<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss version="2.0" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" xmlns:wfw="http://wellformedweb.org/CommentAPI/" xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" xmlns:sy="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/syndication/" xmlns:slash="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/slash/" >

	<channel>
		<title>Conservation news</title>
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		<link>https://news.mongabay.com/list/atlantic-ocean/</link>
		<description>Environmental science and conservation news</description>
		<lastBuildDate>Sat, 12 Sep 2026 14:31:28 +0000</lastBuildDate>
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	<url>https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2020/05/16160320/cropped-mongabay_icon-32x32.png</url>
	<title>Atlantic Ocean environmental news</title>
	<link>https://news.mongabay.com/list/atlantic-ocean/</link>
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				<item>
					<title>Gulf of Mexico’s unique Orca Basin shouldn&#8217;t become a carbon dump (commentary)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/gulf-of-mexicos-unique-orca-basin-shouldnt-become-a-carbon-dump-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/gulf-of-mexicos-unique-orca-basin-shouldnt-become-a-carbon-dump-commentary/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>31 Aug 2026 20:56:30 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Craig R. McClain]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Erik Hoffner]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/08/31185024/Screenshot-2026-08-31-at-2.48.36-PM-768x512.png" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=328050</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Atlantic Ocean, North America, and United States]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Business, Carbon Sequestration, Climate, Climate Change, Commentary, Conservation, Critical Minerals, Deep Sea, Deep Sea Mining, Ecosystems, Environment, Governance, Marine, Marine Animals, Marine Carbon Dioxide Removal, Marine Conservation, Mining, Natural Resources, Oceans, Renewable Energy, Research, and Science]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[It’s 3 a.m. and I am standing on the deck of a research vessel, staring into water so dark it looks solid. I feel what I felt standing at the rim of the Grand Canyon, watching the sun set: there are places in this world deserving of our reverence, our protection, and our humility. The [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[It’s 3 a.m. and I am standing on the deck of a research vessel, staring into water so dark it looks solid. I feel what I felt standing at the rim of the Grand Canyon, watching the sun set: there are places in this world deserving of our reverence, our protection, and our humility. The Orca Basin is one of those places. I have spent years working in the deep Gulf of Mexico, lowering instruments into the dark, pulling up sediment cores that smell of sulfur, watching remotely operated vehicle (ROV) footage of a seafloor that most people will never see, and few even know exists. Lying roughly 168 miles (270 kilometers) off the Louisiana coast, beneath more than a mile (2.2 km) of water, the Orca Basin is one of the most extraordinary environments on the planet. It is a lake on the seafloor, where the water is so salty and so dense that it resists mixing with the overlying seawater, and has occupied a vast depression on the gulf floor for thousands of years. Spanning roughly 154 square miles (nearly 400 km2), its salinity runs nearly 10 times that of normal seawater. With no oxygen, no multicellular animals venture below its ghostly boundary, where normal ocean gives way to something ancient and strange. When descending ROV cameras near the surface of the Orca Basin’s salty water, the interface shimmers like heat rising from sunbaked asphalt — a mirage a mile underwater. Map of the Orca Basin in the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/gulf-of-mexicos-unique-orca-basin-shouldnt-become-a-carbon-dump-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/gulf-of-mexicos-unique-orca-basin-shouldnt-become-a-carbon-dump-commentary/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-328050</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Wind farms join bottom trawlers and oil rigs in a protected North Sea sandbank</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/wind-farms-join-bottom-trawlers-and-oil-rigs-in-a-protected-north-sea-sandbank/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/wind-farms-join-bottom-trawlers-and-oil-rigs-in-a-protected-north-sea-sandbank/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>30 Jul 2026 20:28:50 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Christina Egerstrom]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rebecca Kessler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/30200540/Joost-van-Uffelen-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=324903</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Atlantic Ocean and Europe]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Alternative Energy, Environment, Fishing, Industry, Marine, Marine Animals, Marine Conservation, Marine Protected Areas, Molluscs, Natural Resources, Oceans, Offshore Wind, Saltwater Fish, and Wind Power]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In the North Sea, the vast, shallow sandbank known as Dogger Bank was once among the most productive marine nurseries in Europe. The area stretches across U.K., Dutch, German and Danish waters, and is home to a vast array of marine life, including sharks, rays, dolphins, long-lived shellfish, anemones, corals, sand eels, and seabirds, prompting [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In the North Sea, the vast, shallow sandbank known as Dogger Bank was once among the most productive marine nurseries in Europe. The area stretches across U.K., Dutch, German and Danish waters, and is home to a vast array of marine life, including sharks, rays, dolphins, long-lived shellfish, anemones, corals, sand eels, and seabirds, prompting experts to call it the ecological heart of the North Sea. While much of Dogger Bank has been protected for its unique seabed habitat, destructive industrial activities like oil and gas extraction as well as fishing practices like bottom trawling have continued, even in the protected zones. Now, conservationists have notched a win with a recent court ruling that curtails bottom trawling in the Dutch protected section of Dogger Bank. But they say the threats continue, notably in the form of major wind farm developments rising in the U.K. protected section. A major difficulty in protecting a place as large as Dogger Bank, which spans 18,765 square kilometers (7,245 square miles), is that it’s divided into three separate marine protected areas (MPAs) managed by three different countries. The German section of Dogger Bank was the first to be protected, as a Natura 2000 site under the European Union&#8217;s Habitats Directive, in 2007. The Dutch section followed in 2009, and the U.K. section in 2012. Since then, the U.K. has left the EU and now manages its Dogger Bank Special Area of Conservation (SAC) as part of its own network of protected areas. (The Danish section&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/wind-farms-join-bottom-trawlers-and-oil-rigs-in-a-protected-north-sea-sandbank/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/wind-farms-join-bottom-trawlers-and-oil-rigs-in-a-protected-north-sea-sandbank/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-324903</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Uncertainty about weakening Atlantic currents isn’t a reason to wait but to act (commentary)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/uncertainty-about-weakening-atlantic-currents-isnt-a-reason-to-wait-but-to-act-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/uncertainty-about-weakening-atlantic-currents-isnt-a-reason-to-wait-but-to-act-commentary/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>02 Jun 2026 10:18:27 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Helen Findlay]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Erik Hoffner]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/06/02100930/Puffin_UjvalPasupuleti_09-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=320448</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Atlantic Ocean, England, Europe, European Union, and United Kingdom]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Climate, Climate Change, Commentary, Ecosystems, Fisheries, Marine, Marine Conservation, Oceans, and Research]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[When a scientist says, “We don’t know yet,” it can sound like a shrug. In reality, it often means the opposite: We are worried enough to be careful. The public can reasonably ask why some climate risks, especially tipping points, don’t arrive with alarm and immediate action. George Monbiot recently voiced a frustration many people [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[When a scientist says, “We don’t know yet,” it can sound like a shrug. In reality, it often means the opposite: We are worried enough to be careful. The public can reasonably ask why some climate risks, especially tipping points, don’t arrive with alarm and immediate action. George Monbiot recently voiced a frustration many people feel: Why has the possibility of an Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) shift not prompted a bigger political and media response? Climate scientists are trained to avoid overclaiming and, instead, to communicate what the evidence shows, what it suggests, and what remains unresolved. That approach underpins my team’s recent research on ocean acidification, supported by the Frontiers Planet Prize. In that work, published in Global Change Biology, we found that large parts of the global ocean have already crossed into a “zone of risk” for ecosystem change. That caution can serve to downplay the threat, but the latest research on the AMOC should be understood as a warning sign: The potential outcomes could be even more severe than projected, and the uncertainty around timing and thresholds is not a reason to delay, but an argument for action now. Ocean life depends on AMOC The AMOC is often described as a giant conveyor belt of Atlantic currents. Warm, salty surface waters flow north from the tropics to the subpolar North Atlantic. On its way, the water releases heat to the atmosphere, so that by the time it reaches the subpolar region, it has cooled and become&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/uncertainty-about-weakening-atlantic-currents-isnt-a-reason-to-wait-but-to-act-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/uncertainty-about-weakening-atlantic-currents-isnt-a-reason-to-wait-but-to-act-commentary/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-320448</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Amazon oil drilling plan excludes unique hybrid manatees too big for rescue</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/amazon-oil-drilling-plan-excludes-unique-hybrid-manatees-too-big-for-rescue/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/amazon-oil-drilling-plan-excludes-unique-hybrid-manatees-too-big-for-rescue/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>02 Jun 2026 07:00:03 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Fernanda Wenzel]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Alexandre de Santi]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/05/28095403/1.