topic: Marine Animals

topic: Marine Animals

Social media activity version | Lean version

The lab-in-a-backpack busting illegal shark fins: Interview with Diego Cardeñosa
- Diego Cardeñosa chose lab-based DNA research over fieldwork during his Ph.D. on sharks, betting it could deliver greater conservation impact despite being less glamorous.
- He developed a portable, rapid DNA test — like the kits used during the COVID-19 pandemic — that allows inspectors to identify shark species from fins on the spot, solving a key bottleneck that let illegal shipments slip through.
- The tool has evolved from identifying a handful of protected species to distinguishing among more than 80 sharks and rays in a single test.
- Now deployed across multiple countries, the relatively low-cost kit is expanding through grant support, with plans to adapt the technology to other trafficked wildlife beyond sharks.

A rare right whale spotted off Ireland resurfaces near Boston
In a rare sighting, a critically endangered North Atlantic right whale, first photographed in 2024 off the coast of Ireland, was recently reidentified near Boston, U.S., on Nov. 19. This is the first time a North Atlantic right whale (Eubalaena glacialis) was initially documented in Irish waters; before that, it was unknown to scientists. The […]
Elephant seals can recognize the voices of their rivals
Elephant seals spend most of their lives at sea, returning to shore just twice every year to molt and breed. The breeding season typically includes males weighing thousands of kilograms violently clashing with each other to compete for females. New research finds the hefty mammals remember the voices of rivals they’ve met before and retreat […]
Global manta and devil ray deaths far exceed earlier estimates: Study
- A new global assessment estimates more than 259,000 manta and devil rays (genus Mobula) die in fisheries each year, far exceeding previous figures, with researchers warning that the true toll is likely higher due to major data gaps.
- Small-scale fisheries account for 87% of global mortality, with India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Myanmar and Peru responsible for most mobulid deaths .
- The study documents steep, long-term declines, including in Mozambique, the Philippines and the eastern Pacific Ocean. Yet many losses came to light only recently due to late adoption of monitoring and weak reporting.
- Researchers say the recent uplisting of all mobulid species to CITES Appendix I, which bans international commercial trade, is a key step, but note that national-level protections, improved data reporting, gear reforms, and better spatial management are needed to reduce mortality.

Unregulated tourism risks disrupting Timor-Leste’s whale migration
- 2025 has been a big whale tourism season in Timor-Leste; operators were fully booked during the peak season of September to December.
- But increasingly aggressive practices fueled by competition between tour operators could mean “another Sri Lanka,” where whales already stressed by climate-induced food scarcity are disappearing from the area.
- East Timorese are mostly excluded from the sector, which is controlled by expats and foreign tour operators raking in thousands from “bucket listers” and social media “influencers.”
- Whale tourism in Timor-Leste needs regulation, enforcement and legal compliance to ensure sustainable, inclusive growth, experts say.

The last of the Vaquita Porpoise (cartoon)
With an estimated less than 10 individuals alive, the vaquita porpoise of the Gulf of California is on the brink of extinction. Entanglement in gill nets used for fishing totoaba fish in the Sea of Cortez has been the prime threat to vaquitas, and while bans are already in place, the lack of enforcement leaves […]
‘Myopic’ fisheries managers toy with a new ‘tragedy of the commons’ (commentary)
- There are many examples of “tragedies of the commons,” whether in the atmosphere as a result of carbon dioxide pollution, or in the oceans because of marine plastics. But arguably the largest in the world is caused by overfishing, a new op-ed argues.
- The general absence of effective fisheries regulations that ensure the conservation of healthy fish populations endangers whole oceans and the billions of people who depend upon fish for their livelihoods.
- “Currently, fisheries ministers are myopically obsessed with the pain the industry always claims it would suffer next year if the right conservation policies were adopted. They should look instead at how long we have been getting it wrong, and how quickly things could be turned round,” a new op-ed argues.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.

South Africa withdraws abalone listing even as illegal trade threatens species
- Ahead of the recent CITES summit to hash out wildlife trade regulations, South Africa was expected to table a proposal that would have tightened the legal trade in South African abalone, a shellfish in high demand in East Asia.
- The proposal was aimed at protecting an endangered species that’s been severely depleted by a massive illegal trade driven largely by organized crime.
- However, the South African delegation withdrew the proposal at the last minute, amid ongoing tensions in the country between conservationists, abalone farmers and coastal communities dependent on income from the illegal trade.
- A recent report by wildlife trade NGO TRAFFIC calls for coordinated international action to curb the illegal trade, including a CITES listing.

A rare bright spot for whales: Decades of conservation pay off for endangered population in Canada
- Northern bottlenose whale populations have struggled to rebound, even though commercial whaling was outlawed in their habitats more than 50 years ago.
- Long-term monitoring shows that one population of the species has begun to recover since their year-round habitat, a submarine canyon off Canada’s east coast known as the Gully, became a Marine Protected Area in 2004.
- The Gully MPA provides a rare marine conservation success story, but protection for marine mammals that migrate is more complex.

Countries back strong new trade limits for sharks and rays at CITES summit
Delegates at a global summit to update international wildlife trade rules have agreed on sweeping new protections for more than 70 shark and ray species. The move marks a significant step toward effectively tightening the legal trade in some of the world’s most threatened marine life. The meeting in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, running through this week, […]
45 more shark species up for CITES protections; tight vote expected
- Twenty-nine houndsharks and 16 gulper sharks are up for listing on CITES Appendix II at the wildlife trade regulator’s summit in Uzbekistan this week.
- Conservationists expect the vote to be close, with critics saying “lookalike” species shouldn’t face trade restrictions. Proponents argue it’s necessary given the lack of knowledge among customs officials.
- Houndsharks are widely consumed for their meat in Europe and Australia, while gulpers are hunted for their liver oil.

Chronic diseases prevalent across animals, but understudied: Study
From obesity in cats and dogs and osteoarthritis in pigs, to cancer in whales and high blood glucose in racoons, chronic diseases are increasingly becoming a concern across the animal world, a recent study finds. Most of these ailments can be traced back to human-driven changes, the author says. Antonia Mataragka, the study’s author from […]
Abrolhos: A South Atlantic marine treasure in need of protection
- Located off the coast of the Brazilian states of Bahia and Espírito Santo, the vast Abrolhos Seascape is home to some of the South Atlantic Ocean’s richest marine biodiversity. Here, more than 500 species inhabit coral reefs, mangrove forests and islands. Brazil’s largest humpback whale breeding ground also occurs within the seascape.
- Yet little legislation has been created to protect this region, leaving it at risk of predatory fishing and deep-sea mining: Less than 2% of the South Atlantic’s largest coral reef, which occupies 46,000 square kilometers within the wider Abrolhos Seascape, is fully protected.
- A recent study identified critical areas and vulnerable ecosystems within Abrolhos Seascape that the authors say need urgent conservation action; these include rhodolith beds — clusters of limestone rock that are crucial for climate security and marine species reproduction.

‘Forever chemical’ contamination could undermine sea otters’ fragile recovery in Canada
- Sea otters living along the coastline of Canada’s British Columbia province are exposed — and absorb — forever chemicals, a new study shows.
- Each of the 11 sea otters tested carried residues PFAS chemicals, with concentrations higher for those living near dense human populations or shipping lanes.
- The Canadian government released an assessment earlier this year recommending that PFAS be classed as toxic and is moving toward adopting tighter rules for these chemicals. Environmentalists support the initiative.

For sharks on the brink of extinction, CITES Appendix II isn’t protective enough (commentary)
- Listing shark species under CITES Appendix II, which allows for well-monitored sustainable trade, has helped to save some sharks from extinction. But some species are so threatened that they need to be listed on Appendix I, which bans all trade.
- New research has revealed that many fins belonging to sharks protected by Appendix II are still being sold in large numbers in Hong Kong, one of the biggest markets, supporting the need for action on Appendix I listings for some species at the CITES COP20 meeting that commences next week in the Uzbek city of Samarkand.
- “Governments meeting at COP20 in Uzbekistan should follow the science, support these proposals, and help save these sharks and rays from the brink of extinction. It’s the only way to give these species a fighting chance at survival,” a new op-ed argues.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.

Wolf hauls up crab trap to eat bait, hinting at possible tool use
Researchers in Canada have documented a wild gray wolf hauling a crab trap out of the water to eat the bait inside, according to a recent study. Researchers suggest it may be the first recorded example of possible tool use by a wolf (Canis lupus). The finding emerged from a program maintained by Indigenous Haíɫzaqv […]
Lethal dose of plastic for seabirds and marine animals ‘much smaller than expected’
- A new study looking at the impacts of plastic ingestion by seabirds, sea turtles and marine mammals found that relatively small amounts of consumed plastic can be deadly.
- The research analyzed the necropsy results for more than 10,000 animals and quantified the amount of plastic that could prove deadly as well as the types of plastic with the biggest impact, which included synthetic rubber, soft plastics (such as plastic bags and wrappers) and discarded plastic fishing gear.
- Overall, one in five of the deceased animals had consumed plastic (affecting 50% of all studied sea turtles, 35% of seabirds and 12% of marine mammals); nearly half of the species studied were considered threatened or near threatened on the IUCN Red List.
- The researchers didn’t consider other health impacts of plastic, such as chemical exposure and entanglement, which led the lead author to conclude the study likely underestimates the “existential threat that plastic pollution poses to ocean wildlife.”

Offshore fossil fuel exploration jeopardizes Brazil’s climate leadership, study says
- Ahead of the COP30 U.N. climate summit in Brazil, a report by environment-monitoring organization SkyTruth mapped the environmental impact of the advance of offshore exploration for fossil fuels in Brazil, criticizing the country’s unfulfilled energy transition promises.
- The study detected 179 probable oil slicks in Brazilian waters since 2017, as the oil and gas sectors boomed. Analyses showed that traffic from fossil-industry vessels grew by 81% between 2012 and 2023, while methane burning skyrocketed — releasing into the atmosphere the equivalent emissions of 6.9 million cars annually.
- According to the investigation, Brazil still embraces environmentally controversial initiatives, such as oil exploration at the mouth of the Amazon River. This agenda brings risks to rich marine ecosystems and Indigenous and traditional communities, moving the country further away from its climate and conservation goals.

Trade in marine fish for aquariums includes threatened species, lacks oversight: Study
- A new study of major U.S.-based online retailers of marine fish bound for aquariums found that nearly 90% of traded species are sourced exclusively from the wild, including a number of threatened species, and that the trade is poorly tracked.
- The study raises concerns about the ecological impact of the trade on marine ecosystems, including around coral reefs, in countries such as Indonesia and the Philippines, where the fish are caught.
- Experts called for more work to develop sustainable fisheries and aquaculture in coastal communities in the Global South, and for building consumer awareness and establishing eco-certification schemes.

Study maps whale shark stranding hotspots in Indonesia, highlights conservation needs
- A new study has identified whale shark stranding hotspots in Indonesia and linked them to seasonal ocean conditions, offering scientists a clearer picture of when and where risks are highest.
- The researchers found that most strandings involved juveniles and often occurred during upwelling seasons; they highlighted that human pressures such as fishing gear, ship traffic and pollution may further increase the danger.
- The study calls for stronger rescue networks, better community training, and international cooperation to improve survival rates and protect these migratory animals across the region.

Pakistan declares its third marine protected area, but has a long way to go
- In September, Pakistan declared its third marine protected area, around Miani Hor Lagoon on the country’s central coast.
- The biodiversity-rich lagoon hosts a lush mangrove forest, numerous bird species and threatened marine mammals.
- Conservationists welcomed the new marine protected area as a baby step toward meeting the country’s so-called 30×30 commitment to protect 30% of its land and sea by 2030. However, the new addition puts Pakistan’s total protected marine area at just 0.23% of its marine and coastal jurisdiction.
- The scope of protections for the new protected area remains to be determined. Local people expressed concern that restrictions could upend the livelihoods of the local community, which depends on the lagoon and mangroves and already lacks basic necessities.

Sea anemones and hermit crabs form a mutualistic relationship in Japan
Japanese researchers have described a new species of sea anemone that appears to share a mutually beneficial relationship with hermit crabs. The pale pink sea anemones, now named Paracalliactis tsukisome, were found attached to the shells of hermit crabs (Oncopagurus monstrosus). The researchers described the anemone based on 36 specimens that fishing trawlers collected between […]
Expedition charts Cook Islands seafloor, amid scrutiny over mining motives
- Between Oct. 1 and 21, a U.S government-funded vessel, the E/V Nautilus, conducted an expedition in the Cook Islands’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ), following an agreement between the U.S. and the Cook Islands to “advance scientific research and the responsible development of seabed mineral resources.”
- During the 21-day expedition, the E/V Nautilus mapped more than 14,000 square kilometers (5,400 square miles) of the Cook Islands’ seafloor while also documenting deep-sea biodiversity.
- Environmental activists protested the expedition, arguing it would help accelerate deep-sea mining in the Cook Islands. The crew of the E/V Nautilus, however, rejects the accusation.
- The Cook Islands government has issued three deep-sea mining exploration licenses, which will expire in 2027. One company operating in the Cook Islands has said it hopes to apply for an exploitation license in 2027.

Antarctic conservation summit closes with stalemate on MPAs & krill fishing rules
- The annual meeting of the international body responsible for the conservation of Southern Ocean marine ecosystems concluded Friday with no progress on two contentious issues before it: the creation of new marine protected areas and the strengthening of regulations governing the fishery for krill (Euphausia superba), a species on which numerous iconic species of Antarctic wildlife depend.
- This year’s annual meeting of the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) was particularly tense, due to a clash between two occasionally overlapping groups of countries: on one side, those working to establish new marine protected areas (MPAs), and on the other, those more focused on increasing krill fishing.
- CCAMLR has considered proposals to establish three large MPAs annually for years but has failed to pass them under its consensus-based decision-making process. This year was the same, due to vetoes of MPA proposals by Russia and China.
- The combination of a lack of will to reinstate previously agreed regulations governing the krill fishery and a new push to drastically increase the krill harvest suggests a change in direction at CCAMLR toward more permissive fishing.

Chaos on Cambodia’s Coast
Along Cambodia’s rapidly transforming coastline, illegal trawling, elite-backed development, and weak enforcement are driving marine ecosystems and fishing communities to the brink. This 2024 series investigates the institutional breakdown behind the country’s marine crisis, from ineffective patrols in protected areas to billion-dollar land deals displacing small-scale fishers. It examines the competing interests reshaping Cambodia’s coast, […]
Night dives reveal hidden alliances between young fish and larval anemones
- A new study, drawing on nighttime underwater photography, documented previously unknown “symbiotic associations” between juvenile fish and larval anemones, with some fish staying close to the anemones, and others carrying them around.
- The study suggests the fish may gain protection from predators by associating with the toxic anemones, while the anemones could benefit from being transported by the fish to new parts of the ocean.
- An outside expert also proposed that anemones might receive additional benefits, such as nutrients from the fish’s excretions or from food scraps left behind.
- All of the experts emphasized that more research is needed to fully understand the dynamics of these relationships.

Norway’s proposal to double krill harvests raises tension at Antarctic conservation summit
- Norway has proposed almost doubling the catch limit for krill in the Southern Ocean, a proposal that has exacerbated tensions at the annual meeting of the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) in Australia. Conservationists have expressed concern because the continent’s iconic wildlife depend on krill for sustenance.
- The CEO of Aker BioMarine, a Norwegian company that dominates the Southern Ocean krill catch, said it has been working with CCAMLR member countries to advance the proposal as well as create a marine protected area around the Antarctic Peninsula.
- Chinese and Russian delegates have voted for years to veto new marine protected areas in the Southern Ocean.
- Russia came into the spotlight at this year’s meeting following its arrest of Leonid Pshenychnov, a researcher at the Ukrainian Institute of Fisheries, Marine Ecology and Oceanography and a longtime member of the Ukrainian delegation to CCAMLR.

On first International Day of the Deep Seabed, we seek stewardship and consensus (commentary)
- “I could not be more delighted to celebrate this inaugural International Day of the Deep Seabed,” writes the secretary-general of the International Seabed Authority (ISA) in a new op-ed at Mongabay.
- On Nov. 1, 2025, she notes that the world will for the first time mark a day that celebrates the great biodiversity of the planet’s mysterious deep seabed and its potential role in the future of humanity’s progress, while reiterating that consensus-building among member states and nongovernmental actors remains critical to ensure its stewardship.
- “Together, by delivering on our commitments under the Law of the Sea, we can ensure that this last great frontier remains a source of wonder, discovery, opportunity and shared benefit for all humankind,” she argues.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.

