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Animals
Whale Shark. NOAA

Arabian Sea Sharks May be the Most Threatened in the World

By Joshua Learn

Sharks, rays and chimaeras are some of the most threatened fish in the world. More than 50 percent of species in the Arabian Sea are at elevated risk of extinction due to coastal development, overfishing, pollution and habitat destruction. According to an expansive new study, spanning more than a dozen countries, species like sawfish are particularly hard hit with extinction or local extirpation.

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Animals
Mako sharks killed at the South Jersey Shark Tournament in June 2017. Lewis Pugh

Shark Fishing Tournaments Devalue Ocean Wildlife and Harm Marine Conservation Efforts

By Rick Stafford

Just over three years ago, I was clinging to a rock in 20 meters of water, trying to stop the current from pulling me out to sea. I peered out into the gloom of the Pacific. Suddenly, three big dark shapes came into view, moving in a jerky, yet somehow smooth and majestic manner. I looked directly into the left eyes of hammerhead sharks as they swam past, maybe 10 meters from me. I could see the gill slits, the brown skin. But most of all, what struck me was just how big these animals are—far from the biggest sharks in the seas, but incredibly powerfully built and solid. These are truly magnificent creatures.

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Animals
All 102 sea turtles necropsied by scientists were found to have ingested plastics. Kirt Edblom / CC BY-SA 2.0

100% of Sea Turtles in Global Study Found With Plastics in Their Bellies

By Julia Conley

A new study of sea turtles in three oceans and seas drove home the point, green campaigners said Wednesday, that the world's governments and corporations are not doing enough to reduce plastic pollution—and marine life is suffering as a result.

One hundred and two sea turtles inhabiting the Atlantic and Pacific oceans and the Mediterranean Sea were the subject of the study by the University of Exeter and Plymouth Marine Laboratory in the United Kingdom—and all 102 of the creatures were found with plastics, microplastics and other synthetics in their digestive systems.

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Business
Corona / Business Wire

Corona Becomes First Big Beer Brand to Trial Plastic-Free Rings

Corona will pilot 100 percent plastic-free six pack rings in select markets—the first global beer brand to attempt the switch after moves from smaller beer companies.

The plant-based rings will be piloted in Tulum, Mexico—Corona's homeland—at the beginning of 2019.

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Oceans
A fisherman sorts great scallops off the French coast. These scallops can absorb billions of microplastics within six hours, a study has found. DAMIEN MEYER / AFP / Getty Images

Scallops Absorb Billions of Microplastics in Just 6 Hours

One of the biggest concerns surrounding the proliferation of microplastics in the world's oceans is how they might move up the food web from smaller to larger marine life, eventually ending up in our stomachs.

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Oceans
North Atlantic right whales are on the brink of extinction and Trump's offshore drilling plans could make things worse. NOAA

Trump Administration Approves Harmful Seismic Blasting in Atlantic

Despite vehement opposition from communities, businesses and lawmakers along the Atlantic coast, the National Marine Fisheries Service on Friday is expected to issue five permits, or Incidental Harassment Authorizations (IHA), that allow deafening seismic surveys to search for offshore oil and natural gas in the Atlantic Ocean.

The Trump administration's move was first reported by Bloomberg, which said the IHAs allow five companies to use airgun blasting in waters off Delaware to central Florida.

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Popular
The body of a vaquita killed as bycatch in Baja California, Mexico. Flip Nicklin / Minden

Near-Extinct Vaquita Gets Another Lifeline from the Courts

In a crucial win for the quickly vanishing vaquita porpoise, a federal appeals court sided with conservationists Wednesday when it upheld a ban on Mexican seafood imports caught with gillnets, which drown the endangered marine mammal. "Immediate pressure on Mexico to ban all gillnets in the upper Gulf of California and to clear the area of illegal nets is necessary now for the vaquita's survival," said Giulia Good Stefani, a staff attorney at the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC).

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Animals
Mass pilot whale stranding at Rakiura/Stewart Island. Department of Conservation / YouTube

145 Whales Dead After Mass Stranding on New Zealand Beach

As many as 145 pilot whales are dead after beaching themselves on a remote beach in Rakiura, or Stewart Island, in southern New Zealand.

A "heartbreaking decision" was made to put down half of the animals due to their poor condition and the difficult-to-access location, a Department of Conservation (DOC) official said Monday in a media release.

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Animals
A cold-stunned sea turtle. NOAA

Nearly 200 Sea Turtles Die in Cape Cod Cold Snap

The record cold snap that froze the northeast Thanksgiving weekend had deadly consequences for sea turtles still swimming in Cape Cod Bay. More than 80 frozen sea turtles were brought into the Massachusetts Audubon Society's Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary the day after Thanksgiving, and most did not survive, ABC News reported.

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