-Acervo_FMA_04-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=320233</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Amazon, Atlantic Ocean, Brazil, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Conservation, Environment, Freshwater, Mammals, Marine, Marine Mammals, Oceans, Oil, Oil Drilling, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[A rare hybrid population faces an oil frontier with a rescue plan that experts call insufficient.]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In October 2025, Brazilian state oil company Petrobras began drilling in the seabed where the Amazon River empties into the Atlantic Ocean, following a long, controversial environmental licensing process. At the center of the debate were concerns about the unique wildlife living here, on the shores of the states of Amapá and Pará, and about the company&#8217;s capacity to rescue these animals in the event of an oil spill. ​The potential victims range from marine birds and turtles to the recently discovered Amazon reef system. One endangered marine mammal, however, has prompted particular concern because of the extra challenges to rescuing it in the event of a disaster: the West Indian manatee (Trichechus manatus), a species that grows to a length of around 3.5 meters (11.5 feet) and weighs an average of 700 kilograms (more than 1,500 pounds); some individuals reach up to 1,600 kg (more than 3,500 lbs). ​“Handling and transporting animals of this size requires complex logistics and large-scale equipment,” said marine biologist Fábia de Oliveira Luna, coordinator at the National Center for Research and Conservation of Aquatic Mammals (CMA), which is part of Brazil&#8217;s environmental ministry. With a population estimated at only 1,047 individuals in Brazil and a reproduction rate of one calf every four years, “every individual removed undermines the survival of the population,” Luna told Mongabay. ​According to scientists, the oil project also jeopardizes a unique genetic code shared only by animals from this region, a result of the interbreeding between the marine manatee and&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/amazon-oil-drilling-plan-excludes-unique-hybrid-manatees-too-big-for-rescue/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/amazon-oil-drilling-plan-excludes-unique-hybrid-manatees-too-big-for-rescue/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-320233</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>As economic case for deep-sea mining weakens, industry should halt urgency to begin operation (commentary)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/as-economic-case-for-deep-sea-mining-weakens-industry-should-halt-urgency-to-begin-operation-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/as-economic-case-for-deep-sea-mining-weakens-industry-should-halt-urgency-to-begin-operation-commentary/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>28 May 2026 21:18:33 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Andy Whitmore]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Erik Hoffner]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2023/05/03110924/deep-sea-octopus-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=320223</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Atlantic Ocean and Pacific Ocean]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Business, Conservation, Critical Minerals, Deep Sea, Deep Sea Mining, Ecosystems, Energy, Finance, Marine, Marine Conservation, Mining, Oceans, and Renewable Energy]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Why do we need deep-sea mining? Given the potential consequences for the health and biodiversity of the ocean, that seems a vital question to answer before any commercial mining starts. The question is even more important as the economic case for deep-sea mining is being increasingly undermined by financial evidence, and is nowhere near strong [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Why do we need deep-sea mining? Given the potential consequences for the health and biodiversity of the ocean, that seems a vital question to answer before any commercial mining starts. The question is even more important as the economic case for deep-sea mining is being increasingly undermined by financial evidence, and is nowhere near strong enough to justify the risks to ecosystems we barely understand. Deep-sea mining in international waters is a unique proposition given that the international seabed is not owned by any state. Instead, it is considered the ‘global commons,’ belonging to all of us, so that any extraction should be justified for the benefit of all humankind. Given deep-sea mining companies also have financially-mandated deadlines, the arguments for it also have to address why there is a supposed urgency. This is especially true given that scientists stress the many unknowns, both about the deep-sea environment itself and the likely cumulative impact of the industry. Over the years, those proposing deep-sea mining have come up with a number of reasons why such mining is necessary and urgent, beyond potential profit. The arguments have evolved to claim that minerals will primarily feed into the energy transition away from fossil fuels. A squat lobster in the deep sea. Image by Schmidt Ocean Institute (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0). As covered by Mongabay, effective counter-arguments have questioned how necessary the specific minerals from deep-sea mining are for the energy transition, including whether ongoing changes in battery technology and demand will negate any estimated&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/as-economic-case-for-deep-sea-mining-weakens-industry-should-halt-urgency-to-begin-operation-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/as-economic-case-for-deep-sea-mining-weakens-industry-should-halt-urgency-to-begin-operation-commentary/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-320223</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Iceland must protect wild salmon and reject new aquaculture legislation (commentary)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/iceland-must-protect-wild-salmon-and-reject-new-aquaculture-legislation-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/iceland-must-protect-wild-salmon-and-reject-new-aquaculture-legislation-commentary/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>26 May 2026 14:56:00 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Yvon Chouinard]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Erik Hoffner]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/05/26140226/A-SALMON-NATION_STILLS_6_1.3.1-1-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=320134</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Atlantic Ocean and Iceland]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Aquaculture, Biodiversity, Business, Commentary, Ecosystems, Fish, Fisheries, Governance, Marine, Marine Conservation, Nutrient Pollution, Oceans, Pollution, and Water Pollution]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In a little more than 50 years, the population of wild North Atlantic salmon has plummeted by 75%. Today, it is estimated that fewer than 60,000 exist in and around Iceland. Unless we do something soon, we may be condemning what Icelandic environmentalist and wild fish advocate Orri Vigfússon has called the “king of fish” [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In a little more than 50 years, the population of wild North Atlantic salmon has plummeted by 75%. Today, it is estimated that fewer than 60,000 exist in and around Iceland. Unless we do something soon, we may be condemning what Icelandic environmentalist and wild fish advocate Orri Vigfússon has called the “king of fish” to extinction. Warmer waters caused by climate change already pose a potential mortal threat to wild salmon (Salmo salar). If Iceland’s legislature passes the latest draft of its aquaculture bill and opens the country to more salmon farms, the fish will be headed toward disappearance even faster. I’ve visited Iceland regularly since 1960 and have personally seen the decline of wild salmon in the rivers. Expanding open net-pen fish farming in Iceland would compound an already critical problem and open the country to disaster, both for wild fish and the environment. It is no secret that these farms are ecological scourges, even when they function as designed. But when they fail, the effects are catastrophic. A wild Atlantic salmon returning to its home river. Image via IRD Duhallow/Raptor LIFE. If you’ve never seen an open net-pen salmon farm before, picture an array of massive floating cylindrical cages that run 30-50 meters (about 100-160 feet) down from the surface of the water. There may be 16 pens on a farm, each holding 100,000 salmon or more. Feeding such huge numbers of carnivorous fish takes millions of pounds of food made with fishmeal and oil sourced from&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/iceland-must-protect-wild-salmon-and-reject-new-aquaculture-legislation-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/iceland-must-protect-wild-salmon-and-reject-new-aquaculture-legislation-commentary/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-320134</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Marine conservation suffers when the ocean is not accessible to all, especially on remote islands (commentary)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/marine-conservation-suffers-when-the-ocean-is-not-accessible-to-all-especially-on-remote-islands-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/marine-conservation-suffers-when-the-ocean-is-not-accessible-to-all-especially-on-remote-islands-commentary/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>15 May 2026 16:54:28 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Elsie Gabriel]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Erik Hoffner]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/05/15163150/pexels-lucasandrade-20340263-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=319520</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, and