In Mauritius, an NGO is tracking the sex life of corals to save them
- Mauritius will soon be home to one of the largest projects in the Western Indian Ocean aimed at restoring corals through sexual propagation.
- The scientific research for the Odysseo coral restoration initiative is led by U.S.-based nonprofit Secore, which has also worked in the Caribbean Sea and reported success in breeding heat-tolerant corals.
- The initiative aligns with a recent policy push by the Mauritian government to promote coral restoration through sexual propagation as opposed to through asexual methods.
- However, this method of coral restoration is in its nascency in this region, and Secore is currently focused on gathering knowledge that will help it choose species to breed, donor sites to collect sperm and egg cells, and transplanting sites for newly grown coral.

Report finds dangerous mercury levels, highlights mislabeling in shark meat sold in EU
- Nearly a third of shark meat samples taken from products sold in Europe contained dangerously high methylmercury levels, with all tope shark and almost a quarter of blue shark samples exceeding EU safety limits, a new study finds.
- Much shark meat is mislabeled under names like rock salmon, huss or veau de mer, leaving consumers unaware they’re eating shark and could be ingesting a potent neurotoxin.
- Methylmercury can’t be cooked out, builds up in human tissue and can cause lasting neurological harm. Meanwhile, shark populations are declining, threatening marine ecosystem stability.
- The study’s authors urge stricter labeling laws, tighter food monitoring and consumer education, arguing that eating apex predators is both ecologically and medically unsustainable.

Two years later, no closure for family of missing Ghanaian fisheries observer
- Samuel Abayateye, a father of two, tasked with monitoring a Ghana-flagged tuna-fishing vessel, was reported missing on Oct. 30, 2023.
- Two years on, his family still hasn’t receive any formal updates from the Ghanaian police or any other agency about what happened to Abayateye.
- The authorities haven’t shared the results of a DNA test on a body found a few weeks after Abayateye went missing, which the family believe was his.
- Mongabay made repeated attempts to contact the police, but didn’t receive a response about the case.

Australia celebrates ‘humpback comeback,’ but a main food source is under threat
News of Australia’s “humpback comeback” is making waves globally. Numbers of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) on the nation’s east coast have rebounded to an estimated 50,000 from a historic low of just a few hundred before commercial whaling was outlawed in the 1970s. And wildlife scientist and whale expert Vanessa Pirotta joins the podcast to […]
Mexico adopts protections for Atlantic sharks
Mexico recently adopted national regulations protecting several threatened shark species in the Atlantic from being caught or retained as bycatch. Shark conservationists welcome the protections but say they are long overdue, coming years after the country’s commitments to a multilateral fishery regulator. Mexican fisheries catch a significant number of various shark species in the Atlantic […]
Arctic seals edge closer to extinction as sea ice vanishes
- Three Arctic seal species have been moved up to higher threat categories on the IUCN Red List, with one now endangered and two now near threatened.
- Global warming is melting away the sea ice they need for breeding, resting and feeding, which has led to widespread breeding failures among ice-dependent seals.
- Loss of sea ice is also opening the region to more human activity, including shipping and oil exploration, bringing added disturbance, noise and pollution.
- The IUCN warns a similar pattern is emerging in the Antarctic. It says urgent global emissions cuts, along with stronger local protections such as reducing bycatch and pollution, are needed to prevent further declines.

Booming sea otters and fading shellfish spark values clash in Alaska
- In Alaska, a state brimming with iconic wildlife — from grizzly bears to king salmon, humpback whales to harbor seals — the charismatic, densely coated sea otter stands out as perhaps the state’s most hotly debated, controversial species.
- Sea otters were nearly hunted into extinction a century ago for their luxurious pelts. But they have been surging in population in the Gulf of Alaska, bringing both benefits to nearshore ecosystems and drawbacks to the shellfish economy (due to the otters’ voracious caloric needs).
- Described by commercial shellfish harvesters and Native Alaskans as pillagers of clams and crabs, sea otters are seen by many marine biologists as having positive impacts on kelp forests — important for biodiversity and carbon storage. Scientists stress that shellfish declines are complex, with sea otters being just one among multiple causes.
- Native Alaskans are the only people given free rein to hunt sea otters. But long-standing federal regulations stipulating who qualifies as Native Alaskan make it illegal for most to manage their own waters. Tribes are fighting for regulatory changes that would enable them to hunt and help balance booming sea otter populations.

Rare dugong calf sighting in Alor spotlights seagrass & marine mammal conservation
- A rare sighting of a dugong calf in Alor, Indonesia, has renewed focus on the health of the region’s seagrass ecosystem and the species’ fragile future.
- Conservationists say the presence of multiple dugongs indicates a thriving habitat, but threats from tourism, habitat loss and limited population data remain pressing concerns.
- Authorities and experts are pushing for stronger monitoring and coordinated conservation strategies under a forthcoming national action plan.

South African sharks threatened by fisheries, weak enforcement
- The only permit holder in South Africa’s demersal shark longline fishery has been reported breaching permit regulations, raising questions about the sustainability of the fishery.
- The fishery targets critically endangered and endangered shark species with no catch limits in place to prevent overfishing.
- Target species are already depleted, according to scientific assessments, while little is known about bycatch of other protected and endangered species.

Mining the deep-sea could further threaten endangered sharks and rays
- A new study indicates that deep-sea mining could threaten at least 30 species of sharks, rays and chimaeras, many of which are already at risk of extinction.
- The authors found that seabed sediment plumes and midwater discharges of wastewater from mining activities could cause a range of impacts on shark, ray and chimaera species, including, but not limited to, disruptions to breeding and foraging, alterations in vertical migration, and exposure to metal contamination.
- The authors recommend precautionary measures, including improved baseline monitoring, the development of protected zones, and discharging wastewater below below 2,000 m (about 6,600 ft).
- With companies planning to begin deep-sea mining in international waters as early as 2027, the authors say more research is urgently needed to understand the full ecological impact of this emerging industry on biodiversity.

Green turtle rebounds, moving from ‘endangered’ to ‘least concern’
The green turtle, found across the world’s oceans, is recovering after decades of decline, according to the latest IUCN Red List assessment. The species has been reclassified from endangered to least concern. “I am delighted,” Brendan Godley, a turtle expert from the University of Exeter, U.K., told Mongabay. “It underlines that marine conservation can work, […]
Indonesia falls short in bid to increase its share of southern bluefin tuna catch
- The Commission for the Conservation of Southern Bluefin Tuna (CCSBT), a multilateral body that manages the stock of southern bluefin tuna, held its annual meeting Oct. 6-9 in Bali, Indonesia.
- Indonesia pushed for a larger share of the global catch, which is currently dominated by Australia and Japan, but CCSBT members instead kept each nation’s share unchanged.
- Members also agreed to once again fully fund a key stock monitoring program, and to set up a future meeting for discussion of seabird protection in the fishery, amid criticism from conservationists that the commission hasn’t done enough to protect seabirds.

Abandoning Antarctic krill management measure threatens conservation progress (commentary)
- Until 2024, spatial limits across four sub-areas of the Antarctic Peninsula region had reduced the risk of concentrated fishing in areas preferred by whales, seals and penguins.
- The Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) had taken an ecosystem-based approach, recognizing that effects of fishing can ripple through ecosystems; but with the recent lapse of its Conservation Measure 51-07, ships can now concentrate their fishing efforts in key wildlife foraging hotspots.
- This October, as delegates gather to discuss CCAMLR priorities, the authors of a new commentary argue that, “At stake is more than a fishing rule, but also the commitment to manage fisheries proactively, rather than reactively.”
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the authors, not necessarily of Mongabay.

First oarfish sighting in Sri Lanka highlights citizen science in marine protection
- Scientists have documented the first-ever record of an oarfish (Regalecus russellii) in Sri Lanka, a 2.6-meter (8.5-foot) specimen caught off the country’s western coast.
- The find expands the known distribution of oarfish into the Indian Ocean, offering a new baseline for studying this rarely seen deep-sea species.
- Meanwhile, another oarfish was recorded in India’s Tamil Nadu this year, while within 20 days, three oarfish have been recorded from Australia and New Zealand, puzzling naturalists.
- The importance of promoting citizen science and raising awareness among fishers is needed.

Will California’s marine mammal conservation success come undone?
- With protection, many of California’s marine mammals — including whales, sea lions and seals — have made remarkable recoveries over the last half-century since bipartisan passage of the U.S. Marine Mammal Protection Act.
- However, climate-linked changes have now pushed the gray whale population into a state of collapse.
- Despite comebacks, marine mammals face a plethora of threats from pathogens, pollutants — including oil and plastic — disappearing food and more.
- In California, people and institutions are fighting for marine mammals and ocean biodiversity, but federal protections could be substantially weakened if proposed amendments to the Act move ahead.

Octopus farming is a dangerous detour for marine conservation (commentary)
- Proponents of octopus farming claim it can reduce fishing pressure on wild octopus populations by supplying the seafood industry, and even suggest that these efforts could contribute to restocking wild populations in the future.
- In reality, they have a poor feed conversion rate, requiring a large amount of wild-caught marine protein to produce a relatively small amount of octopus, which risks exacerbating, rather than easing, pressure on wild fish populations and marine ecosystems that depend on them, the author of a new op-ed argues.
- “Octopus farming is a dead end masquerading as a solution. It does not address the root causes of wild population declines — it compounds them. The global community must resist the temptation to exploit another wild species under the guise of sustainability,” the author writes.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.

Marine life are thriving on Nazi missile debris in the Baltic Sea: Study
As Germany demilitarized after World War II, it dumped massive amounts of its leftover munitions into the Baltic Sea. A recent study has found that some of those submerged weapons, which are still releasing toxic compounds, now host more marine organisms than the sediments around them. In October 2024, researchers used a remotely operated vehicle […]
From South America to Asia, seahorses vanish into trafficking pipeline
- In June 2025, Ecuadorian police seized a package containing almost 3,000 seahorses that were likely destined for Colombia.
- Most seahorses are caught in industrial and artisanal trawl nets as bycatch, but they are then funneled into a lucrative illegal trade.
- Researchers have identified the busiest trafficking routes: Peru to China, Hong Kong and Vietnam.
- Seahorses are in high demand for use in traditional Chinese medicine, and are also sold as trinkets and as exotic additions to aquariums.

Study spotlights West Papua habitat as whale sharks face increased pressures
- A new study shows the Bird’s Head Seascape in West Papua is a crucial nursery for juvenile whale sharks, where most sightings involved young males feeding around fishing platforms.
- Researchers documented 268 individuals over 13 years, with more than half showing injuries tied to human activity, raising concerns about fisheries, tourism and emerging mining pressures.
- Scientists warn that protecting these habitats with stricter rules and better management is essential for the survival and recovery of the endangered species.

Long-lost white shark tag traces remarkable journey from South Africa to SE Asia
- The discovery of a satellite tag from a subadult female white shark in Indonesia marks the first recorded connectivity of white shark movement between South Africa and Southeast Asia.
- The white sharks found in South Africa and Australia belong to different genetic pools, which makes the two populations distinct from one another, even though they share the same migratory route.
- The biggest threats facing white sharks in South Africa and Indonesia are unsustainable fishing, where the sharks become both the bycatch and main catch.
- While there are attempts to support local fishers to pioneer shark conservation instead of hunting them, such efforts are thwarted by lack of funding.

How we probed a maze of websites to tally Brazilian government shark meat orders
- A recent Mongabay investigation found widespread government purchases of shark meat in Brazil to serve in thousands of public institutions.
- The series has generated public debate, with a lawmaker calling for a parliamentary hearing to discuss the findings.
- Here, Mongabay’s Philip Jacobson and the Pulitzer Center’s Kuang Keng Kuek Ser explain how we built a database of shark meat procurements.

‘Super big deal’: High seas treaty reaches enough ratifications to become law
- The agreement on marine biodiversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction, also known as the high seas treaty, was reached in 2023 with much fanfare in marine conservation circles, partly because it sets up a system for establishing marine protected areas (MPAs) in international waters.
- On Sept. 19, Morocco became the 60th country to ratify the deal, which means it will become binding international law in January 2026.
- Experts and advocates celebrated the milestone, calling it a win for conservation and international cooperation.
- Uncertainty remains in how the treaty will interact with other regulatory regimes for fishing and mining, among other activities.

Mongabay shark investigation cited in motion to ban Brazil fin exports
Brazil’s top environment council cited a recent Mongabay investigation as it weighed a ban on shark fin exports and the use of wire leaders, a type of industrial fishing gear, within marine protected areas, Mongabay staff writer Karla Mendes reported. Brazil’s National Environmental Council, known as CONAMA, voted in favor of recommending a ban for […]
Iberian orcas sink sailboat in latest ramming ‘game’ in Portugal
Five people were rescued after a pod of critically endangered Iberian orcas rammed into a sailboat several times, causing it to sink off Portugal’s Costa do Caparica, near the nation’s capital, Lisbon, on Sept. 13. None of the people on board suffered any injuries, according to the Portuguese maritime authority. The boat, owned by yacht […]
São Tomé and Príncipe commits to creating a marine protected area network
- São Tomé and Príncipe will establish eight marine protected areas (MPAs) covering 93 square kilometers (36 square miles) of coastal habitats in the Gulf of Guinea.
- The island nation aims to protect its marine environment while improving the lives of fishing communities, who rely heavily on fish for protein.
- Current challenges include the decline of pelagic fish stocks and loss of biodiversity due to indiscriminate fishing practices and climate change.
- The law designating the MPAs is expected to be enacted in September.

Pet sharks have become cool, but is owning them ethical?
- Owning a shark and keeping it in a home aquarium has become cool — and it’s no longer just the province of tech bros and celebrities.
- But experts note that most home aquariums are inadequate and can lead to stunted growth, deformities and early death.
- Yet sharks are often easy to buy, with some selling for as little as $90 online; zebra sharks (Stegostoma tigrinum), which are endangered, go for around $6,000.

Oysters could help fight climate change, study finds
New research from China suggests that oysters can be good at removing carbon dioxide from oceans, making the bivalves both an important food source and a potential tool in the fight against climate change and ocean acidification. Scientists have long debated whether oysters are a net source or sink of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the […]
Brazil weighs new measures to manage shark trade, fishing
- The Brazilian government is reviewing its legal framework for the trade in sharks, including fin exports and management of the fishery for blue sharks (Prionace glauca), the only species allowed to be caught in the country.
- At a Sept. 3 meeting, the National Environmental Council (CONAMA), a government advisory body, recommended the government ban shark fin exports and restrict the use of shark-fishing gear known as wire leaders.
- At the same meeting, the Ministry of Environment announced the suspension of an ordinance regulating blue shark fishing, including quotas, due to “increased pressure” on endangered species and flaws in monitoring and enforcement.
- The moves follow a recent Mongabay investigation revealing that government agencies sought to procure thousands of tons of shark meat for meals at public institutions including schools, hospitals and prisons. The exposé was cited at the Sept. 3 CONAMA meeting as well as in a class-action civil suit filed by conservation NGO Sea Shepherd Brasil seeking to ban federal public institutions from issuing tenders for shark meat.

An indestructible invasive anemone threatens Chilean Patagonia’s seas
- Native to the northern hemisphere, plumose anemones have spread across Chilean Patagonia.
- Scientists estimate that it was likely introduced in the late 20th century via ship ballast water.
- The exotic species occupies the seabed and displaces native communities of shellfish, mollusks and corals.
- The anemone’s presence is associated with a decline in biodiversity, and artisanal fishers are concerned.

Researchers describe three new-to-science snailfish species off California coast
In 2019, researchers surveying the seafloor off the coast of California came upon three unusual species of small fishes with large heads: one with bumpy pink skin, and the other two both black in color. The team collected the fish using underwater research vehicles and later analyzed their DNA and bodies. Their analysis showed that […]
Post-Blob, California’s kelp crisis isn’t going away
- Kelp forests function as major habitat for marine biodiversity, but are in rapid decline worldwide, largely because of climate impacts on the oceans.
- A 2013 marine heat wave known as “the Blob,” combined with the mass die-off of sea stars, caused a 95% loss of Northern California’s kelp forests.
- The loss of sea stars allowed the purple urchins that they thrive on to spread rapidly, converting lush kelp forests into “urchin barrens” in parts of California. There’s been very little recovery since.
- Restoration of kelp forests is extremely difficult and requires far more resources than are currently being committed.

