oceans

New Maps Reveal Industrial Fishing in More Than Half of World’s Oceans

New Maps Reveal Industrial Fishing in More Than Half of World’s Oceans

By Shreya Dasgupta Industrial fishing takes place across more than 55 percent of the world’s oceans, according to a new study published in Science. Fishing is vital for food security and livelihoods across the globe, yet the extent of industrial fishing has remained largely unknown. Now, a team of researchers has tried to solve this […]

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    Beachgoers Use Endangered Shark Dragged From Water for Selfies

    Beachgoers Use Endangered Shark Dragged From Water for Selfies

    By Zachary Toliver Sometimes humans forget that animals have feelings, too, and cause them to suffer. Just consider some Florida beachgoers who were filmed taking photos of and selfies with an injured hammerhead shark, who an expert says most likely died after the incident. On a beach near West Palm Beach, Florida, a group of […]

    73% of Deep-Sea Fish Have Ingested Plastic

    73% of Deep-Sea Fish Have Ingested Plastic

    Microplastics can really be found everywhere, even in the stomachs of creatures living deep underwater. Marine scientists from the National University of Ireland (NUI) in Galway found the plastic bits in 73 percent of 233 deep-sea fish collected from the Northwest Atlantic Ocean—one of the highest microplastic frequencies in fish ever recorded worldwide. For the […]

    Coastal Recreation and Tourism Businesses Fight Offshore Oil Drilling Proposal

    Coastal Recreation and Tourism Businesses Fight Offshore Oil Drilling Proposal

    The Surfrider Foundation and leaders of the coastal recreation and tourism industry on Thursday presented Department of Interior representatives with a surfboard and letters signed by more than 1,000 coastal businesses and elected officials in opposition to new offshore oil drilling in U.S. waters. From Florida to Maine and California to Washington State, businesses including […]

    Taiwan Sets Aggressive Timeline to Ban Straws and Other Single-Use Plastics

    Taiwan Sets Aggressive Timeline to Ban Straws and Other Single-Use Plastics

    Taiwan’s Environmental Protection Agency, in cooperation with a number of environmental organizations, proposed an ambitious 12-year timeline Tuesday to eliminate four types of single-use plastics—takeaway beverage cups, drinking straws, shopping bags and disposable tableware—by 2030 to tackle plastic pollution. Taiwan, the birthplace of bubble tea, is famous for its unique food and drink culture, but […]

    The Queen Declares War on Plastic

    The Queen Declares War on Plastic

    Queen Elizabeth II is banning plastic straws and bottles across the royal estates. The Telegraph reported that the monarch is behind Buckingham Palace’s plans to phase out single-use plastics from public cafes, royal residences and staff dining rooms. Royal caterers will instead use china plates and glasses or recyclable paper cups. Takeaway food from the […]

    Lobster Industry Ensnared in North Atlantic Right Whale Deaths

    Lobster Industry Ensnared in North Atlantic Right Whale Deaths

    By Sam Schipani Last year was not a good one for the North Atlantic right whale. Seventeen of them were discovered to have died, about 4 percent of a total population of 455. Numbers have been low for decades—the species was declared endangered in 1973—but if the current trend continues, the North Atlantic right whale, […]

    ‘Plastic in All Sizes’ Found Everywhere in Once Pristine European Arctic

    ‘Plastic in All Sizes’ Found Everywhere in Once Pristine European Arctic

    A disturbing amount of plastic is building up in the once-pristine European Arctic. According to a study from the Norwegian Polar Institute, “plastic in all sizes” can be found throughout the Norwegian Arctic and in the Svalbard islands, an archipelago between Norway’s mainland and the North Pole that’s also one of Earth’s northernmost inhabited areas. […]

    18 Documentaries That Will Inspire, Outrage and Mobilize

    18 Documentaries That Will Inspire, Outrage and Mobilize

    By Eva Perroni Film is an incredible tool for effecting change in the food system with its unique ability to educate, inspire and grow the movement for sustainable food and farming. Film can transport viewers to unseen territories, from Colombian coffee-growing regions to the bottom of the ocean, and unveil the stories, struggles and triumphs […]