Mongabay - Marine

A new project off the Hawaiian island of O‘ahu tests an unusual method of shielding coastal communities and infrastructure from destructive waves: an artificial reef intended to act as a …

A study by Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (UMT) found microplastics in 64% of coral fragment samples taken from sites at Pulau Redang Marine Park. The primary plastic identified was polyethylene terephthalate …

The 45th meeting of the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) took place Oct. 19-30 in Hobart, Australia. The multilateral body charged with regulating fishing and …

Pledges to protect the world’s oceans are featured prominently in countries’ action plans to meet the targets set out in the Global Biodiversity Framework — the international agreement to reverse …

Conflict between small-scale fishers and industrial vessels can threaten food security and livelihoods in coastal communities, including via direct competition for species, disputes over fishing grounds or damage to gear. …

A nonprofit is reintroducing crocodiles as part of a mangrove restoration project in Veracruz, Mexico. The project also involves using an Aztec technique for reforestation by planting mangrove seedlings on …

Residents of Pamarawan, a low-lying fishing village at North Manila Bay, no longer experience flooding after the construction of a nature-based coastal defense and flood control project. Instead of concrete, …

Fishers in Indonesia’s Maluku Islands say increasingly rough seas are keeping them ashore and reducing their catches as the current El Niño intensifies, threatening livelihoods in communities dependent on fishing. …

Environmental lawyer Rose Liza Eisma-Osorio joined a legal fight in 2007, representing the resident marine mammals in Philippines’ Tañon Strait as petitioners in a case to stop energy company JAPEX’s …

A recent study found 25 contaminants, including from cosmetic products, medicines and agricultural runoff, in coral tissues from reef sites in Hawaii. Contaminant levels were higher at sites subject to …

A road through Mexico’s Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve, on the Caribbean coast, threatens mangroves and forest ecosystems, environmental groups say. Local communities have filed an injunction to permanently cancel the …

Seabirds and native forests build climate resilience in atoll islands, a new study finds. Using data collected on 28 atoll islands in the Indian and Pacific oceans, the study finds …

The silky shark, a large, slender species that swims the tropical seas and is listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List of Endangered Species, is heavily hunted for its …

To help address Louisiana’s serious coastal erosion problem, a recent study investigated how native estuarine animals were impacted by an innovative fill material for coastline restoration: Sand made from recycled …

Canada’s last remaining epishelf lake has disappeared and isn’t coming back, a recent study confirms. Epishelf lakes form when an ice sheet dams a fjord, causing freshwater, melting off glaciers, …

The long-spined sea urchin (Centrostephanus rodgersii), also known as Centro, is an invasive species in the waters around Tasmania, Australia, and it’s been munching away the state’s kelp forests. A …

Wisye Sahambangung, a fisher and mangrove conservationist from Sarawet, a village in Indonesia’s North Sulawesi province, has gone from receiving government assistance for low-income families to leading a women’s group …

Women shellfish gatherers along the coast of Brazil’s Sergipe state are losing access to mangroves and watching mollusk and crustacean populations dwindle as urban projects and real estate development advance …

A female dusky shark trapped in a waterfront park in the South Korean city of Busan has become an instant celebrity, attracting nearly 1.4 million spectators since she was first …

Worst-case climate change modeling shows that rising temperatures and changing weather patterns could heighten mining contamination risks for marine environments, with some regions exposed to compounding hazards. Metal mines and …

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. 5-8 in Brussels. Seabird …

In 2021, Belize made a series of time-bound marine conservation commitments as part of a landmark debt-for-nature deal known as the Belize Blue Bond. To complete milestone 6 of the …

Marine conservation has attracted ambitious commitments, including vast new protected areas and international agreements. But declaring an area protected does not necessarily mean marine life is recovering. Fully protected marine …

Coastal communities living along one of Thailand’s fastest-eroding shorelines are trialing a new system of coastal protection based on artificial mangrove roots. A new study that assessed the results of …

Globally, mangrove cover has grown by 477 square kilometers (184 square miles) between 1985 and 2025, marking a turnaround from the losses that have predominated for years, but gains are …