‘It doesn’t make sense’: Marine biologist on Kenya’s proposed nuclear power plant
- Kenya is considering building a nuclear power plant in Uyombo, a coastal town in Kilifi county. It would be near Mida Creek mangroves, Arabuko Sokoke Forest Reserve and Watamu National Marine Park and Reserve, all recognized for their high biodiversity, including endemic species and coral reefs.
- The plant’s cooling system could raise water temperatures in the area. This could harm marine life, potentially causing further coral bleaching and disrupting plankton and other critical species, which would, in the long run, affect the entire food chain.
- Residents and environmentalists, including marine biologist Peter Musila, have criticized the project and the government for poor communication, lack of public consultation and insufficient information on nuclear waste management.
- Musila argues Kenya does not need nuclear energy given the country’s renewable energy potential, and such a project raises concerns about potential accidents and long-term impacts on ecosystems and local livelihoods.

Why the BBNJ treaty on marine biodiversity matters more in the Mediterranean (commentary)
- The Mediterranean Sea covers less than 1% of the world’s ocean surface, yet hosts more than 18% of its known marine species, while being beset by unresolved maritime boundaries plus growing pressure from climate change, overfishing and pollution.
- That’s why this marine ecology hotspot needs the new U.N. treaty on oceanic biodiversity (BBNJ), as it offers a unique chance for Mediterranean countries to cooperate on common ground: despite claims that it lies outside of the scope of the agreement, there are legal grounds to claim the contrary.
- “Vast areas of the Mediterranean remain undelimited and unclaimed, existing in a legal gray zone. Under international law, these areas are considered de facto beyond national jurisdiction and therefore within the geographical scope of the BBNJ Agreement,” the authors of a new op-ed argue. “By mobilizing diplomatic, legal and financial resources through its institutions and member states, the EU can help catalyze broader regional ratification and implementation.”
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the authors, not necessarily of Mongabay.

Ghana passes landmark legislation to protect artisanal fisheries
- Ghana has passed a new fisheries act which aims at strengthening the artisanal fishery sector, restoring fish stocks and tackling problems with illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing.
- A major change is the expansion of the country’s inshore exclusion zone, which will double in size, expanding from 6 to 12 nautical miles (11 to 22 kilometers) from shore.
- The law has been welcomed by artisanal fishers who have been struggling with declining pelagic fish stocks due to destructive fishing practices within the IEZ.

Indonesia’s Bajau fishers lament nickel mining’s marine pollution
For many members of the nomadic Bajau sea tribe on Indonesia’s Kabaena Island, growing up meant swimming and fishing in clear waters, just outside their homes built on stilts. However, in 2010, the water turned red, which the villagers blame on runoff from nearby nickel mining, Mongabay’s Hans Nicholas Jong reported in July. “Now, I […]
Brazil cities order endangered angelshark meat despite fishing ban
Government agencies in Brazil’s Rio Grande do Sul state launched public procurements for more than 200 metric tons of meat from endangered angelshark species between 2015 and 2025, a Mongabay investigation has revealed. The meat is served in public institutions, including schools. Fishing for angelsharks is prohibited in Brazil, but its trade is legal if […]
Argentina’s elephant seals face 100-year recovery after avian flu devastation: Study
- At the end of 2023, an outbreak of avian flu devastated a colony of southern elephant seals in Argentina’s Valdés Peninsula.
- It may take a century for the population to return to the 18,000 breeding females it had in 2022, according to projections from a new study.
- Researchers estimate that 17,500 pups and an undetermined number of breeding adults died as a result of the outbreak, which also killed seabirds in the area.
- The previously healthy population is now vulnerable and faces an uncertain future.

Community efforts yield new marine protected area in the Philippines
The Philippines has officially designated a new marine protected area after an 18-year campaign by local communities, fisher associations, civil society organizations and government agencies, the Wildlife Conservation Society announced Aug. 13. The newly created Bitaug Marine Protected Area (MPA), which covers nearly 150 hectares (about 370 acres), is the largest MPA in Siquijor province […]
Belize project seeks out heat-resilient corals to protect its reefs
- An initiative called the Super Reefs program is setting out to identify the corals in Belize’s waters that have the highest chance of surviving warming waters amid climate change.
- Researchers with the program have discovered that corals that grow in the hottest areas are naturally more heat-resistant.
- Massive starlet coral (Siderastrea siderea) tends to be tolerant of warm water, whereas symmetrical brain coral (Pseudodiploria strigosa) is more sensitive.
- The team plans to use its findings, which are to be published by 2026, to inform the Belize government which coral communities in the country are best suited for protection and restoration.

Whale shark hotspot discovered along the Great Barrier Reef
- Whale sharks (Rhincodon typus) are the largest fish in the world and are endangered but are hard to study because they’re largely solitary creatures that roam great distances.
- There are only about 30 sites worldwide where they’re known to aggregate — and scientists have finally identified one of them along the Great Barrier Reef, a new study reveals.
- It’s the first known aggregation found in eastern Australia and in the entire southwest Pacific Ocean.
- The finding is significant for whale shark research and conservation efforts, experts said.

There’s hope for sunflower sea stars, with their killer unmasked and reintroductions pending
- Since 2013, sea star wasting disease, worsened by warming oceans, has wiped out 99% of sunflower sea stars from Washington state to Mexico, collapsing kelp forest ecosystems.
- Researchers from the University of British Columbia and the Hakai Institute in Canada have pinpointed the bacterium Vibrio pectenicida as a key cause of the epidemic, confirming its lethal effects through lab experiments that replicated symptoms seen in the wild.
- A coalition of aquariums, nonprofits, Indigenous groups and government agencies has successfully bred sunflower sea stars in captivity for the first time, experimenting with fresh, frozen and cryopreserved sperm, and raising 72 juveniles in a Monterey facility with plans for controlled releases.
- Guided by the Pycnopodia Recovery Working Group and a 2024-2027 conservation plan, efforts have now turned to breeding, disease research, habitat protection, regulatory engagement and public outreach, with broad community support — including from fishers — for restoring this keystone predator.

Argentina pushes pipeline exports through protected Patagonian waters
- In Argentina, the construction of an oil port and a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal for ships threatens one of the most biodiverse areas in the southwestern Atlantic.
- The law that protected the area from these types of projects was amended without prior consultation in 2022.
- Oil spills, rising water temperatures, and ship strikes on the thriving whale population are among the greatest threats highlighted by critics.

New report warns 54% of turtles and tortoises are at risk of extinction
- More than half of the world’s 359 turtle and tortoise species now face extinction, with the crisis worsening despite global conservation efforts.
- Asia is the epicenter of the crisis, accounting for 32 of the 66 most threatened species due to intense harvesting, illegal trade and habitat destruction.
- The economics of extinction create a vicious cycle, where rarer species become more valuable to collectors, incentivizing further hunting of the few remaining individuals.
- Successful conservation projects include habitat protection, captive breeding, community engagement and adaptive management, with local communities playing a crucial role.

Microbiomes may be corals’ secret weapon against climate change: Study
- Researchers compared how genetically similar populations of Pocillopora corals cope with heat stress in Panama’s Gulf of Panama and Gulf of Chiriquí, both on the Pacific coast.
- The team looked at the entire holobiont — the coral’s symbionts, microbiome and physiology — in addition to its genome and environment, finding that the holobiont may play an outsized role in boosting the corals’ ability to cope with heat extremes.
- The team found that corals exposed to upwelling in the Gulf of Panama were better able to withstand higher temperatures, thanks in part to their microbiomes.
- The work points to the importance of better understanding how symbiotic relationships and microbiomes interact with corals to increase their resilience.

Third manta ray species confirmed in western Atlantic
There’s a third species of manta ray gracefully gliding through the seas, a recent study has confirmed. Researchers have named the newly described species, found in the western Atlantic, Mobula yarae after Yara, a water spirit from Indigenous Brazilian mythology. For a long time, manta rays were considered a single species, Manta birostris. In 1868, […]
Goldman Prize winner’s shift from engineer to activist in Tenerife, Canary Islands
Carlos Mallo Molina grew up inspired by his engineer father who led port construction projects across Spain. But while working on a highway project in Tenerife, one of Spain’s Canary Islands, Molina realized that a related plan to build a port in a marine protected area threatened the marine ecosystem that he had come to […]
Scientists identify the bacterium behind billions of sea star deaths
More than a decade ago, a mysterious illness killed billions of sea stars, particularly along the North American Pacific coast. The sea star wasting disease caused the stars to develop lesions, their arms to fall off and their bodies to disintegrate. Now, researchers in a recent study say they have zeroed in on the cause: […]
Revealed: Brazilian state buys endangered angelsharks for school lunches
Endangered angelsharks have been served to schoolchildren in the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul for years, as well as in hospitals, clinics, shelters and other public institutions, Mongabay has found. We identified 52 tenders totaling more than 211 metric tons of “peixe anjo,” a common name for angelshark, issued by the state and city […]
Brazil serves potentially contaminated shark meat to children in public schools
Brazil has ordered at least 5,600 metric tons of potentially contaminated shark meat to serve in schools and other public institutions since 2004, a Mongabay investigation has revealed. Shark meat tends to have higher concentrations of toxic heavy metals, as top predators accumulate contaminants like mercury from lower down in the food chain. The contaminants […]
Encouraging signs from a no-fishing zone in Comoros could inspire others
- Signs of improvement in fisheries arising from a small no-fishing zone in the Indian Ocean nation of Comoros could inspire the establishment of more such zones across the archipelago.
- A fishers’ group installed the first no-take zone inside a marine protected area off the island of Anjouan in 2021. The group’s president told Mongabay fishers are now encountering more fish nearer to the shore outside the zone’s bounds.
- Buoyed by the results, a local nonprofit plans to establish five no-take zones in Anjouan over the next two years, covering 425 hectares (1,050 acres) of coral reefs.
- Earlier efforts to enforce temporary fishing closures to promote octopus fisheries for export and reduce pressure on fragile coral reef ecosystems didn’t lead to the anticipated benefits.

Former poachers guard Cabo Verde’s endangered sea turtles
- Conservation organizations are employing Cabo Verdeans, who formerly hunted endangered and threatened sea turtles, as rangers who now monitor and patrol beaches.
- From 2007-24, illegal catches of female turtles on one island plummeted from 1,253 to a mere 20, while nesting sites of vulnerable loggerhead turtles increased sevenfold, according to data by a conservation NGO.
- Locals traditionally consume turtle parts, use them in traditional medicine and now sell them in black markets; however, conservation activities, legislation and tourism have led to a reduction in turtle harvesting, researchers say.
- Conservationists say threats persist for sea turtles from at-sea captures, industrial fishing and plastic pollution, and that stricter laws and increased participation of the fisher community in conservation activities are needed.

UN meeting closes with no moratorium on deep-sea mining; groups lament
Civil groups expressed dismay as the 30th International Seabed Authority (ISA) session recently ended in Jamaica without a moratorium on deep-sea mining, a process of extracting minerals from the seafloor, which experts say can damage marine ecosystems. The ISA Council finished the second reading of the draft regulations for the commercial exploitation of deep-sea minerals. However, the […]
‘Nothing about us without us’: Inuit leader Sara Olsvig on ocean politics
- Sara Olsvig chairs the Inuit Circumpolar Council (ICC), which represents some 180,000 Inuit people across Alaska (in the United States), Canada, Kalaallit Nunaat (the Inuit name for Greenland) and Chukotka (in Russia).
- Climate change has reduced the extent of sea ice in the Arctic Ocean, opening up new shipping lanes and increasing interest in various forms of resource exploitation, including for oil, gas and minerals.
- The ICC is engaged in negotiations over the development and implementation of major international agreements on shipping, plastics, and the management of biodiversity in the high seas, all under United Nations bodies.
- In all of these forums, the ICC is pushing for input into international rules that affect Inuit livelihoods and the Arctic environment.

Malaysia’s turtle egg buyback scheme saved thousands — but is it sustainable?
- A recent study assessed the effectiveness of Malaysia’s decades-old sea turtle egg buyback scheme, which aims to prevent eggs from entering the illegal wildlife trade by purchasing them from licensed collectors and relocating them to hatcheries.
- Between 2016 and 2021, more than 71,000 green turtle eggs were purchased and relocated, resulting in high hatching (77.6%) and emergence (74.1%) success rates — highlighting the scheme’s biological effectiveness despite covering only a small fraction of total nests.
- The study flagged significant financial and logistical challenges, including rising costs, seasonal erosion, inconsistent cooperation from collectors, and limited capacity to purchase all available eggs, prompting concerns about long-term sustainability.
- With a statewide ban on turtle egg trade now in place, researchers and experts question whether the buyback model should continue, suggesting alternative strategies like nonextractive income opportunities and stronger enforcement against illegal trade.

Sri Lanka Supreme Court orders $1 bn payment in X Press Pearl marine disaster
- Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court has ordered $1 billion in compensation from the owners and local agents of the MV X-Press Pearl, which sank off Colombo in 2021, causing the worst maritime disaster in the island’s history and a massive marine plastic spill.
- The court held both the vessel’s operators and two former Sri Lankan officials accountable, citing negligence and violations of citizens’ constitutional rights.
- The July 24 ruling calls for the establishment of an independent compensation commission and requires the first installment of damages to be paid by September 2025, with a review hearing scheduled for the same month.
- Environmentalists describe the judgment as a milestone in line with the “polluter pays” principle, offering a potential model for environmental justice across the Global South.

Coral restoration after devasting Deepwater Horizon spill shows promise
When BP’s Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico in 2011, it led to the largest oil spill in U.S. history, severely damaging marine ecosystems. Part of the settlement money that BP agreed to pay has since been used for a deep-sea restoration project that has achieved significant milestones in spawning corals […]
Reversing damage to the world’s mangrove forests
Mangroves are an important lifeline for biodiversity, climate and coastal communities. Yet they are disappearing 3-5 times faster than total global forest losses, according to UNESCO. On July 26, celebrated as the International Day for the Conservation of the Mangrove Ecosystem, we present recent stories by Mongabay’s journalists on emerging threats to these critical ecosystems […]
Sri Lanka hit by plastic pollution after cargo ship sinks off Indian coast
Sri Lankan authorities, locals and environmentalists say they’re deeply concerned about the possible impacts on the country’s marine ecosystem and coastal communities from the sinking of a container ship off the southern coast of India in May, Mongabay contributor Malaka Rodrigo reported in June. The Liberia-flagged ship MSC Elsa 3 sank on May 25 about […]
Saving polar bears and beluga whales: Interview with Alysa McCall
- Beluga Cam is a long-running initiative that aims to document the migration of almost 57,000 beluga whales through Hudson Bay in Canada.
- The project is run by the nonprofit Polar Bears International in a bid to collect more data about beluga migration as well as to create more awareness about the species.
- The initiative got an upgrade this year with a new boat that houses the cameras and other equipment deployed for the work.
- As the Arctic rapidly loses sea ice, species such as beluga whales and polar bears bear the brunt in terms of losing access to food and their habitats.

Darkest-ever dwarfgoby fish gets named after Darth Vader
From the volcanic fjords of Tufi in Papua New Guinea, researchers have described a new-to-science species of a coral reef fish called a dwarfgoby with an unusual purplish-black color. The tiny fish is the “darkest of all described dwarfgobies,” the researchers say in the study, naming it Eviota vader after the Star Wars villain Darth […]
Evolution in overdrive as Baltic cod shrink due to fishing pressure, study shows
- The eastern Baltic cod has shrunk dramatically in size in recent decades due to rapid evolution — changes at the genetic level — caused by decades of intensive fishing, a new study says.
- Eastern Baltic cod, which are a distinct subpopulation of Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua), lost nearly half of their length and four-fifths of their weight from 1996 until 2019.
- It’s one of the first studies to show that a marine species has evolved in response to fishing pressure.
- An expert said the shrinking of the cod was “alarming,” and called on fisheries managers to work to protect fish biomass and size, given this new evidence of fisheries-induced evolution.