Pacific Ocean]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Commentary, Communication, Conservation, Ecosystems, Education, Environment, Green, Marine, Marine Conservation, and Social Justice]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The global push to protect oceans is gaining momentum, from coral reef restoration to ambitious targets under the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development. Yet one critical dimension remains largely overlooked: accessibility. If the ocean is to be protected, it must first be experienced. Today, for millions of people, it remains fundamentally out of reach. This [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The global push to protect oceans is gaining momentum, from coral reef restoration to ambitious targets under the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development. Yet one critical dimension remains largely overlooked: accessibility. If the ocean is to be protected, it must first be experienced. Today, for millions of people, it remains fundamentally out of reach. This is not just a social gap. It is a conservation failure. Ocean conservation depends on connection. People protect what they value, and they value what they can experience. Research shows that direct interaction with natural environments strengthens long-term environmental stewardship. Yet coastal and marine systems across much of the world remain structurally inaccessible to persons with disabilities, older populations, and marginalized communities. Workshop for residents of Lakshadweep, India, on accessible diving and ocean literacy. Image courtesy of Accessible Ocean Tourism. Beaches lack barrier-free access. Transport systems remain exclusionary. Marine experiences such as snorkeling and diving are rarely adapted. The result is a quiet but widespread exclusion from the ecosystems conservation seeks to protect. Globally, governments have committed to ensuring that no one is left behind under the Sustainable Development Goals. Yet in ocean spaces, exclusion persists. Accessibility is still treated as an afterthought, added through isolated initiatives rather than embedded into planning and conservation systems. This has direct consequences. When access to the ocean is limited, ocean literacy declines, while public understanding of marine ecosystems is a key driver of conservation outcomes. Communities that cannot engage with the ocean are less likely to participate in citizen science, conservation dialogue, or local stewardship. Conservation becomes something done for people,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/marine-conservation-suffers-when-the-ocean-is-not-accessible-to-all-especially-on-remote-islands-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/marine-conservation-suffers-when-the-ocean-is-not-accessible-to-all-especially-on-remote-islands-commentary/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-319520</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>At world’s largest shark conference, scientists warn of a grim outlook across the board</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/at-worlds-largest-shark-conference-scientists-warn-of-a-grim-outlook-across-the-board/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/at-worlds-largest-shark-conference-scientists-warn-of-a-grim-outlook-across-the-board/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>14 May 2026 08:22:08 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Philip Jacobson]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Autumn Spanne]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/05/14072415/l.-Greenland_shark_profile%C2%A9Hemming1952-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=319409</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Atlantic Ocean, Global, India, Indian Ocean, Indonesia, Pacific Ocean, Southeast Asia, and Sri Lanka]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Community-based Conservation, Conservation, Conservation Technology, Endangered Species, Environment, Environmental Law, Fish, Fishing, Governance, Marine, Marine Animals, Marine Protected Areas, Oceans, Overfishing, Politics, Protected Areas, Rays, Research, Sharks, Technology, Wildlife, and Wildtech]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[COLOMBO — More than 800 researchers and conservationists gathered in Colombo, Sri Lanka’s capital, from May 4-8 for Sharks International, the world’s largest shark conference. Presenters shared research and insights on the global trade in sharks, the plight of rays, and a range of conservation measures, including rewilding initiatives, improving marine protected area effectiveness, and [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[COLOMBO — More than 800 researchers and conservationists gathered in Colombo, Sri Lanka’s capital, from May 4-8 for Sharks International, the world’s largest shark conference. Presenters shared research and insights on the global trade in sharks, the plight of rays, and a range of conservation measures, including rewilding initiatives, improving marine protected area effectiveness, and the bolstering of monitoring and enforcement systems to protect threatened species. Overfishing has halved shark and ray populations since 1970. Today, more than a third of species are threatened with extinction. Meat trade comes into focus Scientists from around the world debuted new research on the trade in shark and ray meat, a major driver of fishing pressure. For years, the meat trade flew under the radar as attention centered on fins, pound for pound the most valuable part of the shark. But overall, the meat trade is actually worth more, valued at $2.6 billion from 2012-2019, versus $1.5 billion for the fin trade, according to a 2021 WWF report. Researchers from Dalhousie University in Canada shared preliminary findings from a big-data project aimed at understanding which species of sharks and rays, collectively known as elasmobranchs, are being landed and where they are traded. These dynamics have largely eluded researchers, as the commodity codes governing the trade allow shipments to be labeled merely as “shark” or “ray.” Moreover, only 29% of shark and ray landing data that countries share with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations is reported to species level, according&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/at-worlds-largest-shark-conference-scientists-warn-of-a-grim-outlook-across-the-board/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-319409</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Creating the North Atlantic’s largest MPA network: Interview with Azores President José Manuel Bolieiro</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/creating-the-north-atlantics-largest-mpa-network-interview-with-azores-president-jose-manuel-bolieiro/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/creating-the-north-atlantics-largest-mpa-network-interview-with-azores-president-jose-manuel-bolieiro/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>09 Apr 2026 15:27:39 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Maria José Mendes]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Autumn Spanne]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/04/08153215/a.-BANNER-%C2%A9gianfrs-iNaturalist-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=317158</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Atlantic Ocean, Europe, European Union, and Portugal]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Conservation, Conservation leadership, Environment, Environmental Law, Fish, Interviews, Interviews with conservation players, Marine, Marine Conservation, Marine Protected Areas, Oceans, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[José Manuel Bolieiro says he’s been an environmentalist for as long as he can remember. He recalls captivating encounters with marine life as a teenager while diving in the North Atlantic waters of his native São Miguel, one of the nine islands that make up the Portuguese-administered Azores archipelago. The gaze of the moray eel [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[José Manuel Bolieiro says he’s been an environmentalist for as long as he can remember. He recalls captivating encounters with marine life as a teenager while diving in the North Atlantic waters of his native São Miguel, one of the nine islands that make up the Portuguese-administered Azores archipelago. The gaze of the moray eel remains etched in his memory: “It&#8217;s impressive because it watches us vigilantly, without aggression,” he tells Mongabay. Bolieiro’s early interactions with the ocean proved formative. A member of the Social Democratic Party, Bolieiro is a former mayor of Ponta Delgada, the largest city in the Azores, and has served as president of the regional government of the Azores since 2020, championing the establishment of a remarkable network of marine protected areas (MPAs) in the biodiverse waters around the archipelago. The region is home to numerous species of dolphins and whales, sharks and turtles, and rich in corals, hydrothermal vent ecosystems and seamounts. The previous government of the Azores, which is run as an autonomous region of Portugal, had set a goal of protecting 15% of the archipelago’s waters. But Bolieiro dreamed bigger: He sought marine protection covering 30% by 2030. In 2024, the regional parliament approved legislation for the new Azores Marine Protected Areas Network, and it came into force on Jan. 1 of this year. At 287,000 square kilometers (110,800 square miles) — more than three times the land area of Portugal — it’s now the largest MPA network in the North Atlantic Ocean.&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/creating-the-north-atlantics-largest-mpa-network-interview-with-azores-president-jose-manuel-bolieiro/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-317158</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Migratory species summit adopts new marine protections amid extinction warnings</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/migratory-species-summit-adopts-new-marine-protections-amid-extinction-warnings/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/migratory-species-summit-adopts-new-marine-protections-amid-extinction-warnings/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>08 Apr 2026 13:55:14 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Francesco De Augustinis]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Autumn Spanne]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/04/08015440/c.