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Colorful new corals bedeck the busy waters off Hong Kong, study shows

In the eastern waters off Hong Kong, a group of scientists searching for coral-eating nudibranchs stumbled upon a colorful surprise: three new species of sun corals. These orange, purple and green corals belong to the genus Tubastraea, bringing the known members of this coral group from seven sp ...

Shedding new light on coral's Black Band Disease

UNC-Chapel Hill biologists examine the links between microbial mats and a type of coral disease that has become an urgent conservation concern, and they suggest mitigation strategies to help reduce its spread.

Two whale rescues in one day prompt fresh call for removal of shark nets in Queensland

Two whales that became entangled in shark nets on the Queensland coast have been freed after being stuck for several hours.

Sharks: Facts about the ocean's apex predators

Long portrayed in pop culture as remorseless people-killers, sharks in reality are no Hollywood monsters. Sharks are a diverse group of mostly predatory fish, including the largest living fish, with skeletons made of cartilage.

‘White gold’: why shrimp aquaculture is a solution that caused a huge problem

In the 1980s, farmers in Bangladesh went from paddies to ponds, letting salt water flood their land. Now millions are left counting the cost

Scientific knowledge essential for sustainable oceans, UN Ocean Conference hears

The Conference’s fourth day, focused on the role of the scientific community, to enable the blue transformation of humankind’s relationship with the ocean.

How bottom trawling hurts ocean life and speeds up climate change

When Bryce Stewart dived after the toothed, steel-weighted nets of a scallop dredger rumbling over the bottom of the Irish Sea 22 years ago, he witnessed destruction he could never have seen from a boat.

A year before deep-sea mining could begin, calls for a moratorium build

At the U.N. Ocean Conference taking place this week in Lisbon, momentum has been building in support of a moratorium on deep-sea mining, an activity projected to have far-reaching consequences for marine ecosystems, biodiversity, and global fisheries.

United Nations “Ocean emergency” conference opens in Lisbon

With climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution exacting a devastating toll on the world’s ocean — critical to food security, economic growth, and the environment — the 2022 UN Ocean Conference opened in Lisbon, Portugal with a call for a new chapter of ocean action driven by science, techn ...

Nuclear applications could help in controlling plastic pollution: IAEA at UN Ocean Conference

Highlighting the IAEA’s initiative, Nuclear Technology for Controlling Plastic Pollution (NUTEC Plastics), launched last year, Mr Grossi emphasized that nuclear applications could help both in the ocean and on land.

Portuguese PM calls on UN Oceans conference to produce ‘drastic actions’

The UN Oceans Conference, which is set to run until Friday in Lisbon, should define “drastic actions” to address the ocean emergency, Prime Minister António Costa tweeted on Tuesday after meeting with UN Secretary-General António Guterres in Lisbon.

How the Fashion Industry Is Tackling Three Major Impacts on Our Ocean - Bringing Hope for the Decade of the Ocean

The old adage ‘There’s plenty more fish in the sea’ has been replaced with the inconceivable ‘By 2050 plastics in the ocean will outweigh fish’ (according to a report from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation in partnership with The World Economic Forum).

Global Experts and Practitioners Unite to Improve Ocean Health by Tackling Systemic Challenges in Marine Management

Global experts from the United Nations Environment Programme, The Nature Conservancy, governments, research agencies, and the private sector are coming together to share best practices in improving marine management based on lessons learned around the world.

Oceans Great Dying 2.0: Earth’s climate moderator is warming, faster

Oceans are heating up as they cross their natural capacity to sink carbon and atmospheric heat induced by GHGs emissions. It will further disrupts life above the oceans

Why the UN Ocean Conference is a key step on the road to recovering ocean health

A healthy ocean is critical to all life on Earth, and the UN Ocean Conference is a step in this direction. However, the ocean’s health is declining – from overfishing to acidification.

UN chief calls for more efforts to conserve world’s oceans

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres wants countries to step up their efforts to conserve the world’s marine resources even as he acknowledged the progress made since the last UN Ocean Conference.