Conservationists raise sharks to restore reefs in waters around Thailand
- A new rewilding program aims to boost the local population of bamboo sharks in the waters of Khao Lak, Thailand.
- The species, classified as near threatened on the IUCN Red List, used to be abundant in the area, but has declined as a result of overfishing and habitat destruction.
- Since the project launched in 2018, with the support of luxury resorts in the area, it has released 200 bamboo sharks into the wild.
- A separate program that started in May 2025, is breeding leopard sharks, which are listed as endangered. They will be released in the waters off Phuket, and eventually the Gulf of Thailand.

Global tracking study reveals marine megafauna hotspots lie largely unprotected
- A global study tracking nearly 13,000 marine animals representing 111 species reveals they spend 80% of their time in just 63% of their range, yet only about 5% of these high-use ocean areas are currently protected.
- The research identifies Important Marine Megafauna Areas (IMMegAs) as ecological hotspots that span national waters and the high seas, where governance and protection are often lacking.
- Findings show that the global target of protecting 30% of the ocean by 2030 is insufficient to safeguard migratory species unless paired with additional mitigation measures outside protected areas, like bycatch reduction and ship speed regulations.
- Researchers call for stronger international coordination and more dynamic, movement-informed conservation strategies to effectively protect wide-ranging ocean wildlife.

Canada’s Pacific Coast hit hard by trawling, with limited transparency: Report
- Trawling vessels pursuing fish are damaging marine ecosystems in Canada’s West Coast waters and could be operating illegally in some cases, and yet they work with insufficient transparency, a new NGO report says.
- Nine large trawlers have together trawled swaths of the ocean collectively larger than the size of Ireland since 2009; they have likely trawled in prohibited zones at least 47 times and have disrupted Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) migratory routes, which are foraging areas for an endangered population of killer whales (Orcinus orca), the report says.
- A trawling industry group dismissed the NGO’s findings, saying they lacked context and the fishery was very well regulated.
- A Canadian regulatory agency said the fishery was well managed, with strict monitoring and enforcement of rules.

A new data hub helps small-scale fishers adapt to climate change
Roughly 40% of the global fish catch comes from small-scale fisheries. It’s one of the food production systems most vulnerable to climate change, and governments are lacking data to help fishers adapt. To help address that gap, the global research partnership CGIAR recently launched its Asia Digital Hub at WorldFish’s headquarters in Penang, Malaysia. The Hub […]
Restoration, protection aim to save Belize’s coral reef from extreme heat and disease
- Charles Darwin described the Belize Barrier Reef, a complex system of coral reefs, atolls and cayes spanning 300 kilometers (186 miles) and cradling the nation’s coast, as “the most remarkable reef in the West Indies.”
- Today, unprecedented coral bleaching, a relatively new illness called stony coral tissue loss disease and other threats to corals are negatively impacting reef health across Belize, according to local organizations and a recent reef health assessment.
- The government is looking to identify 20% of the reef for full protection, part of an effort to roughly triple coral reef protection from 7% to 20%.
- Meanwhile nonprofit and scientific groups are doubling down on restoration and monitoring efforts.

Will temperate seas act as refuge for coral reefs? Not in time, study says
- Some scientists have held out hope that, given the threats tropical corals face from climate change, they could improve their viability by expanding their range — by finding refuge in more temperate seas.
- However, a new study found that coral reef decline will far outpace expansion into temperate waters. Most of the damage to corals will be done in the next 40 to 80 years, but expansion will take centuries.
- The severity of coral loss will depend on levels of greenhouse gas emissions in coming decades.

Seismic noise from oil companies threatens Amazon River Mouth marine life
- As oil companies push for drilling on the Amazon coast, an underwater war silences the ocean’s most vocal creatures.
- Petrobras has been conducting surveys since 2013 using seismic airgun blasts that can destabilize marine ecosystems by interrupting essential communication in the marine food chain.
- Blasts fired every 10 seconds, reaching more than 230 decibels, disorient and kill cetaceans and other marine life that rely on sound.
- The Amazon region is emerging as a new oil frontier, driven by recent discoveries and political will to expand hydrocarbon exploration despite environmental and social risks in an area known for strong sea currents and diverse wildlife.

A Kenya marine biodiversity credit program restores mangroves — and livelihoods
- The decline of mangroves significantly weakens Kenya’s coastal protection, leaving shorelines susceptible to erosion, storm surges and rising sea levels, disrupting marine ecosystems, depleting fish stocks, leading to reduced biodiversity — and lost livelihoods for locals.
- A U.S.-based organization called Seatrees is working with the local Community Based Environmental Conservation (COBEC) and residents of Marereni to restore and protect coastal and marine ecosystems as a natural solution to climate change.
- Since 2024, Seatrees has offered donors the option of buying $3 “biodiversity blocks,” each of which represents a single tangible conservation action: planting one mangrove tree on site in Marereni.
- The work goes beyond just planting trees, as community members turn mangrove restoration into a livelihood by establishing and maintaining nurseries — and, in some cases, starting side businesses with the income.

With coral-rich Churna Island now an MPA, Pakistan takes baby steps on ocean protection
- In September 2024, Churna Island and the sea surrounding it became Pakistan’s second designated marine protected area, home to a variety of corals and serving as a nursery for fish.
- It followed the 2017 designation of the country’s very first MPA around Astola Island, a haven for coral, birds and sea turtles to the east.
- While Pakistan’s first two MPAs are small and have yet to be fully implemented, they represent baby steps in the country’s nascent effort to protect its marine environment.
- The country still has a long way to go to protect 30% of its ocean by 2030, as mandated by the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity.

Countries seek urgent CITES protection of more than 70 sharks and rays
Several proposals seeking greater protection of more than 70 shark and ray species from commercial trade were raised this week for deliberation at the 20th meeting of CITES, the global convention on the wildlife trade, to be held in November. “The world is at a tipping point for sharks and rays,” Luke Warwick, director of […]
Two coasts, one struggle for octopus fishers battling overfishing and warming waters
- In Spain and Mexico, demand for octopus is up, but octopus populations are down.
- In both countries, artisanal octopus fishers are sticking to traditional fishing techniques while joining eco-certification schemes with tighter regulations, hoping to protect not just the cephalopod population, but their own livelihoods.
- But while this may offer a lifeline to the fishers’ economies, it may only work well for the octopus populations when all fishers in an area join in, experts say — and that’s not the case in Mexico, where illegal octopus fishing is rampant.
- Moreover, factors beyond fishers’ control, like warming waters, may affect the fishers and the octopuses alike.

Illegal fishing and its consequences: the human toll of migration in Senegal
- In 2024, more than 2,000 people are believed to have died at sea while attempting to reach Spain’s Canary Islands from Senegal and the Gambia.
- According to the NGO Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF), people from Senegalese fishing communities are tempted to migrate to Europe due to declining fish stocks, owing in part to illegal fishing by European and Asian fleets.
- Illegal fishing, along with trawler fishing, are among the main drivers of this depletion of marine resources, depriving small-scale fishers in Senegal of a livelihood.
- Advocacy groups Oceana and ClientEarth have taken the Spanish government to court for failing to investigate — and, where appropriate, sanction — Spanish vessels that go dark by failing to transmit their location, and for not effectively monitoring the fishing operations of Spanish companies in West Africa.

Commuter traffic stops for whales on Australia’s humpback highway
PORT STEPHENS, Australia (AP) — Sydney’s harbor becomes a humpback highway in winter as the whales migrate from feeding grounds in Antarctica to breeding areas off Australia’s coast. Whale watchers are spoiled for sightings during peak traffic weeks in June and July, when 40,000 creatures the size of buses will navigate the waters of New […]
The Caribbean’s hardiest corals (cartoon)
Despite the Caribbean Sea witnessing some of the worst episodes of mass coral bleaching over the last year, a reef in Honduras’ Tela Bay, nicknamed Cocalito, has withstood pressures from climate change and pollution, surprising and impressing marine biologists. A Honduran reef stumps conservationists with its unlikely resilience
Endangered humphead wrasse gets a lifeline from facial recognition tech
- The endangered humphead wrasse, a reef fish that swims the seas from Africa to the South Pacific, is in high demand in mainland China and Hong Kong as a luxury culinary delicacy.
- Despite harvest limits, trading regulations and fishing bans, it’s overfished and illegally traded.
- Researchers in Hong Kong have developed a new AI-based photo identification smartphone app, Saving Face, to help enforcement officers identify individual fish using their unique facial patterns with just a photo.
- Researchers say they hope the app can address both illegal laundering of humphead wrasse and mislabeling of wild-caught fish as captive-bred; its developers say it can be tweaked to identify other species that have unique markings.

EU remains major wildlife trafficking hub, report finds
- In 2023, EU authorities recorded nearly 5,200 wildlife trafficking seizures, mostly involving endangered European eels, timber, and medicinal plants, reinforcing the bloc’s status as a key global trade hub, a new report notes.
- More than 1 million CITES-listed specimens — including more than 600,000 live animals and 10,000 live plants — were intercepted across EU countries, according to the TRAFFIC report.
- Authorities documented 88 species seized for the first time, including poison frogs and tarantula look-alikes, while 28% of fauna seizures were linked to the exotic pet trade.
- The EU’s response includes updated legislation and participation in globally coordinated enforcement actions such as Operation Thunder.

Glass eel smuggling booms despite bans, leaving species on the brink
- The illegal trafficking of critically endangered European glass eels continues to thrive, generating up to 3 billion euros ($3.5 billion) in peak years, with more than 1 million live eels seized in 2023 alone — mostly en route to East Asian aquaculture farms where they’re raised to maturity to produce the delicacy unagi.
- Europol describes the trade as a highly organized transnational crime involving smuggling, document fraud and money laundering, with sophisticated players using scientific expertise to keep smuggled eels alive during transit.
- Conservationists warn that removing juvenile eels from the wild disrupts their life cycle and ecosystem functions, worsening the species’ 90% population decline since the 1970s and threatening biodiversity in connected marine and freshwater systems.
- Experts call for stronger enforcement, improved monitoring, public awareness and habitat restoration to combat the trade and avert further ecological damage.

Tanzania’s Mafia Island eyes sea cucumber farming to prevent extinction
Residents of Mafia Island in Tanzania don’t really eat sea cucumber; they call it jongoo bahari, or “ocean millipede” in Swahili. But sea cucumbers are a prized delicacy in East Asia, where demand has fueled a black market for the spiny sea creatures, Mongabay’s Ashoka Mukpo reported in May. A kilogram of dried sea cucumbers […]
When heat waves hit, clownfish shrink to survive, study finds
- Clown anemonefish (Amphiprion percula) have a surprising survival strategy: they shrink in length — not just lose weight — to survive marine heat waves and avoid social conflicts, boosting their heat wave survival odds by up to 78%, a new study finds.
- Researchers tracked 67 breeding pairs of clownfish in Papua New Guinea through a severe marine heat wave, measuring fish size repeatedly and finding that synchronized shrinking between mates helps maintain social hierarchies and improves survival chances.
- The study raises bigger questions about whether this shrink-to-survive mechanism is widespread among fish, potentially explaining global trends of shrinking fish sizes amid climate change, and calls for controlled lab experiments to uncover the physiological causes.

On its 50th anniversary, ‘Jaws’ continues to provoke shark conservationists
- This month marks the 50th anniversary of the release of Jaws, a Hollywood blockbuster that depicts a series of attacks by a massive great white shark — a “man-eater” — in a fictional New England beach town.
- Shark populations have plummeted since the film was released, and experts agree that Jaws misrepresented the nature of sharks and likely had a net negative impact, however small, on their population sizes and conservation status.
- Most of the experts reached for this article said the film had spurred interest in sharks, some of which was channeled in positive directions. In fact, some people who worked on the film later advocated for shark conservation.

Pelicans recover, but dolphins and other species struggle 15 years after BP oil spill
Oil-soaked pelicans struggling to fly came to symbolize the catastrophic impacts of the 2010 BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill on the inhabitants of the Gulf of Mexico. Fifteen years later, brown pelicans in the region have seen some recovery, but other wildlife species haven’t been as fortunate, Mongabay’s Liz Kimbrough reported in April. Researchers estimate […]
Another way to check the health of a coral reef: Study the microbes in the seawater
- An increasingly common way to keep tabs on coral reef health is by measuring microorganisms in the local seawater.
- Microbial-based coral reef monitoring is excellent at detecting nutrient and health changes on a reef and can draw attention to environmental disturbances; microbes are particularly good at sending such signals because they react quickly to pollution.
- This type of monitoring can help provide a fuller, faster and lower-cost picture of reef health than visual surveys alone, the most common current method.
- Two marine scientists explain the “why” and the “how” of microbial-based reef monitoring in a recent paper.

Endangered angelshark decline may be overestimated, study shows
Previous reports of drastic declines in the elusive angelshark in Wales, U.K., may be overestimated and may be partly explained by changes in fishing trends throughout the past decades, according to a recent study. The angelshark (Squatina squatina), listed as critically endangered on the IUCN Red List in 2006, is a bottom-dwelling shark that can […]
Death of tagged white shark on bather protection gear in South Africa sparks debate
The recent killing of a juvenile great white shark on a drum line — a shark control method consisting of baited hooks attached to floating drums — off the east coast of South Africa has sparked a debate over the measures employed to protect swimmers at the expense of the threatened species. The 2.2-meter (7.2-foot) […]
Climate change and shrinking Arctic sea ice threaten bowhead whales
Bowhead whales are endemic to the icy waters of the Arctic and prefer living in shallow waters near sea ice, filtering krill and tiny crustaceans called copepods for food. However, the Arctic is warming faster than any other region on Earth, and a recent study estimates that if this continues, then by 2100 the whales […]
World Oceans Day: Scientists find new clues about frontiers of ocean life
In 2008, the United Nations recognized June 8 as World Oceans Day to spotlight the rising vulnerabilities facing the oceans that cover more than 70% of Earth’s surface. Seventeen years later, average ocean temperatures have never been higher. Heat stress has hit 84% of the world’s coral reefs. In places as far as Antarctica, whales […]
Researchers race to understand disease killing Caribbean corals at unprecedented rates
- Stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD) is a novel coral disease that first emerged in Florida in 2014, and has now spread to 33 countries and territories in the Caribbean, including along the Mesoamerican Reef.
- SCTLD affects an unprecedented number of species (more than 30 species of reef-building corals), spreads quickly, and has a very high mortality rate.
- Researchers are still trying to figure out exactly what causes the disease.
- Researchers are also trying to understand how the coral microbiome is involved in or responds to SCTLD infection, and developing probiotics that they hope will offer an alternative treatment to antibiotics, with fieldwork in Belize, Colombia and elsewhere.

New method can detect nearly every coral genus in Japan from water samples
- Environmental DNA (eDNA) coral research involves analyzing water samples to identify corals based on the DNA that they secrete into the water, largely via their mucus.
- eDNA research on corals can help scientists understand the changes wrought by global warming and marine pollution by providing coral identification data faster and in some cases more accurately than visual surveys by scientists.
- A team of marine scientists based in Japan, an archipelagic nation with a high level of coral biodiversity, has used an eDNA method to develop a system that can detect nearly all of the country’s 85 reef-building coral genera; no other research group in the world has achieved the same level of detection accuracy and coverage for corals using eDNA.
- They released their findings in a study published on May 22.

Pay-to-release program reduces shark deaths, but backfires in some cases
- A pay-to-release program for threatened sharks and rays significantly reduced bycatch in Indonesia, with 71% of wedgefish and 4% of hammerheads released alive; but it also led some fishers to intentionally catch these species to claim incentives.
- Unequal payments across regions (ranging from $1 to $135 per fish) and the absence of national protective laws have complicated conservation efforts in key fishing areas like East Lombok and Aceh Jaya.
- A rigorous randomized controlled trial revealed unintended consequences: wedgefish mortality dropped by just 25%, while hammerhead mortality rose by 44% due to incentive-driven targeting.
- Local NGO KUL, which runs the program, has revised it to limit payouts and promote gear swaps, aiming to better align conservation outcomes with fisher livelihoods in the world’s top shark- and ray-catching nation.

Samoa’s new marine spatial plan protects 30% of the country’s ocean
- The Samoan government announced June 3 that it has enacted a law establishing a marine spatial plan to sustainably manage 100% of its ocean by 2030.
- The country has also created nine new marine protected areas that cover 30% of its ocean.
- Fishing is prohibited in the new protected areas, which include a migration route for humpback whales.
- The plan became law on May 1.