-BANNER-%C2%A9Andy-Murch-Great-Hammerhead-Shark-4761-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=317143</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Atlantic Ocean, Brazil, Global, Indian Ocean, Latin America, Pacific Ocean, South America, and Southern Ocean]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Biodiversity Hotspots, Birds, Coastal Ecosystems, Conservation, Deep Sea Mining, Ecosystems, Environment, Extinction, Fish, Fishing, Fragmentation, Freshwater Fish, Habitat Loss, Hunting, Marine, Marine Animals, Migration, Oceans, Overexploitation, Seabirds, and Sharks]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Dozens of migratory animals, including 33 marine species, gained new protections during the recent summit for the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals. The 15th Conference of the Parties (CMS COP15) took place March 23-29 in Campo Grande, Brazil, under the slogan “Connecting Nature to Sustain Life.” “It was a very [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Dozens of migratory animals, including 33 marine species, gained new protections during the recent summit for the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals. The 15th Conference of the Parties (CMS COP15) took place March 23-29 in Campo Grande, Brazil, under the slogan “Connecting Nature to Sustain Life.” “It was a very strong COP for marine species,” Amy Fraenkel, CMS executive secretary, told Mongabay after the meeting’s conclusion. The CMS is a United Nations convention ratified by 132 nations and the European Union that aims to build the international cooperation necessary to conserve migratory species on a global scale. Among the key outcomes at the latest meeting: Delegates agreed on new or enhanced treaty protections for 40 species and populations, including 26 seabirds, three shorebirds and four shark species. Furthermore, CMS COP15 took steps to reduce bycatch of protected species and to identify marine flyways and key marine areas for the conservation of migratory species. Delegates also called for greater protections for seamounts, recognizing the conservation needs of freshwater fish and guarding against the impacts of deep-sea mining. “There&#8217;s a real need to be looking at ocean systems, including our coasts and the shorebirds that rely on the ocean and coastal systems,” Fraenkel said. “I was happy to see that at this COP, we started to do that.” But while conservation advocates lauded the steps taken at COP15, the summit also issued stark warnings that extinction and species decline are accelerating. The U.N. Environment Programme (UNEP) World&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/migratory-species-summit-adopts-new-marine-protections-amid-extinction-warnings/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/migratory-species-summit-adopts-new-marine-protections-amid-extinction-warnings/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-317143</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Marine flyways are the missing map we can use to boost seabird conservation (commentary)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/marine-flyways-are-the-missing-map-we-can-use-to-boost-seabird-conservation-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/marine-flyways-are-the-missing-map-we-can-use-to-boost-seabird-conservation-commentary/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>30 Mar 2026 17:34:47 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Aline Kühl-StenzelTammy Davies]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Erik Hoffner]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/10/16082340/Antipodean_albatross_1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=316541</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Arctic Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, Global, Indian Ocean, and Pacific Ocean]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Birds, Commentary, Governance, Marine, Marine Conservation, Migration, Oceans, Wildlife, and Wildlife Corridors]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Last week, governments, conservationists and civil society from around the world gathered in Brazil for the 15th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS-15). In a rare moment of unity, they formally established something scientists have long understood but never before mapped at a global scale: marine flyways. This decision may [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Last week, governments, conservationists and civil society from around the world gathered in Brazil for the 15th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS-15). In a rare moment of unity, they formally established something scientists have long understood but never before mapped at a global scale: marine flyways. This decision may sound technical, but it represents one of the most important shifts in ocean conservation in a generation. For decades, we have celebrated the great migrations of land birds like cranes sweeping across continents and swallows stitching hemispheres together, but far offshore, another story has been unfolding, largely unnoticed. Seabirds have been navigating vast, predictable highways across the open ocean, linking nations, ecosystems and hemispheres in ways we are only now beginning to understand. At BirdLife International, our latest research revealed six major marine flyways used by more than 150 migratory seabird species spanning the waters of 54 countries. These routes are not abstract lines on a map, they are living, breathing pathways traveled by albatrosses – the largest of the seabirds – to storm petrels, the smallest – and many in between. The Arctic tern, the world champion of migration, travels almost 100,000 kilometers (over 62,000 miles) a year along these ocean highways. A puffin ringed on Skomer Island in June may be feeding off the coast of Canada by winter. Despite their resilience and astonishing navigational feats, 42% of these species are globally threatened, more than half are declining, and the ocean is changing&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/marine-flyways-are-the-missing-map-we-can-use-to-boost-seabird-conservation-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-316541</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Marine biologist Edie Widder chases bioluminescence in new ‘Life Illuminated’ film</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/marine-biologist-edie-widder-chases-bioluminescence-in-new-life-illuminated-film/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/marine-biologist-edie-widder-chases-bioluminescence-in-new-life-illuminated-film/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>12 Mar 2026 14:40:23 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Edward Carver]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rebecca Kessler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/03/12015655/4-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=315615</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Beyond the screen: DCEFF]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Atlantic Ocean]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Bioluminescence, Conservation, Ecosystems, Environment, Film, Fish, Marine, Marine Animals, Marine Conservation, Oceans, Research, Saltwater Fish, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The documentary A Life Illuminated will make its Washington, D.C., premiere on March 19, the first night of the D.C. Environmental Film Festival, where Mongabay is a media partner. The film traces the career arc of U.S. marine biologist Edie Widder, an expert on bioluminescence who’s made headlines for decades, and documents her team’s attempt [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The documentary A Life Illuminated will make its Washington, D.C., premiere on March 19, the first night of the D.C. Environmental Film Festival, where Mongabay is a media partner. The film traces the career arc of U.S. marine biologist Edie Widder, an expert on bioluminescence who’s made headlines for decades, and documents her team’s attempt to capture a remarkable deep-water phenomenon called “flashback” on camera. The film, directed by U.S. documentary filmmaker Tasha Van Zandt, has been on the film festival circuit since September, when it made its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival. In the film, Widder meditates on the importance of the deep sea, which usually refers to waters below 200 meters (660 feet) in depth, a zone many experts call the world’s largest habitat. In the deep sea, most creatures can emit light, a trait few land-dwelling animals possess. (Fireflies are a notable exception.) The film’s plot toggles between previous Widder expeditions and a recent one to the waters off the Azores, a Portuguese-administered archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, to document flashback. The term refers to the way a wide variety of organisms, from the macro to the micro, will simultaneously light up in response to a flash of light from, say, a submersible. Those who’ve witnessed the phenomenon speak about it with awe: Before the flashback, the sea is pitch-black to the human eye, a seeming void. The flashback then envelops the submersible in an ephemeral snowstorm. Edie Widder, a marine biologist and bioluminescence&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/marine-biologist-edie-widder-chases-bioluminescence-in-new-life-illuminated-film/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-315615</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Azores dodges proposal to overturn no-fishing zones in its giant new MPA network</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/azores-dodges-proposal-to-overturn-no-fishing-zones-in-its-giant-new-mpa-network/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/azores-dodges-proposal-to-overturn-no-fishing-zones-in-its-giant-new-mpa-network/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>23 Feb 2026 19:29:18 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Maria José Mendes]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rebecca Kessler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/02/23192451/b.