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International Marine Conservation Congress (IMCC3)

14 - 19 August 2014, Glasgow, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

5th Meeting of the Parties to ACCOBAMS (Agreement on the Conservation of Cetaceans of the Black Sea, Mediterranean Sea and Contiguous Atlantic Area) (MOP-5)

5 - 8 November 2013, Tangier, Morocco

World Water Week: Water Cooperation – building partnerships

1 - 6 September 2013, Stockholm, Sweden

Pesticides Significantly Reduce Biodiversity in Aquatic Environments

The pesticides, many of which are currently used in Europe and Australia, are responsible for reducing the regional diversity of invertebrates in streams and rivers by up to 42 percent, researchers report in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

UN challenges Australia to protect Great Barrier Reef

World Heritage Committee says reef will be listed as threatened ecosystem unless government takes steps to protect it

Underwater Springs Reveal How Coral Reefs Respond to Ocean Acidification

June 17, 2013 — Ocean acidification due to rising carbon dioxide levels will reduce the density of coral skeletons, making coral reefs more vulnerable to disruption and erosion, according to a new study of corals growing where submarine springs naturally lower the pH of seawater.

Great Barrier Reef on the brink as politicians bicker

Environment minister Tony Burke says the government has done its best to stop downgrading of UN heritage status

Cod comeback as North Sea stocks start to recover

Call it a cod comeback, or at least the beginnings of one. The fish has been so over-exploited that eco-conscious consumers avoid it, but North Sea stocks are now rising.

Assessing Barbuda’s Ecosystems – What’s under the water?

Before making changes to ocean management, it helps to know something about the status of living creatures and ecosystems you’re trying to use sustainably.

Rapid Adaptation Is Purple Sea Urchins' Weapon Against Ocean Acidification

June 12, 2013 — In the race against climate change and ocean acidification, some sea urchins may still have a few tricks up their spiny sleeves, suggesting that adaptation will likely play a large role for the sea creatures as the carbon content of the ocean increases.

Good for Business and Good for the Ocean

On June 8, people from around the world take a moment to celebrate the beauty and bounty of the oceans on World Oceans Day. It tends to be a day crowded with announcements from every ocean advocacy organization, which is both exciting and a bit dizzying – it’s easy for important individual mess ...

Ocean acidification pushing young oysters into 'death race'

Scientists have long known that ocean acidification is leading to a decline in Pacific oyster (Crassostrea gigas) in the U.S.'s Pacific Northwest region, but a new study in the American Geophysical Union shows exactly how the change is undercutting populations of these economically-important mol ...

Poisonous jellyfish on the rise in the Mediterranean

Scientists across the Mediterranean say a surge in the number of jellyfish this year threatens not just the biodiversity of one of the world's most overfished seas but also the health of tens of thousands of summer tourists.

Zanzibar’s Encroaching Ocean Means Less Water

ZANZIBAR, Tanzania, Jun 12 2013 (IPS) - Khadija Komboani’s nearest well is filled with salt water thanks to the rising sea around Tanzania’s Indian Ocean island of Zanzibar.

Sea of miracles: industrial uses for ocean biodiversity

The seafloor is our planet’s most biodiverse realm. It is in the sea that life on earth began over 3.5 billion years ago. It is in the sea where 34 of the 36 known phyla of animals remain to this day, 15 of which are exclusive to the world’s oceans. And it is in the sea where myriad opportunitie ...

The Future of the Pacific Ocean Hangs in the Balance

SYDNEY, Jun 8 2013 (IPS) - The immense scale of the Pacific Ocean, at 165 million square kilometres, inspires awe and fascination, but for those who inhabit the 22 Pacific island countries and territories, it is the very source of life. Without it, livelihoods and economies would collapse, hunge ...

UNEP/CBD/RW/EBSA/ETTP/1/4

Report of the Eastern Tropical and Temperate Pacific Regional Workshop to Facilitate the Description of Ecologically or Biologically Significant Marine Areas

Pacific Ocean's survival at tipping point

SYDNEY - The immense scale of the Pacific Ocean at 165 million square kilometers inspires awe and fascination, but for those who inhabit the 22 Pacific island countries and territories, it is the very source of life.

Coral Fights Back Gradually From Ocean Heating

LONDON – Marine biologists’ worst fears seem to be confirmed: coral colonies take a long time to recover from catastrophic climate events.

New study identifies the world’s most dangerous oceans

According to a newly published study carried out by scientists from Southampton Solent University for the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), the planet’s most perilous oceans with the most accidents between 1999 and 2011 are the South China Seas and East Indies, the East Mediterranean and Black Sea, and ...

Sustaining Our Oceans for Future Economic Growth

The oceans are some of the world’s most vital and productive natural resources, impacting our food supply, climate, biodiversity and global economy.

Message of the CBD Executive Secretary, Braulio Ferreira de Souza Dias, on the occasion of the World Oceans Day, 8 June 2013

Message of the CBD Executive Secretary, Braulio Ferreira de Souza Dias, on the occasion of the World Oceans Day, 8 June 2013

Divers volunteer on coral restoration in Florida Keys

Ken Nedimyer likes to say that he breathes new life into coral reefs. Ken Nedimyer likes to say that he breathes new life into coral reefs.

Jellyfish surge in Mediterranean threatens biodiversity

Scientists across the Mediterranean say a surge in the number of jellyfish this year threatens not just the biodiversity of one of the world’s most overfished seas but also the health of tens of thousands of summer tourists.

The Jewels of the Ocean: Two New Species and a New Genus of Octocorals from the Pacific

The flora and fauna of the American west coast is generally believed to be well explored and studied. However, a new study and a taxonomic assessment of the octocorals from the north eastern Pacific Ocean proves such assumptions wrong, with two new beautiful and colourful species of soft corals ...