US pioneers restoration of deep water corals damaged by country’s worst oil spill
- Scientists are conducting a pioneering large-scale deep-sea coral restoration in the Gulf of Mexico following the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, which damaged 1,994 square kilometers (770 square miles) of seafloor habitat.
- Underwater robots and Navy divers using specialized gear to work at depths up to 100 meters (328 feet) plant coral fragments on the ocean floor, while labs in Texas, South Carolina and Florida grow corals in tanks for future transplantation.
- The novel eight-year, multi-million-dollar project has achieved milestones including high deepwater coral survival rates at sea and the first successful spawning of deep-sea corals in captivity, which produced more than 1,000 baby corals.
- The restoration faces ongoing threats from climate change, commercial fishing, agricultural runoff and potential future oil spills, with nearly 1,000 spills occurring in U.S. waters in 2021 and 2022 alone.

Only a tiny % of the deep seafloor has ever been visually observed: Study
- Just 0.001% of the deep seafloor has ever been captured by photo or video images, a new study finds.
- That which has been captured is “biased” and potentially unrepresentative: 65% of observations have been in the waters of the United States, Japan or New Zealand, according to the study.
- Experts told Mongabay that policymakers at a wide range of international institutions should bear the study’s findings in mind, including those governing high seas fisheries, deep-sea mining, and the use of marine carbon dioxide sequestration systems.

New map highlights complex web of marine migrations
- Scientists have launched a new database on marine migratory patterns to address gaps in the knowledge of policymakers and conservationists.
- The Migratory Connectivity in the Ocean (MiCO) database pulled data from 1,300 existing studies in the scientific literature to describe the migratory patterns of 109 mammal, bird and fish species.
- The database highlights the interconnected nature of marine migrations, and underscores the need for cross-border collaboration in conservation efforts.

Brazil advances with plan to drill oil at the mouth of the Amazon River
Brazil’s environmental agency, IBAMA, approved a key step that could soon allow Petrobras, the nation’s state oil company, to begin offshore oil drilling near the mouth of the Amazon River. In a May 19 decision, the agency greenlit a concept for an emergency response plan by Petrobras (PBR) to protect marine animals in case of […]
The blobby little sea squirt that stowed away across the Pacific to California
- In 2023, scientists found a nonnative species of marine invertebrate in a private marina near Los Angeles, California.
- The arrival of this new member of California’s marine fauna highlights the massive, largely uncontrolled movement of marine species via ships that travel the world.
- Concerned about potential ecological and economic impacts, the state of California has tried to curb the movement of nonnative marine species through regulations of large ships and commercial ports, but the regulations don’t apply to smaller vessels.
- Beginning in 2025, California will have to comply with less-stringent federal biofouling and ballast water regulations.

New study maps the fishmeal factories that supply the world’s fish farms
- In April, scientists published the first-ever open-source map of fishmeal and fish oil factories around the world.
- The scientists found 506 factories across some 60 countries, and in most cases were able to identify the companies that own them.
- Fishmeal and fish oil production is controversial because it can incentivize the overexploitation of ocean ecosystems, depleting marine food webs, and negatively impact coastal communities that rely on fish for nutrition and livelihoods.
- In addition to location data, the scientists collected data on the types of fish many of the factories use and whether the raw material they process is fish byproduct or whole fish, which critics view as more problematic.

The Great Whale Conveyor Belt (cartoon)
While migrating between their feeding and mating grounds, baleen whales transport massive amounts of nutrients across latitudes. This phenomenon is termed “The Great Whale Conveyor Belt”, prompting scientists to argue that whale conservation can help improve the resilience of global marine ecosystems.
Cruise ships and intensified tourism in Mexico threaten whale shark habitat
- In Baja California Sur, Mexico, a private tourism company, Aquamayan Adventures, and the port administration have reached an agreement that allows mega cruise ships to enter Bahía de La Paz. Environmental organizations are urging the government to cancel the agreement.
- The agreement allows at least 150,000 annual visitors, a figure four times that of cruise passengers received in 2023 and equivalent to 60% of the resident population of the city of La Paz, the state’s capital.
- In addition, the company intends to build a large tourism and commercial complex that could have serious environmental, social and economic impacts on the city and surrounding area, according to organizations concerned about the project.
- Bahía de La Paz is a critical location for marine species like the whale shark, which was affected by the presence of a high number of mega cruise ships in 2020, and which could now be the victim of collisions with vessels arriving to port.

Our responsibility for cetacean conservation grows with proof of their intelligence (commentary)
- In the search for other intelligent life in our galaxy, we must look to the oceans before we turn to the stars, states the writer of a new commentary.
- In recent years, cetacean researchers have shown that whales, dolphins and porpoises live socially complex lives that require elaborate communication systems, and possibly even language.
- “If people can understand what they have in common with an animal that is seemingly so alien on the surface, it would allow for a greater extension of empathy,” and therefore greater conservation efforts, the writer argues.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily Mongabay.

Ronan the sea lion outperforms humans at keeping a steady beat, study finds
A sea lion named Ronan is better able to keep a beat than the average human, a new study finds. Such ability in animals is generally thought to be unique to humans and some birds, but Ronan’s performance challenges those assumptions, the study’s researchers say. Ronan, a California sea lion (Zalophus californianus), was born in […]
Annual ocean conference nets $9.1 billion for initiatives, despite US absence
- The 10th annual Our Ocean Conference took place in Busan, South Korea, April 28-30.
- Delegates announced 277 new commitments totaling around $9.1 billion for initiatives across the conference’s six main target areas: the ocean-climate nexus, marine pollution, MPAs, sustainable fisheries, the blue economy and maritime security.
- Notable commitments at this year’s conference included Panama moving to increase fisheries transparency, $6 billion in funding for blue economy initiatives and more pledges to ratify the high seas treaty.
- This marked the first OOC without delegates or financial pledges from the U.S. government, which initiated the conference in 2014.

Tuna talks bring wins for Indian Ocean sharks, but more needed, experts say
- At the most recent round of Indian Ocean tuna talks, countries adopted measures to curb shark finning, expand the scope of bans that prohibit fishers from holding on to sharks caught as bycatch and restrict the use of harmful fishing gear.
- Conservationists said the measures will reduce the unwanted capture, or bycatch, of sharks that get hauled in by fishers targeting tuna and tuna-like species.
- A complete retention ban is already in place for oceanic whitetip sharks and thresher sharks in the Indian Ocean, and it will most likely be extended to whale sharks.
- A partial ban on retaining shortfin mako, an overfished endangered species, will take effect in 2026. However, scientists fear the measures to save the Indian Ocean shortfin mako may not be enough.

Blue whale decline in Sri Lanka tied to climate and human activity
- A resident population of blue whales has for many years lived in the coastal waters of Sri Lanka, but in recent years sightings of the animals have declined rapidly.
- With multiple pressures on these massive creatures — from ship traffic on one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes, to disturbance from whale tourism, pollution and surface sea temperature rise and climate change — there are several possible factors for the disappearance of the whales.
- Sri Lanka’s leading marine researchers agree that increasing sea temperatures in the North Indian Ocean, warming at the fastest rate of any of the world’s oceans, have likely pushed the whales to new waters.

Listening to whales is key to their conservation
Biological oceanographer John Ryan joins Mongabay’s podcast to discuss his team’s multiyear study that examined vocalizations of baleen whales, including blue (Balaenoptera musculus), humpback (Megaptera novaeangliae) and fin whales (Balaenoptera physalus), and how this science is critical for understanding their feeding habits, and thus informing their conservation. The study found that these whales’ songs rise […]
Scientists warn coral restoration can’t keep pace with global reef collapse
- Coral restoration is vastly outpaced by degradation, while intensifying climate stress, prohibitive costs, poor site selection and lack of coordination make large-scale restoration currently unviable, a new study has found.
- The scale-cost mismatch is staggering: Restoring just 1.4% of degraded coral could cost up to US$16.7 trillion, while current global funding is only US$258 million.
- The study found most projects assessed prioritize convenience over ecological value, restoring easily accessed reefs instead of climate-resilient or biologically strategic ones, undermining long-term outcomes.
- Researchers say standardized data and smarter planning are urgently needed to ensure that global coral restoration is scientifically informed and strategically targeted, and not merely symbolic.

‘We belong to one ocean’: Indigenous leaders push for seat at the table of high seas biodiversity treaty
- Members of Indigenous peoples and coastal communities convened at the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues to call for their inclusion in the Agreement on Marine Biodiversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ), also known as the High Seas Treaty.
- These are the first-ever calls by Indigenous and coastal communities as members attending the forum prepare for the entry into force of the BBNJ agreement.
- Their participation could include involvement in governance, environmental management, and best-practice strategies based on traditional ecological knowledge and values.
- The BBNJ agreement will enter into force once at least 60 countries ratify it. So far, 113 countries have signed the agreement, while 19 have ratified the treaty.

Southeast Asia’s fisheries thrive despite decades of overfishing warnings: Study
- Overfishing in Southeast Asia’s coastal waters is a long-standing concern, but recent research suggests a more optimistic outlook, with 43% of marine stocks classified as underfished — 3.6 times higher than the global average.
- The study, covering stocks across the Indian and Pacific Oceans, highlights the region’s relatively abundant fisheries, particularly among pelagic species, 63% of which are underfished.
- Southeast Asia’s fisheries production surged by 7.1 million metric tons from 1993 to 2022, the largest increase globally, with Indonesia, Vietnam and Myanmar as major contributors.
- The research underscores the importance of small-scale artisanal fisheries that use nonselective methods to target multiple species, and co-management frameworks to maintain production and sustainability.

Whales and dolphins at risk as report reveals ecological decline in Gulf of California
- The recent “Assessment of the Ecological Health of the Gulf of California” report shows a decline in several populations of animals throughout the narrow sea flanked by the Mexican mainland and Baja California.
- The report was compiled by the Next Generation Sonoran Desert Researchers (N-Gen) in the U.S. in collaboration with Prescott College’s Kino Bay Center field station in Mexico, and draws on long-term monitoring studies.
- Many of the assessed groups, such as seabirds, whales, giant squid, crabs, starfish and fish, are in decline.
- Basic primary productivity, which nurtures species diversity and abundance in the Gulf of California, remains stable.

The wisdom of the elders: Why the oldest animals matter
Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. In the twilight of their lives, the world’s oldest creatures carry the weight of wisdom, experience, and resilience. Yet, these elders — fish that spawn in abundance, coral that shelters marine life, or elephants that guide their herds […]
Critically endangered right whales spotted in the Bahamas for first time
Two North Atlantic right whales, among the most at-risk marine mammals, were spotted swimming in the Bahamas on April 15, marking the first time the species has been seen in the nation’s waters. “That moment for me was breathtaking, and I couldn’t fully gather myself. I thought it was fake at first,” Isaac Ellis, a […]
How Mexican fishers are protecting an endemic oyster — and its ecosystem
- In Mexico’s Nayarit marshes on the Pacific Coast, the work of a fishing group called Ostricamichin has enabled the recovery of the Cortez oyster, an endemic and economically important mollusk, along with other marine species.
- The Marismas Nacionales Nayarit National Reserve, where the Cortez oyster is cultivated, accounts for 45% of Mexico’s national fishing production, thanks to floating rafts that help grow the endemic species in its waters.
- However, members of Ostricamichin say their project is threatened by climate change and illegal fishing. But the biggest threat, currently, is a proposed dam project which, they say, would devastate the delicate ecosystem.

Plastic-eating seabird chicks show signs of organ failure and cognitive decline
- Seabirds and other marine wildlife are ingesting an increasing amount of plastics as pollution in the ocean rises.
- A recent study finds that sable shearwater chicks that consume high levels of plastics have abnormal levels of certain proteins in their blood, including some that suggest tissue damage, multiple organ failure and cognitive decline, despite showing no signs of obvious ill health.
- Conservationists say the study’s findings in young chicks show plastics could threaten entire populations of sable shearwaters.
- Although the study’s findings are limited to a single species, they raise concern for other marine life, say conservationists, who urge immediate action to reduce marine plastic pollution.

Baby colossal squid recorded for the first time in its deep-sea home
Researchers exploring the deep sea near Antarctica have made the first confirmed recordings of a colossal squid, the world’s heaviest invertebrate, in its natural environment. But the squid captured on camera was just 30 centimeters (12 inches) long — a baby. The recording was made by the U.S.-based Schmidt Ocean Institute on March 9 during […]
Icelandic whaling company calls off fin whale hunt this summer
Iceland’s largest commercial whaling company, Hvalur hf., has said it will not hunt any fin whales in the summer of 2025. In December 2024, Iceland’s government granted Hvalur hf., run by billionaire Kristján Loftsson, a five-year license to hunt 209 fin whales (Balaenoptera physalus) each year between 2025 and 2029. Another whaling company, Tjaldtangi ehf., […]
Even the Gulf of Aqaba’s ‘supercorals’ bleached during 2024 heat wave
- Scientists have long considered the corals in the Gulf of Aqaba in the northern Red Sea to be uniquely resilient to extreme temperatures.
- For the first time on record, however, the heat wave of 2024 bleached some of these super-resilient corals in Israeli and Jordanian waters, according to scientists.
- Scientists studying the episode’s severity and extent estimate that perhaps 5% of the corals in their study area in Israeli waters bleached during the oppressive Northern Hemisphere summer; a small fraction died, but most recovered over the relatively cooler months that followed.
- Tackling threats like pollution that could reduce the corals’ ability to withstand extreme heat is the best way to protect them from rising marine temperatures, and scientists say an oil terminal that sits barely half a kilometer from some of the “supercorals” poses an imminent threat.

Dugong numbers plummet amid seagrass decline in Thailand’s Andaman Sea
- Thailand’s dugongs are disappearing fast, reflecting an unfolding crisis in the region’s seagrass ecosystems.
- Seagrass beds on Thailand’s Andaman Sea coast that support one of the world’s most significant populations of dugongs have died off in recent years, creating an increasingly challenging environment for the charismatic marine mammals.
- Scientists point to a combination unsustainable coastal practices and climate change as the main factors driving the decline.
- Government agencies, marine scientists and volunteers are taking emergency steps to save the remaining dugongs, but experts warn their long-term survival in Thailand depends on fixing the root causes of the seagrass loss.

Study delves into increase in humpback whale sightings in UK and Ireland
Earlier this year, U.K. media reported an increase in humpback whale sightings in British and Irish waters. Between December 2024 and January, The Guardian reported some 17 sightings of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) from the Isles of Scilly in southwest England. Meanwhile, the nonprofit Sussex Dolphin Project reported more than 50 sightings from Sussex in […]
Global seabed regulator concerned by mining company’s unilateral actions
The International Seabed Authority has expressed concern following reports that the U.S. subsidiary of The Metals Company is seeking deep-sea mining permits from the U.S. instead of waiting for the global regulator’s finalization of a mining code. Mongabay recently reported that The Metals Company (TMC), based in Canada, has started a process to apply for […]
Community-based conservation cuts thresher shark fishing by 91% in Indonesia: Study
- A conservation effort in eastern Indonesia helped reduce thresher shark catches by 91% among participating fishers by providing alternative income opportunities, according to a recent study.
- The program, which ran from 2021 to 2023, supported nine voluntary fishers with resources to transition to new livelihoods, leading to increased income for some, though a few struggled due to personal challenges and job instability.
- However, some fishers felt pressured by family or community expectations to continue shark fishing, and conflicts with local leaders also influenced participation.
- The study highlights the need for long-term conservation efforts that involve local communities, address socio-political challenges and receive strong government support.

Manatees in peril as human pressures push gentle giants toward the brink
Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay’s founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. Few creatures better embody the notion of peaceful coexistence than the manatee. Slow-moving and largely indifferent to human affairs, these aquatic herbivores graze on seagrasses and algae in the shallow coastal waters of the Americas and West Africa. […]
5 takeaways from the 2022 Repsol oil spill in Peru
- On Jan. 15, 2022, the largest oil spill in Peruvian history occurred when a pipeline broke during the offloading of oil from a tanker to a refinery owned by the Spanish company Repsol.
- 11,000 barrels of crude oil spilled into the ocean off the coast of Callao, near Lima. It sullied miles of beaches, killed untold marine animals and upended the livelihoods of thousands of fishers.
- Three years later, the consequences of the tragedy persist, even as the oil industry’s activities along the coast of Peru continue to cause environmental disasters.
- These are the latest details of the case, which has continued to affect Peru’s marine ecosystem and the fishers who depend on it to survive.