-OceanImageBank_EllenCuylaerts_01-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=314634</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Atlantic Ocean, Europe, and Portugal]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Cetaceans, Conservation, Dolphins, Ecosystems, Environment, Fish, Fishing, Islands, Marine, Marine Animals, Marine Protected Areas, Oceans, Regulations, Sea Turtles, Seabirds, and Tuna]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[SÃO MATEUS, Portugal — Winter forced Emanuel Alves to remove his boat from the water at the port of São Mateus in the Azores, the Portuguese archipelago in the North Atlantic Ocean. The 64-year-old fisher expressed concern about the giant network of marine protected areas that permeates the archipelago. &#8220;Where are we going to fish [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[SÃO MATEUS, Portugal — Winter forced Emanuel Alves to remove his boat from the water at the port of São Mateus in the Azores, the Portuguese archipelago in the North Atlantic Ocean. The 64-year-old fisher expressed concern about the giant network of marine protected areas that permeates the archipelago. &#8220;Where are we going to fish now?” he asked. The law establishing the Azores Marine Protected Areas Network was approved in October 2024 and took effect just recently, on Jan. 1 this year. The network now safeguards 30% of Azorean waters, 287,000 square kilometers (110,800 square miles) of seascape sheltering a rich array of marine life. Not two weeks later, on Jan. 15, the Azores Parliament voted to uphold a core provision of the MPA network, after it came under fire in recent months: No fishing inside the fully protected areas, which constitute half the vast network. Pico Mountain on Pico Island in the Azores, the tallest mountain in Portugal at 2,351 meters (7,713 feet). Image by Maria José Mendes for Mongabay. The vote effectively killed an earlier move to open these areas to pole-and-line tuna fishing that would have been “catastrophic and damaging to the region,” according to Luís Bernardo Brito e Abreu, coordinator of Blue Azores, a Portugal-based partnership between the Azores regional government, the U.S.-based nonprofit Waitt Institute and the Portugal-based Oceano Azul Foundation that began advocating for the establishment of the MPA network in 2019. “[The] criterion for a total protection area is indeed total protection; there&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/azores-dodges-proposal-to-overturn-no-fishing-zones-in-its-giant-new-mpa-network/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/azores-dodges-proposal-to-overturn-no-fishing-zones-in-its-giant-new-mpa-network/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-314634</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Trump opens only US marine national monument in Atlantic to fishing — again</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/trump-opens-only-us-marine-national-monument-in-atlantic-to-fishing-again/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/trump-opens-only-us-marine-national-monument-in-atlantic-to-fishing-again/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>10 Feb 2026 22:31:09 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Edward Carver]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rebecca Kessler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/02/10203226/1-3-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=314057</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Atlantic Ocean, Pacific Ocean, and United States]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Conservation, Environment, Environmental Policy, Fish, Fishing, Food Industry, Industry, Marine Protected Areas, Oceans, Overfishing, Politics, Protected Areas, and Saltwater Fish]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[U.S. President Donald Trump issued a proclamation on Feb. 6 to open a marine protected area off the northeastern U.S. to commercial fishing, in his latest move to deregulate the country’s waters and fisheries. The Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument, a 12,725-square-kilometer (4,913-square-mile) area roughly 209 km (130 mi) southeast of Cape Cod, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[U.S. President Donald Trump issued a proclamation on Feb. 6 to open a marine protected area off the northeastern U.S. to commercial fishing, in his latest move to deregulate the country’s waters and fisheries. The Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument, a 12,725-square-kilometer (4,913-square-mile) area roughly 209 km (130 mi) southeast of Cape Cod, is home to deep-sea corals and sponges, whale sharks and a variety of marine mammals. Trump wrote that reopening the area will not endanger marine species and will help the fishing business, and industry groups praised the proclamation. But conservationists decried it, saying the monument is a critical sanctuary for marine life and the food webs that serve the interest of the U.S. public. “This Monument supports amazing species from the seafloor to the sea surface, and we see evidence of that during every aerial survey,” Jessica Redfern, an associate vice president at the New England Aquarium, a Boston-based nonprofit, said in a statement. “Removing protections for Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument puts these species at risk.” U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal, a member of the opposition Democratic Party from the northeastern state of Connecticut, also spoke out against the proclamation, calling it reckless and “hugely misguided.” “This natural treasure should be preserved for future generations, not endangered by industrial fishing,” Blumenthal said in a statement. “It’s home to immensely valuable wildlife— a marine ecosystem that deserves to be defended.” The Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument, which is divided into two sections,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/trump-opens-only-us-marine-national-monument-in-atlantic-to-fishing-again/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/trump-opens-only-us-marine-national-monument-in-atlantic-to-fishing-again/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-314057</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Lower levels of PFAS ‘forever chemicals’ in North Atlantic whales show regulations work: Study</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/lower-levels-of-pfas-forever-chemicals-in-north-atlantic-whales-show-regulations-work-study/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/lower-levels-of-pfas-forever-chemicals-in-north-atlantic-whales-show-regulations-work-study/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>03 Feb 2026 20:25:58 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Liz Kimbrough]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Morgan Erickson-Davis]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/02/03201534/Alexandre-Rouxs-photo-licensed-as-CC-BY-NC-SA-2.0-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=313682</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Atlantic Ocean]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Conservation, Environment, forever chemicals, Green, Happy-upbeat Environmental, Mammals, Marine, Marine Conservation, Oceans, Planetary Health, Pollution, Whales, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[North Atlantic long-finned pilot whales (Globicephala melas) now have 60% lower concentrations of some legacy PFAS than they did a decade ago, offering rare good news about the effectiveness of chemical regulations, Harvard University researchers report in a new study. The study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, analyzed tissue samples [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[North Atlantic long-finned pilot whales (Globicephala melas) now have 60% lower concentrations of some legacy PFAS than they did a decade ago, offering rare good news about the effectiveness of chemical regulations, Harvard University researchers report in a new study. The study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, analyzed tissue samples from pilot whales collected in the Faroe Islands between 1986 and 2023. Researchers measured bulk organofluorine, a proxy for total PFAS contamination, as well as individual compounds in liver and muscle tissues. North Atlantic long-finned pilot whales (Globicephala melas) now have 60% lower concentrations of some legacy PFAS than they did a decade ago. Photo by Charlie Jackson via Flikr (CC BY 2.0.) PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) are synthetic chemicals used since the 1950s in products ranging from non-stick cookware and waterproof clothing to food packaging and firefighting foam. Legacy PFAS are older compounds that were used for decades but are generally no longer produced for industrial use. Their extreme stability has earned them the nickname &#8220;forever chemicals,&#8221; as they persist in the environment and accumulate in the tissues of living organisms. PFAS exposure has been linked to numerous health problems in humans and wildlife, including liver damage, immune system suppression, developmental problems, thyroid disease, and certain cancers. The chemicals bioaccumulate in the food chain, meaning concentrations increase at each level, with top predators like whales and humans facing the highest exposures. The new research revealed that organofluorine concentrations in pilot whale livers peaked&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/lower-levels-of-pfas-forever-chemicals-in-north-atlantic-whales-show-regulations-work-study/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/lower-levels-of-pfas-forever-chemicals-in-north-atlantic-whales-show-regulations-work-study/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-313682</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Methane chasers: Hunting a climate-changing gas seeping from Earth&#8217;s seafloor</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/01/methane-chasers-hunting-a-climate-changing-gas-seeping-from-earths-seafloor/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/01/methane-chasers-hunting-a-climate-changing-gas-seeping-from-earths-seafloor/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>08 Jan 2026 15:46:05 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Elizabeth Devitt]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Glenn Scherer]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/01/08115645/1.