UN members 'need to urgently scale up actions' to protect the ocean: Vivian Balakrishnan

Members of the United Nations (UN) "need to urgently scale up actions" to protect the ocean and mitigate the impacts of climate change, Minister for Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan said at the Second United Nations Ocean Conference in Lisbon on Tuesday

Trade in ocean goods shows resilience, UNCTAD data reveals

Trade in ocean-based goods showed remarkable resilience during the recession induced by COVID-19 in 2020, according to the latest available data from a new UNCTAD database. Such goods include resources either sourced from the ocean, made from marine resources or manufactured for marine activities.

UN Ocean Conference: Colombia first nation to achieve 30x30 goal

The United Nations Ocean Conference is currently underway in Portugal’s Lisbon. Ending on 1 July, the conference is attended by heads of state from 20 countries. In the opening speech of the event on 27 June, UN secretary general António Guterres has declared an “ocean emergency” and urged gover ...

More than 150 companies take principled stand at UN Ocean Conference

At the Sustainable Blue Economy Investment Forum in Cascais, Portugal, a special UN Ocean Conference event, more than 150 major companies have signaled their commitment to a healthy ocean by signing onto the UN Global Compact Sustainable Ocean Principles.

For fisheries in the Caribbean, life revolves around the climate… and our climate resilience

“Life revolves around the climate,” says José Luis “Pepe” Gerhartz, a senior conservation specialist from the Caribbean Biological Corridor Initiative, or CBC, a joint initiative between Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Haiti and Puerto Rico.

The three global agreements that could change the future of the oceans

The oceans cover about 70% of the planet’s surface and are the main regulators of global climate. They produce much of the oxygen we breathe and support enormous biodiversity, far richer than what we see on land. But they don’t always get the recognition they deserve.

Life in the abyss, a spectacular and fragile struggle for survival

Cloaked in darkness and mystery, the creatures of the deep oceans exist in a world of unlikely profusion, surviving on scant food and under pressure that would crush human lungs.

Information webinar on the outcomes of the online discussion forum on conservation and sustainable use of marine and coastal biodiversity in preparation for the fifteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties, 20 June 2022

Reference: SCBD/SSSF/JL/SK/JA/JG/90395 (2022-039)
To: CBD National Focal Points; Marine and Coastal Biodiversity Focal Points; SBSTTA Focal Points; indigenous peoples and local communities; and relevant organizations

The ocean is not a quiet place

For a long time, the great ocean explorers used sight to reveal the secrets of the marine environment, downplaying its acoustic aspects. Indeed, the ocean has long been considered a place devoid of any sound.

Seals use whiskers to track prey in deep ocean, study shows

When they are in the deep, dark ocean, seals use their whiskers to track down their prey, a study has confirmed after observing the sea mammals in their natural habitat.

What does a healthy coral reef sound like?

When a team of scientists listened to an audio clip recorded underwater off islands in central Indonesia, they heard unusual sounds - something which sounded like a crackling campfire.

World Oceans Day

8 June 2022, New York, United States of America

Amazon River freshwater fish show signs of overexploitation

As the cherished rainforest in South America's Amazon River region continues to shrink, the river itself now presents evidence of other dangers: the overexploitation of freshwater fish.

Worms in the seas of southern Africa: We're on a journey to setting the record straight

Polychaetes are segmented worms that live in nearly all marine habitats, from the shallow seashore or estuaries to the deep sea. They are very abundant, often making up as much as 70% of the animals found in an area. Not only are there many of them, but they are very important in contributing to ...

Online discussion forum on conservation and sustainable use of marine and coastal biodiversity in preparation for the fifteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties

8 - 15 June 2022, Online

Statement by Elizabeth Maruma Mrema, Executive Secretary, Convention on Biological Diversity, on the occasion of World Oceans Day 2022

Statement by Elizabeth Maruma Mrema, Executive Secretary, Convention on Biological Diversity, on the occasion of World Oceans Day 2022

Postponement of the online discussion forum on conservation and sustainable use of marine and coastal biodiversity in preparation for the fifteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties. New dates: 8-15 June 2022

Reference: SCBD/SSSF/JL/JA/JMQ/90315 (2022-036)
To: CBD National Focal Points; Marine and Coastal Biodiversity Focal Points; SBSTTA Focal Points; indigenous peoples and local communities; and relevant organizations