Conservationists, fishing industry find balance on protecting African penguins
Conservation NGOs and commercial sardine and anchovy fisheries in South Africa have reached an out-of-court settlement agreeing to extents of fishing closures around six key African penguin breeding colonies. The agreement, endorsed by the environment minister, was made a court order on March 18. The boundaries of the new fishing closures achieve “the sweet spot […]
How one researcher walked thousands of miles along India’s shores to conserve sea turtles
- ‘Turtle Walker’ is a 75-minute documentary on the life and career of turtle conservationist Satish Bhaskar, who surveyed more than 4,000 kilometres of the India’s coastline.
- In this interview with Mongabay India, Taira Malaney, the director of Turtle Walker talks about why she chose Bhaskar as the subject of her documentary, the challenges of filming with turtles and the role of environmental films.
- The film is set to be screened at the DC Environmental Film Festival 2025, where Mongabay is a media partner.

Seal ‘oceanographers’ reveal fish abundance in Pacific Ocean’s twilight zone
- The open ocean’s twilight zone, a vast deep ecosystem rich in fish biomass, is poorly understood because it is expensive and challenging for humans to reach its depths 200–1000 meters (660–3,280 feet) below the surface.
- A new study used northern elephant seals (Mirounga angustirostris) — marine predators that forage in the twilight zone — to help understand fish abundance deep down, both five decades into the past and two years into the future.
- The findings illustrate how apex marine predators, such as elephant seals, can serve as sentinels in understanding how fish abundance cascades through marine food webs.
- Given increased interest in fishing in the twilight zone and the unfolding effects of climate change, seals and other deep-diving marine predators could help keep an eye on changes in the oceans’ depths.

Counting whales by eavesdropping on their chatter, with help from machine learning
- Scientists have combined passive acoustic monitoring, machine-learning tools and aerial surveys to estimate the population of North Atlantic right whales in Cape Cod Bay.
- Using the method, researchers from Cornell University in the U.S. were able to estimate the daily population of the whales over a period of four months.
- While passive acoustic monitoring has helped scientists around the world detect the presence of whales, it’s often challenging to estimate population numbers from the data, especially for species like North Atlantic right whales that have highly variable call rates.

Caribbean reef sharks rebound in Belize with shark fishers’ help
- Endangered Caribbean reef sharks (Carcharhinus perezi) and other shark species are making a striking recovery in Belize after plummeting due to overfishing between 2009 and 2019, according to recent observations.
- Experts say the establishment of no-shark-fishing zones around Belize’s three atolls in 2021 is what enabled the population boom.
- A remarkable cooperation and synergy among shark fishers, marine scientists and management authorities gave rise to the shark safe havens and led to their success, experts say.

To save a Honduran reef, locals craft custom gear and hunt invasive lionfish
Without a natural predator, invasive lionfish, which damage coral reefs, have become widespread throughout the Caribbean over the last several decades. To prevent further harm off the northern coast of Honduras, locals have resorted to crafting their own spears to effectively and safely hunt lionfish, reports Mongabay contributor Fritz Pinnow. Julio San Martín Chicas, program […]
Whale songs rise and fall with food supply, study finds.
Each year, during summer and fall, large groups of baleen whales gather off the coast of California, U.S., to feast on krill and fish before heading south to breeding areas in the tropics. It’s a crucial time for whales to fatten up, and a new study suggests some whale species announce an abundance of food […]
A bird last seen by Darwin 190 years ago reappears on a Galápagos island
The Galápagos rail, a small, black, ground bird, hadn’t been seen on Floreana Island in the Galápagos since 1835, when Charles Darwin first described it. That changed recently when researchers monitoring birds on Floreana recorded the rail at three different locations. These new sightings after 190 years are likely the result of efforts to eradicate […]
Flash floods, blackouts and a ‘sharknado’ as Cyclone Alfred lashes Australia
Heavy rainfall and flooding damaged homes and vehicles in Australia, with locals even reporting shark sightings in inland canals. Cyclone Alfred formed over the Coral Sea on Feb. 22, NASA Earth Observatory reported. It intensified for a week offshore causing heavy rainfall along the coast even before making landfall in Australia on March 8. The […]
Scientists identify more than 800 new species in global Ocean Census
The Ocean Census project has identified 866 new marine species, many from the deep seas, less than two years since its launch. The project announced its findings on March 10, marking the first phase of its goal to document 100,000 new species in the Earth’s oceans. “The ocean covers 71% of our planet, yet only […]
Liberia to start industrial shrimp fishing, worrying artisanal fishers
- Liberia plans to expand industrial bottom trawling in the country by authorizing a new fishery for high-value shrimp.
- However, the government has released few details about the plan, including how much shrimp it will allow the new fishery to exploit, when the trawling would begin, or how it would be regulated.
- The country’s umbrella organization for artisanal fishers casts the move as a threat to the livelihoods, safety and food security of Liberia’s more than 57,000 artisanal fishers, as well as to the country’s marine life.

Concerns of illegal sea turtle trade persist in Bali as police foil smugglers
- Seizures of large consignments of live turtles in northwest Bali in January have raised concerns among conservationists that trade in the protected species may remain pervasive despite recent progress by civil society and law enforcement.
- Six of the world’s seven species of sea turtle live in the waters around Indonesia, the world’s largest archipelago country.
- WWF Indonesia said the scale of the seizures in January indicated that the trade may be to supply turtle meat for consumption, rather than just for Hindu ceremonial uses.
- A 2019 investigation found authorities in Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam seized at least 2,354 whole turtles and more than 91,000 eggs from 163 law enforcement operations between 2015 and July 2019.

Conservationists suspect fishing nets, increased tourism for sea turtle deaths in Bangladesh
- More than 100 olive ridley turtles were found dead in Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar Beach in the last few weeks.
- Conservationists blame the uncontrolled use of fishing nets and increased tourism during the turtle nesting period to have played a key role in the incident.
- The olive ridley’s main nesting grounds are the various islands in the southeastern district, Cox’s Bazar in the Bay of Bengal, and they come to the beaches to lay eggs before returning to the sea.
- Over the last three years, Bangladesh saw there was an increased number of olive ridley turtles and hatchlings thanks to different conservation programs.

Wisdom, the world’s oldest known bird at 74, has a new chick
Wisdom, the world’s oldest known wild bird, made headlines recently for laying an egg with a new partner, her first egg in four years. The egg has now hatched, and Wisdom, a Laysan albatross (Phoebastria immutabilis), or mōlī in Hawaiian, was spotted caring for her chick, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) Pacific region […]
Order restored in Indonesia as fishers recapture scores of farmed crocodiles
- On Jan. 13, several hours of extreme rain over Indonesia’s Batam archipelago, a one-hour ferry from Singapore, caused a breach in the perimeter of a large saltwater crocodile (Crocodylus porosus) farm on the east of Bulan Island.
- More than 100 of the stir-crazy predators reportedly escaped in the storm, causing panic among the population while halting local fishing activities.
- Elected representatives in Batam have since called for the farm to be closed, citing tax irregularities.
- The global supply of reptile skins remains concentrated in northern Australia for the fashion industry, which claims to operate high animal welfare standards despite allegations of extensive suffering on farms.

Lawsuit is latest push to curb bottom trawling in protected European waters
- The fishing practice of bottom trawling continues in European marine protected areas (MPAs) despite conservation concerns over its destruction of seabed habitats and indiscriminate catches.
- Four NGOs have sued the Netherlands to stop bottom trawling in the Dutch section of Dogger Bank, an MPA in the North Sea, citing its ecological importance.
- Advocacy efforts across Europe, including other lawsuits, have led to some restrictions on the practice, such as the closure of the U.K. section of Dogger Bank to bottom trawling, but most European MPAs remain insufficiently protected, a 2024 study indicates.
- Fishing interests often disagree with the NGOs’ position on bottom trawling in MPAs, saying that regulated bottom trawling can coexist with conservation goals and support communities socioeconomically, and that blanket restrictions risk marginalizing fishing communities without addressing broader environmental challenges like pollution or climate change.

Mass salmon deaths hit Scottish farms as government investigates
- Hundreds of thousands of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) died on fish farms in Scottish waters in the final months of 2024.
- Poisonous jellyfish, disease and parasites were behind the mass mortality events, despite major investments by the salmon industry to combat these threats.
- In January, a parliamentary committee concluded an inquiry into the industry, saying it was “disappointed” by the lack of progress on environmental pollution and animal welfare issues.

Study suggests algal blooms disorient whales, putting them in danger
- Harmful algal blooms (HABs) in the ocean produce toxins that can sicken humans and marine animals.
- A new study has found an increase in large-whale deaths and injuries near HABs on the U.S. East and West Coasts, mainly due to ship strikes and entanglement in fishing gear.
- The authors propose the reason may be that HAB toxins disorient whales, decreasing their ability to avoid ships and fishing gear. However, they say more research is needed to confirm the link.
- They recommend using advanced HAB prediction models to reduce whale deaths by limiting activities like fishing when HABs and whales overlap.

Underwater volcano in Barents Sea reveals diverse marine life, study finds
What’s new: Following the discovery of the underwater Borealis Mud Volcano on the Arctic seabed in 2023, researchers have now confirmed that the methane-spewing volcano is home to a diverse array of marine life thriving in the unique habitat. What the study says: In 2023, scientists from UiT The Arctic University of Norway discovered the […]
Underwater citizen science reveals the specter of ghost fishing in Thailand
- Teams of scientists and hobbyist scuba divers have assessed the extent of discarded fishing gear on Thailand’s marine wildlife, finding it poses a pervasive threat to a huge range of species.
- Discarded or “ghost” fishing gear comprises 10% of all marine plastic debris in the ocean, persisting for decades and passively catching and killing species from sea snails to whale sharks.
- Thailand is famed for its recreational diving, and efforts are underway to retrieve ghost gear from the ocean and rescue animals found entangled, as well as to work with fishers to help them recycle their old equipment.
- Experts say preventing gear from entering the ocean in the first place is paramount; solutions must extend beyond cleanup and recycling efforts to encompass policy reform, economic incentives, and improved infrastructure.

Marshall Islands protects ‘pristine’ Pacific corals with first marine sanctuary
The Marshall Islands government has announced it will protect an area of the Pacific Ocean described as one of the most “remote, pristine” marine ecosystems on Earth. The 48,000-square-kilometer (18,500-square-mile) marine sanctuary covers two of the country’s northernmost uninhabited atolls, Bikar and Bokak, and the surrounding deep sea, and it is the first federal marine […]
Salmon farms under fire on U.S. East Coast after being shuttered on West Coast
- An advocacy group has sued the last company in the U.S. still farming salmon in sea cages, citing alleged violations of the Clean Water Act.
- Cooke Aquaculture runs more than a dozen sites in the northeastern state of Maine. The lawsuit accuses the company of illegally discharging pollutants, exceeding limits on effluents and nutrient buildup, and reporting violations.
- The legal action comes the same month that the state of Washington banned industrial salmon aquaculture over environmental concerns, making Maine the only U.S. state where the practice continues.
- Critics argue that netpen salmon farming not only pollutes the marine environment but also threatens wild salmon populations, while requiring the harvest of too much wild fish and krill for feed.

As Gálapagos ecotourism booms, top naturalist guide urges sustainability
- Galápagos National Park and the marine reserve protecting the islands’ surrounding waters welcome 300,000 visitors a year and support sustainable fisheries and tourism jobs for about 30,000 residents.
- The Ecuadorian government restricts the number of visitors accessing each island or dive site daily, and requires each tourist or group to hire a guide to accompany them, ensuring that maximum ecological information is shared and that park rules aimed at protecting the unique flora and fauna are followed.
- Many hundreds of Galápagos residents work year-round in this capacity, like veteran guide Marco Andres Vizcaino Garcia, who Mongabay interviewed about the challenges and opportunities he sees for ecotourism, conservation and research across these iconic islands he calls home.

Fishing boats spotted competing with whales in Antarctica for krill
Nearly all of Antarctica’s iconic wildlife, from penguins to seals and whales, depend on krill, tiny crustaceans that make up the base of the food chain. Krill are also sought after by humans, who scoop them up using massive fishing boats, potentially putting whales in danger, scientists warn. The fishing boats and whales are “going […]
2024’s top ocean news stories (commentary)
- Marine scientists and policy experts from nine international research and conservation institutions share their list of the top ocean news stories from 2024.
- Hopeful developments this past year include advancing innovations in mapping technologies, legal strategies and financial instruments to protect the ocean and greater inclusion of Indigenous peoples and coastal communities into high-level ocean planning.
- At the same time, 2024 was the hottest year on record as a result of climate change, surpassing 2023, and scientists declared the fourth global coral bleaching event, a major setback for the world’s coral reef ecosystems.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the authors, not necessarily Mongabay.

We need a North Pole Marine Reserve to secure a healthy future for Arctic waters (commentary)
- In 2024, the cod fishing moratorium on Newfoundland’s Grand Banks was lifted, 32 years after a historically significant ecological collapse of the fish’s population was caused by overfishing.
- The Central Arctic Ocean Fisheries Agreement signed in 2019 provides an example of how to address the threat from such overfishing by using the precautionary principle, international collaboration and science led evaluations of fish stocks.
- The future health of Arctic marine ecosystems can be secured by establishing a North Pole Marine Reserve, a new op-ed argues.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily Mongabay.

New evidence spells massive trouble for world’s sharks, rays and chimaeras
- A third of the world’s sharks, rays and chimaeras are threatened with extinction, and their numbers have dwindled since 1970, finds a new IUCN report and a study.
- Overfishing is the biggest threat to these marine fish, halving their populations in five decades, followed by the international trade in shark parts, habitat degradation and pollution.
- Scientists call for immediate actions to prevent extinction, regulate trade and manage shark fisheries to promote sustainability.

South Australia bans fishing of many sharks and rays in its waters
The state of South Australia has banned fishing of several endangered or critically endangered sharks and rays in its waters. In a media release dated Dec. 11, the state government said the new rules prohibit both recreational and commercial fishing of critically endangered species such as the whitefin swellshark (Cephaloscyllium albipinnum), oceanic whitetip shark (Carcharhinus […]
Road to recovery: Wild animals staging a comeback in 2024
Conservation news is often heartbreaking, with reports of dramatic biodiversity loss globally year after year. But in 2024, there were several reasons for cheer as well, with conservationists finding that certain species, once at the brink of extinction, are making a comeback. Here are five species that researchers confirmed were showing hopeful signs of recovery […]
Marine protection efforts in 2024 were still a drop in the ocean
In 2022, the world agreed at a U.N. biodiversity summit to protect 30% of Earth’s land and water by 2030. While protected areas already account for almost 15% of the planet’s land, protection for the world’s oceans is lagging far behind, at just over 8%. In 2024, several new marine protected areas (MPAs) helped nudge […]
Photos: Top new species from 2024
- Scientists described numerous new species this past year, from the world’s smallest otter in India to a fanged hedgehog from Southeast Asia, tree-dwelling frogs in Madagascar, and a new family of African plants.
- Experts estimate that fewer than 20% of Earth’s species have been documented by Western science, with potentially millions more awaiting discovery.
- Although such species may be new to science, many are already known to — and used by — local and Indigenous peoples, who often have given them traditional names.
- Upon discovery, many new species are assessed as threatened with extinction, highlighting the urgent need for conservation efforts.

‘These stories deserve to be told’: Shining a light on secretive fisheries managers
In 2024, the U.N.’s climate and biodiversity conferences, COP29 and COP16, drew the attention of more than 3,500 media delegates and 1,000 journalists, respectively. Though these massive global negotiations are consequential for international policy on the environment and have human rights implications, there were also international negotiations this year on managing the majority of the […]
Hundreds of whales to be harpooned as Iceland issues new hunting licenses
- On Dec. 6, Iceland’s interim government announced it had issued five-year commercial whaling permits to hunt fin and minke whales.
- The permits, issued to domestic whaling companies Hvalur hf and Tjaldtangi, allow the hunting of 209 fin whales and 217 minke whales each year in Icelandic waters.
- The move follows recent government decisions to briefly pause whaling based on welfare concerns about using grenade-tipped harpoons for hunting, and then resume it again.
- Conservationists say the new whaling decision is a blow to marine conservation and question its timing by an interim government that’s soon due to hand over power to a coalition that isn’t pro-whaling.