-BANNER-seep-bubbles-NOAA-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=312714</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Planetary Boundaries]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Arctic Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, Global, Indian Ocean, Pacific Ocean, and Southern Ocean]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Acoustic, Climate, Climate Change, Climate Science, Conservation, Ecosystems, Environment, Global Warming, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Marine, Methane, Oceans, Research, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[They’ve been called “bubble chasers,” and “seep seekers,” though they sometimes call themselves “flare hunters.” They’re a small group of scientific specialists searching the world’s oceans for tiny streams of methane gas-filled globules rising from seafloor sediments. On expeditions ranging from the Arctic to Antarctica, carried out in shallow waters to thousands of meters below [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[They’ve been called “bubble chasers,” and “seep seekers,” though they sometimes call themselves “flare hunters.” They’re a small group of scientific specialists searching the world’s oceans for tiny streams of methane gas-filled globules rising from seafloor sediments. On expeditions ranging from the Arctic to Antarctica, carried out in shallow waters to thousands of meters below the sea’s surface, their studies reveal how these tiny globules can potentially add to global warming while also creating unique ecosystems. But even when deploying advanced modern technology, finding these cold-ocean methane seeps isn’t easy. And it may be even harder to determine exactly how seafloor methane releases could factor into the future of humanity and the planet. Map showing the known global occurrences of methane-derived carbonates used to compile a study of seafloor methane seepage across the last 150 million years. Image courtesy of Oppo et al. (2020). Bubbles flowing from a methane seep at El Quisco, off the coast of Chile. Researchers found the seeps using sonar-based bubble mapping, bathymetric mapping, tracking in situ methane concentration measurements, and visual surveys with the ROV SuBastian. Image by ROV SuBastian/Schmidt Ocean Institute (CC BY-NC-SA). Hunting telltale bubbles “These seeps are fascinating and extreme environments,” said Claudio Argentino, a sediment biogeochemist at UiT, The Arctic University of Norway, whose fieldwork started at ancient methane seep sites in Italy’s Apennine Mountains in 2015, during his doctoral studies, and now takes him to the Arctic Ocean. “We want to know how much gas is escaping the seafloor sediment&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/01/methane-chasers-hunting-a-climate-changing-gas-seeping-from-earths-seafloor/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/01/methane-chasers-hunting-a-climate-changing-gas-seeping-from-earths-seafloor/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-312714</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Azores must respect its exceptional network of marine protected areas (commentary)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/01/azores-must-respect-its-exceptional-network-of-marine-protected-areas-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/01/azores-must-respect-its-exceptional-network-of-marine-protected-areas-commentary/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>05 Jan 2026 17:01:19 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Enric Sala]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Erik Hoffner]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/10/29054839/Azores-MPA-Network_Andy-Mann-3-768x512-1.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=312627</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Atlantic Ocean, Europe, European Union, and Portugal]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[30x30 conservation target, Biodiversity, Commentary, Conservation, Ecosystems, Environment, Fish, Fisheries, Fishing, Governance, Marine, Marine Conservation, Marine Protected Areas, Oceans, and Tuna]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[At the end of 2024, the Azores stood as a beacon of hope and a global leader in ocean conservation, having created the largest network of marine protected areas (MPAs) in the North Atlantic. The Azores safeguarded 30% of its waters — an expanse more than three times larger than Portugal’s landmass — years ahead [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[At the end of 2024, the Azores stood as a beacon of hope and a global leader in ocean conservation, having created the largest network of marine protected areas (MPAs) in the North Atlantic. The Azores safeguarded 30% of its waters — an expanse more than three times larger than Portugal’s landmass — years ahead of the global commitment to protect at least 30% of the global ocean by 2030 (30&#215;30). This decisive action was praised both at home and internationally, with other countries and regions seeking advice from the Azores on how to follow suit. But in a world where major powers are retreating from crucial environmental commitments, the Azores now faces a pivotal test of its own. Early in 2025, a proposal to allow pole-and-line tuna fishing within areas designated as no-take was submitted to the Regional Assembly and is currently under discussion. This maneuver, if successful, risks undoing a monumental achievement. Crucially, half of this network is fully protected, banning all extractive and damaging activities, meaning it far exceeds the European Union’s mandate to fully protect at least 10% of its waters. Allowing industrial tuna fishing within the Azores’ fully protected areas would turn these areas into “paper parks” and defy their very purpose. Rays in the Azores. Image courtesy of Emanuel Goncalves / Oceano Azul Foundation. In other words, these areas would fail to meet the definition of “fully protected” set out in the strict standards established by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/01/azores-must-respect-its-exceptional-network-of-marine-protected-areas-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/01/azores-must-respect-its-exceptional-network-of-marine-protected-areas-commentary/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-312627</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Photos: Top new species from 2025</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/photos-top-new-species-from-2025/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/photos-top-new-species-from-2025/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>29 Dec 2025 14:22:20 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Liz Kimbrough]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Liz Kimbrough]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/12/29141103/Screenshot-2025-12-28-at-5.12.22-PM-1-768x512.png" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=312133</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Andes, Angola, Atlantic Ocean, Brazil, Cerrado, Global, Himalayas, India, Peru, and Tanzania]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Acoustic, Amphibians, Animals, Biodiversity, Captive Breeding, Climate Change, Cloud Forests, Conservation, Deep Sea, Deforestation, DNA, Ecosystem Services, Endangered Species, Environment, Extinction, Farming, Forests, Fungi, Habitat Loss, Happy-upbeat Environmental, Indigenous Peoples, Invasive Species, Marine, Mining, Oceans, Old Growth Forests, Pollution, Protected Areas, Ranching, Research, Science, Snakes, Species, Species Discovery, Swamps, Threatened species, Traditional Knowledge, Traditional People, Trees, Tropical Forests, and Water]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The world still holds its secrets. Hidden under wet rocks, in the ocean&#8217;s twilight crevices, and in the minutiae of the genetic code are creatures unknown and unnamed by the human species. Every year, scientists find hundreds of new animals, insects, plants and fungi. This year, researchers described a tiny new marsupial, a new Himalayan [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The world still holds its secrets. Hidden under wet rocks, in the ocean&#8217;s twilight crevices, and in the minutiae of the genetic code are creatures unknown and unnamed by the human species. Every year, scientists find hundreds of new animals, insects, plants and fungi. This year, researchers described a tiny new marsupial, a new Himalayan bat, an ancient tree, a bright blue butterfly, a parrot snake, and a fairy lantern plant, among others. &#8220;I think most people believe that we know most species on Earth,&#8221; Mario Moura, a professor at the Federal University of Paraíba in Brazil, told Mongabay, &#8220;but in the best-case scenario, we know 20% of Earth&#8217;s species.&#8221; Some estimate that only 10% of all the species on the planet have been described. Unfortunately, many species may be threatened with extinction before they’re even formally named — victims of human activities like development and climate change. Some of these species could be food or medicine for humans, but each plays a unique role in Earth’s interconnected web of life. “We’re understanding more and more that every species on the planet has a role, and in one way or another, is linked to our well-being through the part they play in ecosystems,&#8221; said Boris Worm, a marine conservation biologist who co-authored a study that quantifies the number of undescribed species on land and in the ocean. “We can’t protect them … if we don’t know them.&#8221; Atlantic manta ray (Mobula yarae) with a diver off the coast of Mexico. Originally&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/photos-top-new-species-from-2025/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/photos-top-new-species-from-2025/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-312133</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>As storms surge &#038; the sea rises, Belgium builds dunes for protection</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/as-storms-surge-the-sea-rises-belgium-builds-dunes-for-protection/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/as-storms-surge-the-sea-rises-belgium-builds-dunes-for-protection/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>18 Dec 2025 19:57:12 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Elizabeth Claire Alberts]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rebecca Kessler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/12/18122651/a.-BANNER-Charlotte-Taelman-Raversijde-lange-wortel-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=311622</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Atlantic Ocean, Belgium, Europe, and European Union]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Coastal Ecosystems, Conservation, Conservation Solutions, Environment, Extreme Weather, Nature-based climate solutions, Sea Levels, Solutions, Storms, Sustainability, Sustainable Development, and Weather]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[OSTEND, Belgium — In late October, Storm Benjamin blew across Belgium and other parts of Western Europe, bringing strong winds and rain that knocked down trees and damaged homes. Powerful waves pummeled Belgium’s shoreline, eroding some parts. Jagged, cliff-like formations appeared on certain beaches. Eventually, contractors reshaped the sand to prevent further erosion and to [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[OSTEND, Belgium — In late October, Storm Benjamin blew across Belgium and other parts of Western Europe, bringing strong winds and rain that knocked down trees and damaged homes. Powerful waves pummeled Belgium’s shoreline, eroding some parts. Jagged, cliff-like formations appeared on certain beaches. Eventually, contractors reshaped the sand to prevent further erosion and to keep the public safe. Yet some stretches of the Belgian coast fared far better. Among these was a 750-meter (2,460-foot) strip of beach in Raversijde, a neighborhood in the coastal city of Ostend, where a series of constructed dunes stand seaward of a promenade that doubles as a dike. I drove to Raversijde on a rainy afternoon in late November to visit these dunes, which are part of a “dune-by-dike” system. The dunes and dike are meant to work in tandem to create a double buffer between the sea and the coastline: The dunes form a soft barrier that dissipates wave energy, while the preexisting dikes play back-up as a hard barrier, should the dunes succumb to a storm. This particular site is a project of a Flemish government initiative called Living Labs. Nieuwpoort, West-Vlaanderen, Belgium, October 25th, 2025, rough waves crashing onto shoreline under heavy storm clouds. Image courtesy of Bjorn B/stock.adobe.com After parking along the sand-swept road, I crossed the tram tracks that run along the coast to reach the promenade. There, I met Toon Verwaest, a coastal engineer at the governmental agency Flanders Hydraulics Research, who helps coordinate the Raversijde dune-by-dike project.