatures in the North Atlantic are likely to be behind a recent surge in cases of diarrhoeal diseases from marine bacteria in northern Europe and the U.S. East Coast, a new study says. In their analysis that goes back to 1958, the researchers show that levels of Vibrio bacteria—which […]

Over a decade ago, Bird’s Head Seascape was just another example of the damage overfishing and destructive fishing practices can cause on coral reefs. But, the community stepped in, and the region is now thriving. Diver with Schooling Scads at Arborek Jetty.Photo credit: Jeff Yonover, Bird’s Head Seascape Valen’s Reef, a virtual reality movie shot […]