The Changing Sea: Squid Will Be Vulnerable to Ocean Acidification

I was in sixth grade, and I needed to do a science-fair project. I was worried about the environment even then — unseasonably warm winter days used to send me into paroxysms of anxiety — and given that the year was 1990, the environmental issue to be worried about was acid rain.

Fishing nets damaging corals

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN: The Ministry of Industry and Primary Resources (MIPR) is currently working to establish a Marine Protected Area to further conserve and safeguard the coral reefs and marine life in the Sultanate. The project is expected to be launched this year, Borneo Bulletin reported.

Starfish threatens famed Philippine coral reefs

A coral-killing starfish has begun infesting a channel of water in the Philippines famed for having some of the most diverse marine life in the world, the government said Friday.

Reefs of worth

HIDDEN from view beneath the waves, coral reefs and their benefits to man are often ignored. Yet, they are highly productive ecosystems that provide numerous services, including fisheries, recreation, tourism and coastal protection.

Marine forecasting on the horizon for Indian Ocean Rim.

Nearly all of the member countries of the Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Cooperation (IOR-ARC) will attend the week-long workshop to further cooperation and understanding on international ocean forecasting capabilities and needs in the Indian Ocean.

World's largest undersea methane seep harbors variety of life

WASHINGTON, May 22 (UPI) -- U.S. researchers say they've discovered what may be the world's largest methane seep on the ocean floor, where life thrives under extreme conditions.

Abundance and Distribution of Hawaiian Coral Species Predicted by Model

May 21, 2013 — Researchers from the University of Hawaii -- Manoa (UHM) School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology (SOEST) developed species distribution models of the six dominant Hawaiian coral species around the main Hawaiian Islands including two species currently under consideration a ...

Coral reef spread 'ruled' by volcanoes

The Earth's ever-shifting geology is affecting the diversity of coral reefs across the Indian and Pacific oceans, a new study shows.

Many species of waterbirds thrive along the Seberang Prai and Kedah coastlines

SPOTTING a spoon-billed sandpiper was not on the agenda, but it happened. The first sighting in nine years in Penang, one might argue that only someone as bird-crazy as David Bakewell, an environmental consultant and avid birdwatcher, could have spotted it.

Blue whales making comeback in New Zealand waters

WELLINGTON, New Zealand, May 20 (UPI) -- Blue whales, the world's largest animal almost hunted to extinction in the 19th Century, are making a comeback in waters off New Zealand, scientists say.

Gender-bending fish share their secrets

When David Booth spotted his first seadragon he thought the colourful 40 centimetre-long fish looked like an intergalactic hybrid: half alien, half animated seaweed. "They are amazing things," the marine ecologist says.

Industrialized fishing has forced seabirds to change what they eat

The bleached bones of seabirds are telling us a new story about the far-reaching impacts of industrial fisheries on today's oceans.

First grey whale spotted south of the equator

Namibia sighting suggests much-hunted whales are regaining ancient migratory routes, or may be down to climate disruption

Great Barrier Reef is at risk even if it doesn't make Unesco's danger list

UN World Heritage Committee to rule on whether fossil fuel industry threatens Australia's reef, but its coral is already in peril

Scientists discover that marine animals disperse seagrass

Lesser known than coral reefs, marine seagrass ecosystems are rich in biodiversity and are powerhouses when it comes to sequestering carbon dioxide.

Deep Sea DNA Discovered From Fossils Of Ancient Single-Celled Creatures.

In the middle of the South Atlantic, there's a patch of sea almost devoid of life. There are no birds, few fish, not even much plankton. But researchers report that they've found buried treasure under the empty waters: ancient DNA hidden in the muck of the sea floor, which lies 5000 meters below ...

Expedition finds biodiversity around undersea mountain

Rio de Janeiro: A group of scientists aboard a submarine capable of diving to depths of 6,500 meters discovered an "oasis" of biodiversity around the South Atlantic's largest undersea mountain, located off the coast of Brazil.

Overfishing threatens quarter of key grouper species

A quarter of grouper fish species face extinction or are near threatened because of overfishing and poor management of coral reef fisheries, and a further 30 per cent are so understudied there is not enough data to assess how threatened they are, according to a study.

Developing a clearer understanding of ocean ecosystems

The EU-funded HERMIONE project ('Hotspot Ecosystem Research and Man's Impact on European Seas') has contributed much needed data on the complexity of deep-sea ecosystems.

In Pursuit of an Underwater Menagerie

After a long, cold swim in the dark, we spotted it on the night reef with our dive lights: Octopus ornatus, the ornate octopus, a foot-long creature in an amber shade of orange with bright white spots and dashes along all its arms.

Developing a clearer understanding of ocean ecosystems

The EU-funded HERMIONE project ('Hotspot Ecosystem Research and Man's Impact on European Seas') has contributed much needed data on the complexity of deep-sea ecosystems.

Boom in Jellyfish: Overfishing Called Into Question

May 3, 2013 — Will we soon be forced to eat jellyfish? Since the beginning of the 2000s, these gelatinous creatures have invaded many of the world's seas, like the Japan Sea, the Black Sea, the Mediterranean Sea, etc.

Lasting progress in conservation depends on cross-sector synergies

For a community dependent on natural resources to flourish it must promote both the immediate goals of better health and economic conditions and the long-term goals of environmental conservation. Bringing about sustainable development can be a fine balancing act. Focusing too much on any single ...

Huge toxic algae bloom expected for Lake Erie

Scientists are warning that conditions are perfect for a bumper crop of algae to grow in Lake Erie this summer.They say heavy April showers are washing fertilizer off farm fields into the water in larger amounts, and those chemicals feed algae blooms that starve the lake of oxygen.