&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/as-storms-surge-the-sea-rises-belgium-builds-dunes-for-protection/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/as-storms-surge-the-sea-rises-belgium-builds-dunes-for-protection/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-311622</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>&#8216;Myopic&#8217; fisheries managers toy with a new ‘tragedy of the commons’ (commentary)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/myopic-fisheries-managers-toy-with-a-new-tragedy-of-the-commons-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/myopic-fisheries-managers-toy-with-a-new-tragedy-of-the-commons-commentary/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>09 Dec 2025 18:15:49 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Charles Clover]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Erik Hoffner]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/12/09175811/meritt-thomas-I9y_6J-HhY8-unsplash_optimized_950_7577-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=310924</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Atlantic Ocean, England, Europe, European Union, Global, and United Kingdom]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Business, Commentary, Ecosystems, Environment, Ethics, Fish, Fisheries, Fishing, Governance, Marine, Marine Animals, Marine Protected Areas, Oceans, Overfishing, and Sustainability]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The way the oceans are managed is meant to be like a successful medieval commons. Most medieval commons weren’t open-access, but commoners had distinct rights in law and committees organized the grazing. Commons were saved from overexploitation by the practice of “stinting”: commoners decided how many cows the pastures could stand and limited themselves accordingly. [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The way the oceans are managed is meant to be like a successful medieval commons. Most medieval commons weren’t open-access, but commoners had distinct rights in law and committees organized the grazing. Commons were saved from overexploitation by the practice of “stinting”: commoners decided how many cows the pastures could stand and limited themselves accordingly. That way, commoners prevented the tragedy that befell those commons where access was open, where selfishness and lack of governance meant overgrazing prevailed, and the cows died. The ruin of commons that went unmanaged was a phenomenon first described in the 19th century by a fellow of the Royal Society, William Forster Lloyd. His observations were exhumed in the 1960s by a Californian ecologist, Garrett Hardin, who gave them a compelling headline, “The Tragedy of the Commons.” Hardin conceded that there were some well-managed commons, but also, crucially, that a well-managed common could evolve into a tragic one. When commoners perceive that other commoners are cheating, it becomes “every commoner for themselves.” “With an unmanaged common,” he wrote, “ruin is inevitable.” A Dutch super trawler. Image courtesy of Pierre Gleizes/Greenpeace. There are many analogies for a ruined terrestrial common, 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, where the absence of credible regulation endangers whole oceans and the billions of people who depend upon them. It is hard not to recognize several trending tragedies of&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/myopic-fisheries-managers-toy-with-a-new-tragedy-of-the-commons-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/myopic-fisheries-managers-toy-with-a-new-tragedy-of-the-commons-commentary/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-310924</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>A rare bright spot for whales: Decades of conservation pay off for endangered population in Canada</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/a-rare-bright-spot-for-whales-decades-of-conservation-pay-off-for-endangered-population-in-canada/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/a-rare-bright-spot-for-whales-decades-of-conservation-pay-off-for-endangered-population-in-canada/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>05 Dec 2025 00:43:40 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Stella Mayerhoff]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rhett Butler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/12/04234437/Gully-Photo-3-header-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=310633</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Atlantic Ocean and Canada]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Cetaceans, Mammals, Marine, Marine Animals, Marine Mammals, Marine Protected Areas, Oceans, Protected Areas, Whales, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Populations of northern bottlenose whales (Hyperoodon ampullatus), playful animals that resemble large dolphins, stretch across the Atlantic Ocean, with each group of whales living year-round in a particular deep ocean canyon. Historically, commercial whaling targeted these animals, causing their numbers across the basin to collapse. Even as protections against whaling increase, northern bottlenose whale populations [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Populations of northern bottlenose whales (Hyperoodon ampullatus), playful animals that resemble large dolphins, stretch across the Atlantic Ocean, with each group of whales living year-round in a particular deep ocean canyon. Historically, commercial whaling targeted these animals, causing their numbers across the basin to collapse. Even as protections against whaling increase, northern bottlenose whale populations struggle to recover globally due to low reproductive rates and ongoing threats such as ship strikes and fishing-gear entanglement. A group of northern bottlenose whales gather at the water’s surface in the Gully, Nova Scotia during a research expedition by the Whitehead Lab in 2017. Image by Deepdivewhales via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0). But new evidence from a submarine canyon off the coast of Nova Scotia, Canada, known as the Gully, shows a promising rebound. Commercial fishing and vessel traffic are down in the area, and the endangered northern bottlenose whales in this canyon are growing in number after decades of decline, according to a recent study published in the Journal of Applied Ecology. The Gully is one of the few places where scientists have monitored a distinct population long enough to track meaningful trends. Roughly as deep and wide as the Grand Canyon, and with steep walls and channels, it provides critical habitat for a group of northern bottlenose whales known as the Scotian Shelf population. “At the broadest scale, submarine canyons stir up the oceanography, and that typically translates into more productivity, life and food—good for everything!” said co-author Hal Whitehead, a&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/a-rare-bright-spot-for-whales-decades-of-conservation-pay-off-for-endangered-population-in-canada/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/a-rare-bright-spot-for-whales-decades-of-conservation-pay-off-for-endangered-population-in-canada/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-310633</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Jean Beasley, who turned her young daughter’s dying wish into a mission to save sea turtles, has died</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/jean-beasley-who-turned-her-young-daughters-dying-wish-into-a-mission-to-save-sea-turtles-has-died/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/jean-beasley-who-turned-her-young-daughters-dying-wish-into-a-mission-to-save-sea-turtles-has-died/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>03 Dec 2025 18:43:56 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Rhett Ayers Butler]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rhett Butler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/12/03183312/Jean-Beasley-photo_credit-KEN_BLEVINS_STARNEWS-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=310550</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Founder's briefs]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Atlantic Ocean, North America, and United States]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animal Welfare, Animals, Biodiversity, Conservation, Endangered Species, Environment, Green, Happy-upbeat Environmental, Herps, Hope and optimism, Obituary, Oceans, Pollution, Reptiles, Sea Turtles, Turtles And Tortoises, and Wildlife Rescues]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[On the beaches of Topsail Island in North Carolina, the sight of a sea turtle crawling ashore has long signaled both urgency and hope. For many years, a woman with a clipboard and a watchful eye was often there to note every track and nest. What brought her there was grief. In 1991 her daughter, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[On the beaches of Topsail Island in North Carolina, the sight of a sea turtle crawling ashore has long signaled both urgency and hope. For many years, a woman with a clipboard and a watchful eye was often there to note every track and nest. What brought her there was grief. In 1991 her daughter, Karen, died of leukemia at the age of 29. She had made a final request of her mother that was simple and precise: “Do something good for sea turtles.” It was a young woman’s hope that the creatures she had come to love would somehow be cared for. The family had shared many late nights walking those beaches together, looking after nests and guiding hatchlings toward the water. After Karen’s death, Jean Beasley returned to that work not as a hobby but as a promise. She never framed it as sacrifice. “I loved every minute of what I did,” she said late in life. “Whether it was sea turtles or what it might be, I loved every minute of