Saliza Bono, a Malaysian bioacoustician at nonprofit research group MareCet, studies the sounds of marine mammals to protect their population. Her research focuses on the impacts of underwater noise, particularly …

In recent years, a series of high-profile investigations implicated the Chinese fleets targeting squid in international waters in illegal fishing practices, environmental violations, and poor working conditions, including forced labor …

Scientists identified 57 new marine species and five new genera from Argentina’s Mar del Plata Canyon in just two weeks. Most specimens came from a 2025 expedition whose livestream drew …

Two invasive forms of a seaweed called caulerpa were discovered in Aotearoa New Zealand in 2021, forming meadows that blanketed the seabed. This raised fears that the caulerpa would smother …

Sand mining at Sierra Leone’s Mahera Beach is impacting local tourism and coastal ecology while also defacing the landscape. Nearly 50,000 cubic meters is extracted from Mahera Beach annually, even …

Trained as a marine biologist, Thai photojournalist Sirachai “Shin” Arunrugstichai has taken photos that capture issues pertinent to marine conservation, from beached coral reefs to beaches polluted by oil spills. …

Sorn Srenh is a local commune leader in Cambodia’s Koh Sdach archipelago, where he also serves as a marine advocate, working with fishing communities to protect ocean ecosystems and livelihoods. …

In April 2026, the Brazilian government prohibited the import of meat from endangered shark species, making it illegal to sell any species of the genus Squatina, the angelsharks. Despite the …

In Clayoquot Sound, British Columbia, a partnership between the Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation, Redd Fish Restoration Society and West Coast Kelp grows kelp at scale to support an ecosystem in decline. …

As Hanoi leans on fishers to hold the line in contested waters, a distant war and a demanding European compliance regime are squeezing the same boats from opposite directions. The …

A new field study found that two treatments of beneficial bacteria each protected reef corals from bleaching during a heat wave in the Red Sea. A heat-killed version of one …

Ali Thani and Lorna Slade shared frustration with top-down conservation and a belief that coastal communities could manage their own resources led them to come together to create the Mwambao …

Mangrove forests can help protect tropical coastal areas from rising sea levels and storm surges. New research presents a model by which to predict how much mangroves can reduce — …

Scientists have found that dolphins have separate areas in the ocean where they hunt and socialize. Dolphins along Florida’s Atlantic coast were found to communicate using whistling sounds in the …

Indonesia plans to create a new agency to restore and manage peatlands prone to burning, in a repeat of a measure it took in response to the severe fire season …

Singapore plans to reclaim an estimated 590 hectares (1,460 acres) of seascape and merge several islands to create a new “western island”. The mega-project could bury up to 60% of …

The largest global coral reef assessment finds that average hard coral cover has declined 9.5% relative to a three-decade reference period spanning 1980-2009. A fourth global bleaching event in 2023-2025 …

Using satellite data and water samples taken by ships over the last 40 years, researchers employed machine learning to untangle the history of marine heat waves hitting simultaneously with acidification …

A new study in Bali found that coral reefs continue to decline at one of the island’s major tourism hubs, despite multiple efforts to rehabilitate them. Reef restoration initiatives often …

The Bajau people of Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines have traditionally harvested the sea through freediving. A recent ban on compressor-assisted diving in Indonesia’s West Nusa Tenggara province has made …

The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries published a list of 34 priorities in early September that outline its intention to loosen restrictions on domestic fishing. The list …

A new study in Vietnam found coastal plastic pollution costs small-scale fishers thousands of dollars a year in lost earning potential. Fishers lose on average $3,421 per vessel per year …

Offshore wind is expanding as an important renewable energy source that many experts say is essential to meeting climate goals. Ensuring wind farms limit environmental harm and work with nature …

More than 100 organizations have signed the Nairobi Flyways Declaration, pledging to integrate conservation of migratory birds’ intercontinental routes into development planning and finance. The declaration marked the end of …

In Panama, various initiatives are underway to reduce bycatch of sharks and rays, led by biologists, NGOs, politicians, and local restaurants. Many industrial fishing boats carry biologists with them to …