Scientists, Māori experts uncover new insights into rare spade-toothed whale
- Spade-toothed whales (Mesoplodon traversii) are among the rarest and least-studied whales, partly due to their deep-diving behavior and long periods spent underwater in the vast, underexplored South Pacific Ocean.
- Until recently, only six records of spade-toothed whales had been documented over 150 years, all but one found in Aotearoa New Zealand, a known hotspot for whale strandings.
- The seventh and most recent record, a 5-meter (16-foot) male, stranded in New Zealand in July 2024, was recently dissected by scientists and Māori cultural experts at a scientific research center.
- A key finding was the presence of tiny vestigial teeth in the upper jaw, offering insights into the species’ evolutionary history, with further discoveries anticipated as analysis continues.

Scientists in Bali find what could be the world’s largest coral colony
When a massive coral colony was recently discovered in the Solomon Islands, it was believed to be the largest in the world. Then last week, scientists found an even bigger one in the waters off the Indonesian island of Bali. Coral restoration nonprofit Ocean Gardener announced that Indonesian marine biologists had measured a Galaxea astreata […]
‘Shifting baselines’ in Cabo Verde after 50 years of declining fish stocks
- In Cabo Verde, as in many low-income countries in Africa, the historical record of fish catch is incomplete, making it hard to know what’s been lost and what’s required to fully rebuild.
- In a new study, researchers interviewed fish workers to understand how catches have changed over the last five decades, finding evidence of a major decline in volume of catch and maximum size of key species.
- The study also shows that young fishers and fishmongers don’t fully realize the scale of the loss — a case of what scientists call “shifting baselines.”
- Fishing communities on the West African mainland tell a similar story of decline, pointing to the urgency of centering local knowledge when devising fisheries management and conservation policies.

Research vessel E/V Nautilus spots multiple nautiluses for the first time
The crew of the research vessel E/V Nautilus erupted in excited chatter as they watched live video from a remotely operated vehicle traversing the German Channel in the Pacific island state of Palau. “It’s finally happened!” someone could be heard saying as the camera on board the ROV Hercules zoomed in to reveal a lone […]
Time for a ‘moral reckoning’ of aquaculture’s environmental impacts
Aquaculture is often promoted as a solution to declines in wild fish populations, and has outpaced the amount of wild-caught fish by tens of millions of metric tons each year. But it carries its own myriad environmental impacts, to the detriment of both humans and the ocean, says Carl Safina, an ecologist and author. He […]
Wisdom the 74-year-old albatross lays an egg with new mate
Wisdom, the world’s oldest known wild bird, has laid an egg, this time with a new partner. She is a Laysan albatross (Phoebastria immutabilis), or mōlī in Hawaiian, and this is her first egg in four years, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) Pacific region said in a statement on X. “She did it […]
As Thailand’s blue swimming crabs decline, crab banks offer a sustainable solution
- Fishing of blue swimming crabs in Thailand has historically exceeded sustainable levels, leading to a decline in both the number and size of crabs that fishers were catching.
- Understanding the urgency of recovering the crab population, fishers, government agencies, NGOs and the private sector have rolled out a series of initiatives to make the fishery more sustainable.
- These include seasonal bans on harvesting egg-carrying crabs, restrictions on trawling and certain kinds of fishing gear, and the establishment of crab banks, where egg-bearing females are nurtured, with their hatchlings later released into a secure marine site.
- Fishers and experts welcome the crab banks, but emphasize the need for a “sustainable holistic scheme,” given that a reliance on crab banks alone won’t rebuild blue swimming crab populations.

Killer whales have found new homes in the Arctic Ocean, potentially reshaping marine ecology
- The vast ice sheets that historically kept killer whales out of the Arctic Ocean are melting as the region rapidly warms.
- Two small, genetically distinct groups of killer whales now live in the Arctic, after migrating from more southern regions of the Atlantic Ocean.
- Killer whales put pressure on the local ecosystem, including Arctic whales important to Indigenous groups.

Teamwork makes the dream work for orcas hunting world’s biggest shark
Orcas, or killer whales, are the apex predator in the ocean when they work together. A new study documents how a pod of orcas is able to hunt and kill the largest fish in the world, the whale shark (Rhincodon typus), which can be twice the size of an individual orca (Orcinus orca), though the […]
‘Tragic’ mass fish die-off devastates Amazon River channel amid historic drought
A mass fish die-off in Brazil’s Amazon River region has killed an estimated 20-30 metric tons of fish and other aquatic animals, following one of the worst droughts in Amazonian history. On the night of Nov. 12, fishers from the riverine community of Igarapé do Costa, near the city of Santarém in northern Brazil, began […]
Protecting 2.6% of oceans could prevent deadly whale-ship collisions: Study
Ship strikes are a leading threat to large whales, with global shipping routes overlapping 92% of their habitats, a new study finds. But protecting whales in the most dangerous collision hotspots would require action over just 2.6% of the ocean’s surface, researchers conclude, potentially saving thousands of whales with minimal disruption to global trade. The […]
Scottish salmon farms seek growth despite mounting fish deaths and environmental concerns
- Scotland is the world’s third-largest producer of farmed Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar), after Norway and Chile.
- The industry is seeking to significantly increase production in Scotland, driven by growing export demand.
- However, it faces ethical concerns over mounting fish mortality, as well as environmental concerns about pollution, the proliferation of sea lice affecting wild salmon, and opposition from several local communities.
- Industry members acknowledge the challenge of growing salmon amid rising sea temperatures, but say Scottish salmon farms have made progress in managing sea lice and other health challenges.

44% of reef-building coral species at risk of extinction: IUCN
Some 44% of the world’s warm-water, reef-building coral species are facing risk of extinction, according to the latest update by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. This is a significant increase compared to the last assessment in 2008, when a third were considered threatened. The latest assessment covers all known coral species that build […]
World’s largest known coral — visible from space — found in Solomon Islands
Scientists aboard a National Geographic research vessel recently discovered the largest known coral in the world. The massive coral, which is 34 meters wide (112 feet) and 32 meters (105 feet) long, is visible from space. It’s a coral of the species Pavona clavus, which typically grows to just 2-3 meters (6.5 to 9.8 feet) […]
Mapping ‘gloop and mud’ sheds light on seabed carbon storage
- Two new reports showing the extent of carbon storage in the marine sediments around the coasts of Canada and the U.K. are helping to build the case for greater protection of the seabed, as part of efforts to mitigate climate change.
- They also highlight some of the threats to this underwater carbon sink, particularly sediment disturbance caused by bottom trawling, a fishing method.
- A new project funded by the U.K.’s Natural Environment Research Council is set to investigate whether or not continued disturbance poses the risk of turning the seabed into a source of CO₂.

Peruvian fishers help red sea urchins recover from overfishing
- For 20 years, fishers from the district of Marcona, on Peru’s southern coast, have been recovering populations of red sea urchin, thanks to an alliance with the government.
- According to a monitoring study by the Peruvian Institute of the Sea, there are more urchins in the area where Marcona fishers work than in other areas.
- Part of the success is rooted in the spatial management of coastal areas that the artisanal fishers’ associations are applying; they are pioneers of this practice in the country.

Population crash means African penguins are now critically endangered
Africa’s only resident penguin species is now officially critically endangered, according to a recent assessment by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Over the past century, the African penguin (Spheniscus demersus) has suffered precipitous declines in its population. In the mid-1950s, there were an estimated 141,000 breeding pairs of African penguins, or 282,000 […]
Study maps owners of world’s high-seas ships often tied to illegal fishing
For decades, the owners of refrigerated container ships, or reefers, often associated with illegal fishing, have remained in the shadows. Now, a new study has traced 324 companies as the owners of 569 reefer vessels active between 2017 and 2022, identifying the people and countries behind these ships for the first time. Reefers are used […]
The Azores creates largest marine protected area network in the North Atlantic
The Azores, an autonomous Portuguese archipelago, has approved legislation to create the largest marine protected area network in the North Atlantic Ocean. Spread across 287,000 square kilometers (about 110,800 square miles), the new marine protected area network covers 30% of the ocean surrounding the archipelago. Half of the MPA network is “fully protected,” while the […]
More krill fishing and no new protected areas for Antarctic seas after latest talks
- The Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) held its annual meeting Oct. 14-25 in Hobart, Australia.
- The international body comprised of 27 members is charged with conserving marine life in Antarctic waters, an area that is changing rapidly due to human-caused climate change.
- In 2009, the CCAMLR pledged to create “a representative network” of marine protected areas in the Southern Ocean, yet negotiations over four proposed MPAs have been at a standstill for years, due to repeated vetoes by the Chinese and Russian delegations.
- Despite a year of interim negotiations, CCAMLR members failed again at the latest meeting to reach agreement on creating any new marine protected areas and rolled back regulation of the burgeoning Antarctic krill fishery.

Scientists discover new hammerhead shark species — and it’s already at risk
A new-to-science hammerhead species, the shovelhead shark, has been hiding in plain sight for three centuries due to its close resemblance to a long-lost relative, the bonnethead shark. After a decade of research, a breakthrough study published Sept. 24 found that these are two distinct species, challenging the widely accepted 1758 description by biologist Carl […]
Research proving impact of ocean acidification on marine life urgently needed: Report
A group of marine scientists is calling for focused research that provides “incontrovertible evidence” of how ocean acidification impacts marine life. In a report published Oct. 16., the scientists say that studies establishing a direct causal link between acidification and marine life are currently lacking, but are needed so policymakers can make informed decisions. Ocean […]
The disappearing red ghost crabs of Cox’s Bazar, a conservation crisis in Bangladesh
- Cox’s Bazar Beach in southeast Bangladesh is known for its vibrant red crab population, which creates a stunning spectacle in the early mornings and late afternoons. However, this natural wonder is now threatened by human activities and environmental degradation.
- Red ghost crabs benefit coastal ecosystems by aerating sand and improving water infiltration, and also as prey species. Their decline threatens the ecosystem health.
- Researchers say a beach management plan is crucial for their protection and restoration. Protected areas like in Kuakata have shown effectiveness in conserving ghost crabs. Raising awareness among local communities is also crucial for successful conservation efforts in Bangladesh.

Coastal farmers in Bangladesh give up shrimp farming for agriculture to combat salinity
- The decades-long shrimp aquaculture on Bangladesh’s southwest coast, which negatively impacts the environment in many ways, including creating a freshwater crisis, is now losing its importance as the farmers are gradually inclining toward agriculture again.
- Increased salinity, both due to sea-level rise and diversion of the upstream flow of freshwater, and peer pressure had forced the coastal farmers to venture into shrimp cultivation about four decades ago.
- For the last couple of years, excessive salinity and repeated viral outbreaks in shrimp farms have pushed the farmers back to agro-based farming again.
- Crop diversification plays a positive role in addressing the changes; however, water shortage poses a big challenge in restoring agriculture.

Rate of ocean warming has nearly doubled in the last two decades: Report
The world’s oceans are warming at an unprecedented rate. According to the EU Copernicus’ 8th Ocean State Report released this week, the rate of ocean warming has nearly doubled in the last 20 years. Roughly 22% of the global ocean surface experienced at least one severe to extreme marine heat wave event in 2023, according […]
In the Pacific depths, an underwater mountain hosts a bonanza of new species
- Scientists discovered a new underwater mountain and more than 100 potentially new-to-science species during recent expeditions in the Southeast Pacific, including rare creatures like flying spaghetti monsters and Casper octopuses.
- The newly found seamount, located about 1,450 km (900 mi) off Chile’s coast, rises 3,100 meters (nearly 2 miles) from the seafloor and hosts thriving deep-sea ecosystems with ancient corals and glass sponges.
- These findings highlight the rich biodiversity of the high seas and come at a crucial time as the U.N. finalizes the high seas treaty to protect international waters.
- While the treaty sets rules for marine protected areas, challenges remain in its implementation, including formal adoption and ratification by at least 60 countries.

Social media influencers’ behavior with marine wildlife is risky for animals, too (commentary)
- Social media accounts which showcase close encounters with marine wildlife — from whales to white sharks and manta rays — have become common and popular.
- A distinctive feature of these is the presence of people in the images, where the focus is frequently on the individual near – or sometimes in direct contact with – the species: the main subject is not the animal itself but the human interacting with it, which puts both people and wildlife at risk.
- “In these experiences, what many of us often seek – a unique connection with a species different from our own – overlooks a fundamental principle: marine wildlife does not need our friendship, but rather our protection,” a new op-ed argues.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily Mongabay.

Celestún refuge fights illegal fishing & helps revive species in Mexico’s Yucatán
- In 2019, the Celestún fishing community in Yucatán, Mexico, established a 324-square-kilometer (125-square-mile) Fishing Refuge Zone (FRZ), the largest in the Gulf of Mexico.
- The area was created in response to the overfishing of sea cucumbers, a species that had been in rapid decline, which caused social strife in the community.
- Local fishers have been trained to monitor the refuge to help the species recover and protect other species of commercial interest, like octopus and lobster. The participation of women has been an important part of the process, as they help lead community monitoring efforts.

Plan for close season rings alarm bells for Liberia’s artisanal fishers
- Liberia revealed plans in May for a close season for fishing, but still hasn’t given any details of what it covers, whom it will apply to, or even when it will come into force.
- Policymakers say a pause in fishing activity is necessary to allow stocks to replenish, and is also an obligation for Liberia under a regional fisheries bloc whose other members have also planned or even implemented close seasons.
- Liberia’s small-scale fishers say the plan could be a solution to dwindling catches, but say there must be some form of livelihood support for them during the period when they can’t fish.
- They also say a close season must apply first and foremost to the industrial vessels that harvest a large amount of the country’s fish, including from nearshore waters that are supposed to be the exclusive domain of small-scale fishers.

Clock ticks on Indonesia shark skinners as predator population plunges
- Indonesia accounts for more sharks caught in open water than any other country, but fish stocks around the main island of Java are in crisis due to years of overfishing by large vessels using purse seine nets.
- In the fishing port of Brondong, a major landing site in East Java province, fishers continue to process dozens of species of sharks caught increasingly far from the world’s most populous island.
- Shark conservation is attracting increasing international attention because of the relative lack of protection and awareness of the predators’ roles in ocean ecosystems.

Amid haze of war, Lebanese activists helped turtle hatchlings journey to sea
- The sandy beaches of South Lebanon are a crucial nesting ground for sea turtles.
- This year, 2,500 sea turtle hatchlings safely reached the Mediterranean from Al-Mansouri Beach, a key nesting site near the city of Tyre, according to a volunteer group that has been tending the beach and its turtles for two decades.
- Despite the escalating conflict with Israel and the prevailing climate of fear, the volunteers continued their efforts to protect both the animals and the beach.
- On Sept. 23, the leader of the volunteer group told Mongabay she had to flee her home in Tyre after surviving several Israeli air strikes.

Global fisheries must change to avoid ocean collapse, study says
A new study by an international team of scientists finds that industrial fishing is driving the world’s oceans toward collapse. The report outlines 11 key actions needed to maintain healthy oceans, including the reduction of harmful fishing methods and keeping fish populations at 60% of their natural levels. One recommendation offered in the report is […]
Five times more marine fish may be at risk of extinction: study
What’s new: The number of bony marine fish species at risk of extinction could be five times higher than previously estimated by conservation scientists, a recent study suggests. What the study says: Bony fish, or teleosts, represent some 96% of the world’s marine fish species. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, the global reference […]
Fishing in a fog: Ship noise hampers orcas’ hunting success
Underwater noise from ships is making it tough for killer whales, or orcas, to find and catch their favorite fish, a recent study has found. Orcas (Orcinus orca) rely heavily on sound to hunt. They emit ultrasonic echolocation clicks that bounce off objects. By listening for the echoes of these clicks, the orcas can identify […]
Northern elephant seals likely used sonar ‘dinner bell’ to find food
When eight young northern elephant seals suddenly began showing up at a deep-sea observatory, researchers were taken by surprise. Their repeated visits to the research site, otherwise a speck in the vast, dark ocean, wasn’t a chance occurrence, a new study reveals. The mammals were likely drawn to the area by the observatory’s sonar pulses. […]
Maldives drops plan to reopen longline tuna fishing following protests
Longline fishing for tuna will remain closed in the Maldives, the island country’s president announced on Aug. 29. The decision came after local fishers, conservation NGOs and scientists protested against plans by the administration of President Mohamed Muizzu to reopen longline fisheries for yellowfin tuna and bigeye tuna. Longline fishing has been banned in the […]
A Mexican marine park shelters giant manta rays: Interview with Madalena Pereira Cabral
- For more than four years, marine biologist Madalena Pereira Cabral has been dedicated to investigating and understanding the movements of giant manta rays (Mobula birostris) in Revillagigedo National Park in the Mexican Pacific.
- Using satellite tags, the expert aims to describe these animals’ routes through the ocean and the reasons behind the fact that almost all the individual manta rays she has been studying end up leaving the marine protected area. Leaving this area exposes them to fishing pressure, which puts them at risk.
- One of the scientist’s most important findings is that giant manta rays’ movements and the groups they form are influenced by the El Niño phenomenon. This information is crucial for the conservation of this little-understood species.