Selected participants for the Online Discussion Forum on conservation and sustainable use of marine and coastal biodiversity in preparation for the fifteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties

Reference: SCBD/SSSF/JL/JA/JMQ/90315 (2022-037)
To: CBD National Focal Points; Marine and Coastal Biodiversity Focal Points; SBSTTA Focal Points; indigenous peoples and local communities; and relevant organizations

Marine biologists scramble to stop a deadly epidemic decimating coral reefs

Coral reefs around the world are in growing danger due to rising temperatures connected with climate change. But in Florida and the Caribbean, marine biologists are racing to fight a new deadly threat. Science correspondent Miles O'Brien reports.

The last hunt? Future in peril for ‘the unicorn of the sea’

Age Hammeken Danielsen has hunted narwhals since he was a child. He and his father would travel along Greenland’s fjords on a small motorboat, armed with rifles and harpoons and dressed in polar-bear fur trousers and sealskin boots to insulate them against the freezing weather.

Why sharks matter’: Q&A with author and shark biologist David Shiffman

In the introduction to his new book, conservation biologist David Shiffman quotes Senegalese forestry engineer and conservationist Baba Dioum: “In the end we will conserve only what we love; we will love only what we understand; and we will understand only what we are taught,” Dioum says.

Those in peril in the sea

Human beings have been altering habitats—sometimes deliberately and sometimes accidentally—at least since the end of the last Ice Age. Now, though, that change is happening on a grand scale.

Record low wild salmon catch in Scotland alarms ecologists

Salmon anglers have called for urgent action to protect Scotland’s wild salmon after the lowest number on record were caught last year.

‘Sea forest’ would be better name than seaweed, says UN food adviser

Seaweed could help feed the world and reduce the impact of the climate emergency, a UN adviser on food has suggested.

The history of Lake Cahuilla before the Salton Sea

Today, the Salton Sea is an eerie place. Its mirror-like surface belies the toxic stew within. Fish skeletons line its shores and the ruins of a once thriving vacation playground is a reminder of better days.

One of UK’s rarest corals set to expand its range as climate change warms seas

It is one of Britain’s rarest and most threatened species, primarily due to bottom-trawling fishing, but researchers have found that the pink sea fan coral could expand its range in the climate crisis.

5 things you should know about the UN Ocean Conference, a chance to save the planet’s largest ecosystem

The Ocean is the planet’s largest ecosystem, regulating the climate, and providing livelihoods for billions. But its health is in danger. The second UN Ocean Conference, due to take place in June, will be an important opportunity to redress the damage that mankind continues to inflict on marine ...

Coral reefs' sound signatures could be used to assess their health

In an effort to keep the world's coral reefs from disappearing forever, a number of reef restoration projects are currently underway … but how can scientists tell if any one of those projects is working? The answer may lie in listening to the reefs.

Humpback whale freed from illegal fishing net off Spain dies a week later

A 14-metre long humpback whale freed from entanglement in an illegal drift fishing net off the island of Mallorca has died on another Spanish beach more than 300 kilometres away.

Killer whale that swam up France's River Seine in 'life-threatening condition'

A killer whale - orca - that strayed from the ocean and began swimming up the River Seine in France earlier this month is now at risk of dying, a researcher monitoring the mammal told local media.

In Sierra Leone, local fishers and foreign trawlers battle for their catch

Sierra Leone — As dawn breaks, the fishing wharf at Tamba Kula in Freetown buzzes with the movement of early-morning commerce. Fishers just back from days spent far out at sea unload their catch from wooden boats, hauling snapper, barracuda and other fish out of icy compartments into cartons car ...

Sugar Found In Ocean Bed Equivalent to "32 Billion Cans Of Coke": Study

Scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology have found mountains of sugar beneath seagrass meadows across the world's oceans. Seagrass meadows are extremely efficient at capturing carbon, and are one of the world's top carbon capturing ecosystems.

Click, clack and pop: sounds indicate health of coral reefs, study finds

The popping sound, like milk hitting puffed rice cereal, that you hear when putting your head underwater is not your ear adjusting to a different atmosphere – it is the sound of the submarine world.