Famous ‘spy’ beluga whale found dead in Norway
A beluga whale nicknamed Hvaldimir, who was initially suspected of being a Russian spy, was found dead on Aug. 31, according to Norwegian media. Hvaldimir’s body was first spotted by a father and son who were out fishing for mackerel near the port town of Risavika in southwestern Norway. “This morning, after receiving a sighting […]
UK aid agency investing $35m in controversial DRC port
British International Investment (BII), the U.K.’s development finance institution and impact investor, recently announced that it will invest up to $35 million in a controversial deepwater port project in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). This project, conservationists have previously warned, could damage Congo’s critical coastal habitats and sea turtle nesting areas. The Banana port […]
Sea lions with video cameras help scientists map ocean floor
For the first time ever, scientists have had help from sea lions in mapping the ocean floor. And the marine mammals have done their job well, capturing six different marine habitats, including algal meadows and reefs, that make up South Australia’s seabed, researchers report in a recently published study. For much of the planet’s ocean, […]
South Africa seeks to settle landmark African penguin lawsuit
South Africa’s new environment minister is calling for an out-of-court settlement with conservation groups that earlier this year filed a case against his predecessor for not doing enough to protect plummeting populations of African penguins. Dion George, who took office in July, made the announcement on Aug. 20 via his Democratic Alliance party, adding he […]
New species of skate is named, 35 years since its discovery off Madagascar
Toward the end of 1988, the Russian research vessel RV Vityaz visited a remote underwater seamount off the island of Madagascar. The researchers on board collected several specimens of sharks, skates and rays in a bid to understand the region’s marine life better. More than three decades later, scientists have confirmed that six of those […]
Recently hatched baby skate offers hope for endangered Tasman species
A captive-breeding program for the Maugean skate, one of the rarest marine fish in the world, has given researchers hope: a baby Maugean skate has hatched from an egg laid in captivity, for the first time ever. The Maugean skate (Dipturus maugeanus; formerly Zearaja maugeana) is today known to occur only in Macquarie Harbour, an […]
Japanese ship hunts massive fin whale, country’s first in 50 years
Japanese commercial whalers recently killed their first fin whale in 50 years. The fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus), the world’s second-largest whale, after the blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus), can grow to up to 27 meters (88 feet) in length. Industrial whaling until the mid-1900s severely depleted their populations, and the species is classified as vulnerable to […]
On Canada’s West Coast, clam gardening builds resilience among Indigenous youth
- The Nuu-chah-nulth Youth Warrior Family, also known as the Warrior Program, fosters leadership skills in boys and young men across several Indigenous Nuu-chah-nulth nations on the west coast of Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada.
- This youth-led program involves taking younger community members into ancestral lands for a variety of traditional activities, among them building and reviving clam gardens, an ancient maricultural method.
- Clam gardens consist of terraced rock walls built across small coastal bays that allow tidal sediment to accumulate and transform rocky or steep shores into flat, productive areas for clams. Clam garden construction and care, along with other cultural practices, such as hunting, spearfishing and medicinal-plant foraging, serve as rites of passage, helping Warrior Program youth reconnect with their heritage.
- This report’s companion video won 2nd place for Best Coverage of Indigenous Communities as part of the 2025 Indigenous Media Awards.

Shark ‘Fitbit’ captures rare footage of collision with boat
A Fitbit-like device has captured the first known footage of a boat striking a basking shark, according to a new study. The basking shark (Cetorhinus maximus), the world’s second-largest fish, is endangered due to historical overfishing and government culling programs. But sightings have increased off the coast of Ireland, where basking sharks aggregate to feed […]
WTO negotiations flounder — again — over banning unsustainable fishing subsidies
- The WTO’s General Council meeting in Geneva in July failed again to finalize a treaty to stop “harmful” fishing subsidies that enable unsustainable fishing, hindered by India’s objections.
- Only 81 out of 166 member states have formally accepted the partial “Fish One” agreement, and progress on “Fish Two” remains stalled.
- Harmful subsidies continue to deplete fish stocks, jeopardizing marine ecosystems and food security for 3 billion people.
- In light of the 25-year struggle for international consensus, some observers suggest states instead strike bi- or plurilateral agreements to eliminate harmful subsidies.

Sharks have cocaine in their bodies
Cocaine has found its way into sharks at sea, a new study has found. Researchers dissected 13 Brazilian sharpnose sharks (Rhizoprionodon lalandii) caught by artisanal fishers in the waters off Brazil between September 2021 and August 2023. All 13 sharks had trace amounts of cocaine, while 12 were positive for benzoylecgonine, one of the metabolites […]
Shark fin consumption wanes in Thailand, yet demand persists, report shows
- A new study in Thailand reveals consumption of shark fin has declined by more than one-third since 2017.
- Yet significant demand for shark fin and shark meat persists: more than half of surveyed citizens said they plan to consume such products in the future, despite their understanding of the ecological risks associated with killing sharks.
- Besides shark fin soup, a popular dish served at social gatherings and weddings, conservationists are increasingly concerned about emerging markets for shark parts in pet food sold in Thailand.
- Marine conservation groups say besides continued public awareness campaigns, policymakers must do more to curb shark bycatch and improve traceability of products in the shark trade to protect vulnerable species at risk of extinction.

Peruvian bills could imperil marine biodiversity & artisanal fishing, experts say
- Two legislative proposals seek to amend a law the Peruvian Congress passed unanimously in 2023 that recognizes artisanal fishers and promotes the protection of the sea within 5 nautical miles of shore, an area crucial for the reproduction of marine species.
- The proposals are being debated in Congress even as approval of the 2023 law’s regulations remains in limbo.
- Proponents of the proposals say they will strengthen fishing law in favor of artisanal fishers.
- But many artisanal fishers and conservation groups oppose the proposals, which would allow fishing boats carrying mechanized and nonselective gear to fish within 3 miles of the coast.

Anti-whaling activist Paul Watson arrested in Greenland
Prominent environmental activist Paul Watson has been arrested in Greenland, reportedly for his past interventions against Japanese whalers, according to a statement from his foundation. Watson, a Canadian-U.S. dual national, is the founder of Sea Shepherd, a U.S.-based nonprofit, marine conservation activist organization, and has been involved in several anti-whaling and anti-sealing protests in the […]
To end turtle hunting, an African island state embraced the hunters
- The island nation of São Tomé and Príncipe is home to unique species and rich marine ecosystems, including threatened sea turtles.
- In 2014, the country enacted a law banning the trade and possession of sea turtles, which, paired with local conservation programs, has significantly reduced turtle hunting and trade in the country.
- Local communities have become key players in sea turtle conservation, but while many former turtle traders have adapted to new livelihoods, some, particularly women, struggle due to lack of skills, resources and financial capital, highlighting the need for ongoing support and tailored solutions.
- Education and marketing campaigns and trust building with local leaders have helped change public attitudes toward sea turtle conservation, demonstrating that involving and understanding local communities is often crucial for long-term conservation efforts.

In northern Spain, climate change is killing shellfish — and women’s livelihoods
- In Galicia in northwestern Spain, shellfish harvesting is traditionally women’s work.
- But the clams and cockles the shellfish pickers’ livelihoods depend on are increasingly harder to come by.
- Extreme weather events made more frequent and intense by climate change, including heat waves and torrential rain, threaten the four main shellfish species harvested in the region, and with them, the tradition that has been passed down through generations of women.

Indonesia’s Avatar sea nomads enact Indigenous rules to protect octopus
- For generations the Bajo sea nomads from Indonesia’s Sulawesi region have relied on catching octopus to meet their economic and nutritional needs.
- However, in recent years catch volumes have declined and locals worry that overfishing and increasingly extreme weather threaten livelihoods providing for hundreds of families.
- In response the community began enacting seasonal limits in late 2022, closing the fishery for months at a time and imposing minimum weight restrictions on octopus that can be collected during the fishing season.
- Anecdotal testimony from fishers Mongabay Indonesia spoke with suggests income growth resulting from the policy has outpaced the regional minimum wage.

Efforts to save Cambodia’s coast tread water as fish stocks plummet
- Along the coast of Cambodia, illegal fishing is driving fish stocks toward collapse and fishing communities into poverty.
- The Cambodian government’s capacity for and will to counter fisheries problems are minimal, and several government fisheries reform efforts are off track or behind schedule.
- As one multimillion-dollar foreign project to bolster government capacity and revive Cambodian fish stocks comes to an end, another is just kicking off.
- Whether these efforts to salvage Cambodia’s coastal resources will pay off depends on a range of factors and actors, but so far the plans implemented haven’t been enough to stave off the impending collapse of marine fish stocks.

Icelandic government grants new license to whaling company to hunt 128 fin whales
- The Icelandic government has given a whaling license to commercial whaling company Hvalur for the 2024 season, allowing the company to hunt 99 vulnerable fin whales in the waters around Greenland and West Iceland and 29 around East Iceland and the Faroe Islands.
- In 2023, the government suspended Hvalur’s whaling operations due to animal welfare concerns, but the company recommenced whaling once the ban was lifted.
- The company’s license subsequently expired in 2023, but Hvalur reapplied for a license in January of this year.
- Animal welfare advocates have denounced the Icelandic government’s decision, arguing that whaling has no place in the modern world.

Peru approves the creation of long-awaited marine protected area
- Experts have called the creation of the Grau Tropical Sea National Reserve, which took more than 10 years to be approved, a milestone as it is rich in biodiversity.
- Observers expect the reserve to allow for greater control and monitoring of the area to prevent illegal fishing.
- However, some industrial fishing, including trawling, is permitted in the new reserve, a decision criticized by marine conservation experts who say Peru needs “no-fishing areas.”

Illegal fishing and land grabs push Cambodian coastal communities to the brink
KOH KONG, Cambodia — Join Mongabay staff writer Gerry Flynn as he embarks on a crucial investigation along Cambodia’s coast, uncovering the effects of illegal fishing and unchecked coastal development on local communities. In recent years, fish stocks in Cambodian waters have plummeted, leading to a dramatic decline in income for small-scale fishers. The primary culprits? […]
Small-scale fishers lose out to trawlers in race to catch Cambodia’s last fish
- On Cambodia’s coast, fish catches have dropped precipitously in recent years, and so have small-scale fishers’ incomes.
- Small-scale fishers say commercial trawlers have been illegally entering their fishing grounds, scraping the sea clean of life and, with it, their community’s ability to survive.
- Although fishers often blame foreign vessels, satellite data show Cambodian-, Thai- and Vietnamese-flagged trawlers making frequent illegal incursions into Cambodia’s protected waters, community fisheries or shallow inshore waters legally reserved for small-scale fishers.
- This is the first part of a Mongabay series about challenges faced by Cambodia’s small-scale fishers along the coast.

18 years on, how are sharks faring in French Polynesia’s shark sanctuary?
- While sharks are feared and threatened in many parts of the world, French Polynesia decided to protect them two decades ago by declaring its entire exclusive economic zone a massive sanctuary for sharks and rays.
- The move aligns with traditional beliefs that hold sharks as sacred animals that represent gods and the link between past and present.
- New citizen-science data offer some evidence the sanctuary is working to protect sharks, but more research is needed to confirm it.
- Sharks still face threats there from accidental bycatch and illegal fishing, and some conflicts with local fishers have emerged.

Fishers decry ‘underhanded’ new initiative to protect Mexico’s vaquita
- Over the past two years, the Mexican Navy has installed hundreds of anti-trawling hooks to prevent vaquitas being caught in illegal gill nets in the Upper Gulf of California.
- The long hooks, attached to concrete blocks, are designed to snag the gill nets that target totoaba fish, but which have become notorious for driving the vaquita porpoise to the brink of extinction.
- The project was initially credited with an immediate drop in illegal fishing boats in the vaquita’s core habitat, but fishers from the community of San Felipe say new blocks were installed without warning outside the core habitat, snagging more of their equipment and creating ghost nets that could harm vaquitas.
- Results from the latest vaquita population survey are expected in June; last year, scientists said as few as 10 of the critically endangered porpoises may still be alive.

Undercover in a shark fin trafficking ring: Interview with wildlife crime fighter Andrea Crosta
- Worldwide, many of the key players in wildlife trafficking are also involved in other criminal enterprises, from drug smuggling to human trafficking and money laundering.
- In an interview with Mongabay, Andrea Crosta, founder of Earth League International, talks about the group’s new report on shark fin trafficking from Latin America to East Asia and the concept of “crime convergence.”
- International wildlife trafficking, including the illegal trade in shark fins, is dominated by Chinese nationals, Crosta says.
- Since smuggling routes often overlap and criminal groups frequently work together across borders, Crosta calls for field collaboration among countries and law enforcement agencies to fight wildlife crime, the world’s fourth-largest criminal enterprise.

Indonesia resumes lobster larvae exports despite sustainability, trade concerns
- The Indonesian government will resume a controversial policy of exporting lobster larvae, initially just to Vietnam, in exchange for investment in its own lobster-farming industry.
- The ban has met with controversy since it was introduced in 2016; a subsequent attempt to lift it failed after the fisheries minister at the time was arrested for taking bribes to issue export permits.
- The current minister says the lifting this time around is based on pragmatic considerations, with law enforcement efforts failing to stop the smuggling of lobster larvae.
- Critics say the move will benefit Vietnam more than it will Indonesia, given that the former’s far more advanced lobster-farming industry generates far more value from the sale of mature lobsters than Indonesia ever could from the sale of larvae.

No answers for Ghanaian fishery observer’s family months after suspected death
- Samuel Abayateye, a 38-year-old father of two, was working as a fisheries observer when he was reported missing from his assigned vessel in October 2023.
- After a body missing its head, forearms and feet that Abayateye’s family says closely resembled him washed ashore in December, the Ghana Police Service opened an investigation.
- Five months later, Abayateye’s family said they still haven’t received any information from the authorities investigating the case, or the results of a DNA test to confirm the identity of the body.
- A fisheries observer told Mongabay the case has sown fear among observers appointed to monitor and report on illegal fishing in fleets operating in Ghana. Fishing industry experts say the case highlights the dangers faced by observers, whose job is critical to ensuring fishing vessels comply with the law.

Who was Samuel Abayateye, the fishery observer missing in Ghana
ANYAMAM, Ghana — In October 2023, Samuel Abayateye, a 38-year-old fishery observer, went missing in Ghana. This unsettling event is part of a troubling pattern, as disappearances of fishery observers in Ghanaian waters have occurred before. In this video, Mongabay travels to Anyamam, Samuel’s home village, to speak with his family and uncover more about […]
Fewer fish and more rules lead to illegal catches, Italian fishers say
- The line between legal and illegal fishing in the waters off Italy’s Calabria region is often blurred, with fishers blaming stringent top-down regulations for constricting their traditional practices.
- The issue is further muddied by the presence here of the ‘ndrangheta or Calabrian mafia, which investigations have shown is involved in the fish trade and also uses it as cover for illicit activities such as drug smuggling.
- The Mediterranean Sea is experiencing a decline in fish stocks, ranging from 60-90% depending on the species, with the NGO Sea Shepherd Italia blaming illegal fishing for environmental damage.

Rewilding program ships eggs around the world to restore Raja Ampat zebra sharks
- A rewilding project aimed at saving endangered zebra sharks (Stegostoma tigrinum is sending eggs from aquarium sharks more than 12,000 kilometers (7,500 miles) away to nurseries in Raja Ampat.
- After hatching, the young sharks are kept in tanks until they are strong enough to release into the wild.
- Researchers hope to release 500 zebra sharks into the wild within 10 years in an effort to support a large, genetically diverse breeding population.
- A survey estimated the zebra shark had a population of 20 spread throughout the Raja Ampat archipelago, making the animal functionally extinct in the region.

Feeds: news | india | latam | brasil | indonesia