the teaching. I loved every minute of that old rotten building that we were in and trying to look after animals in.” There were challenges, she added, but “who hasn’t liked a good challenge?” Saving a single turtle mattered. But inspiring a child to love the ocean, and act accordingly, could mean saving thousands. Jean Beasley with the Karen Beasley Sea Turtle Rescue and Rehabilitation Center in Topsail Beach, N.C. releasing a juvenile loggerhead sea turtle&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/jean-beasley-who-turned-her-young-daughters-dying-wish-into-a-mission-to-save-sea-turtles-has-died/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/jean-beasley-who-turned-her-young-daughters-dying-wish-into-a-mission-to-save-sea-turtles-has-died/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-310550</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Healthy oceans are a human right (commentary)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/healthy-oceans-are-a-human-right-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/healthy-oceans-are-a-human-right-commentary/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>01 Dec 2025 22:43:20 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Nathan Bennett]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Erik Hoffner]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/09/17163647/20351613932_41fd7d540a_3k-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=310407</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, Oceania, and Pacific Ocean]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Aquaculture, Commentary, Conservation, Ecosystems, Environment, Fish, Fisheries, Fishing, Human Rights, Marine, Marine Conservation, Oceans, Social Justice, and Traditional Knowledge]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Months after a container ship went down off the coast of India, toxic pollution still contaminates the water and plastic pellets still wash ashore. Meanwhile, cleanup efforts continue, fishing restrictions remain, and legal claims crawl through the courts. When one shipwreck can unravel a season’s income or undermine health and public safety, it’s clear that [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Months after a container ship went down off the coast of India, toxic pollution still contaminates the water and plastic pellets still wash ashore. Meanwhile, cleanup efforts continue, fishing restrictions remain, and legal claims crawl through the courts. When one shipwreck can unravel a season’s income or undermine health and public safety, it’s clear that ocean decline is a human rights story as much as an environmental one. In 2022, the United Nations affirmed the basic human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment. The idea is straightforward: people’s fundamental human rights to health, food, security and even life rely on a healthy environment. But we are still far from ensuring that these rights are protected for the coastal communities living with the consequences of ocean decline every day. Corporations have devastated livelihoods of fishing communities in the Niger Delta by spilling crude oil, discharging toxic effluents, and gas flaring. Image via the Coalition for Human Rights in Development. Coastal communities are on the frontline Across the global ocean, local pressures like overfishing, oil spills, pollution and habitat loss from destructive development are colliding with planetary threats like climate change and plastic pollution, eroding basic rights to food, health, safety and culture. Consider just a few examples of how coastal communities bear the brunt: West Africa: In Senegal and Ghana, small-scale fishing has long anchored coastal life. Today, large distant-water and industrial fleets are impinging on small-scale fishers’ resources and rights. When they take too much, when access deals&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/healthy-oceans-are-a-human-right-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/healthy-oceans-are-a-human-right-commentary/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-310407</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>For sharks on the brink of extinction, CITES Appendix II isn’t protective enough (commentary)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/for-sharks-on-the-brink-of-extinction-cites-appendix-ii-isnt-protective-enough-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/for-sharks-on-the-brink-of-extinction-cites-appendix-ii-isnt-protective-enough-commentary/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>20 Nov 2025 17:40:51 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[David Shiffman]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Erik Hoffner]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2022/12/01175242/1280_MiU0TxC4B8L1-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=309918</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, and Pacific Ocean]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Commentary, Conservation, Ecosystems, Elasmobranchs, Endangered Species, Extinction, Fish, Fisheries, Fishing, Governance, Illegal Fishing, Illegal Trade, Marine, Marine Animals, Marine Conservation, Oceans, Overfishing, Sharks, Trade, Wildlife, Wildlife Trade, and Wildlife Trafficking]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Sharks are some of the most threatened animals on Earth, with approximately one-third of all species assessed as threatened with extinction on the IUCN Red List. These animals are not only older than dinosaurs, but older than trees, and yet they face a very real risk of extinction within our lifetimes. Their number one threat [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Sharks are some of the most threatened animals on Earth, with approximately one-third of all species assessed as threatened with extinction on the IUCN Red List. These animals are not only older than dinosaurs, but older than trees, and yet they face a very real risk of extinction within our lifetimes. Their number one threat is unsustainable overfishing, driven by demand fed through complex international trade networks. That’s why ocean conservationists have focused so much attention on a powerful global wildlife trade treaty called CITES, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species. During the last few CITES Conferences of the Parties (COPs), many of the shark species that most commonly show up in the global shark fin trade have been added to Appendix II, which allows international trade as long as it is limited, monitored carefully, and demonstrated to be sustainable. That approach has led to some huge successes, according to a paper published earlier this year. Nearly half of all CITES signatory nations made substantive reforms to their fisheries management regulations, and about a quarter improved their monitoring and enforcement of existing rules. A mako shark in the Pacific Ocean. Image by Ron Watkins / Ocean Image Bank. Perhaps most exciting, countries that previously had no shark fisheries management regulations at all introduced strong conservation measures for the first time. “These results show that CITES has driven countries who catch and trade sharks internationally, and who previously had no national fisheries management or trade regulations, to implement legislation&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/for-sharks-on-the-brink-of-extinction-cites-appendix-ii-isnt-protective-enough-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/for-sharks-on-the-brink-of-extinction-cites-appendix-ii-isnt-protective-enough-commentary/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-309918</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Embrace ‘blue’ foods as a climate strategy at COP30, fisheries ministers say (commentary)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/embrace-blue-foods-as-a-climate-strategy-at-cop30-fisheries-ministers-say-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/embrace-blue-foods-as-a-climate-strategy-at-cop30-fisheries-ministers-say-commentary/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>11 Nov 2025 18:26:12 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[André de PaulaSalvador Malheiro]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Erik Hoffner]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/11/11175848/Fishing-boats-in-Grenada-by-Hugh-Whyte-Ocean-Image-Bank-768x512.png" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=309298</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Atlantic Ocean, Brazil, Global, and Portugal]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Adaptation To Climate Change, Aquaculture, Bioeconomy, Blue Carbon, blue economy, Climate, Climate Change, Commentary, Ecosystems, Environment, Fish, Fisheries, Fishing, Food, food security, Governance, Marine, Marine Conservation, Nutrition, Oceans, and Overfishing]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[As two coastal countries connected by the Atlantic Ocean and five centuries of shared history, Brazil and Portugal have long appreciated the value of “blue” or aquatic foods, including our shared love of bacalhau, or salted cod. Portugal ranks third in the world and first in the EU for per capita fish and seafood consumption, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[As two coastal countries connected by the Atlantic Ocean and five centuries of shared history, Brazil and Portugal have long appreciated the value of “blue” or aquatic foods, including our shared love of bacalhau, or salted cod. Portugal ranks third in the world and first in the EU for per capita fish and seafood consumption, while in Brazil, aquatic foods support more than 3 million livelihoods, with consumption of whole, raw fish reaching as much as 800 grams (28 ounces) per day in the Amazon, which is hosting the U.N. climate talks for the first time in its gateway city of Belém. But as our global food system comes under increasing pressure, from climate change to shifting diets, we also share the recognition that blue foods play a crucial role in building more resilient, adaptive, and nutritionally balanced food systems. Fishing vessels like this provide much of the world&#8217;s &#8220;blue&#8221; foods but are only a portion of the overall picture. Image courtesy of Nicolas Job/Ocean Image Bank. The blue food sector, which encompasses the wild harvest and farming of fish, shellfish, seaweed and other aquatic plants and animals, is well-known for providing rich sources of protein and essential micronutrients, such as vitamin B12, iron, zinc and omega-3 fatty acids that are crucial for combating malnutrition, which affects more than 2 billion people worldwide. However, this sector is often overlooked as a climate strategy despite its potential to help meet demand for animal-sourced food with a smaller environmental footprint. Many blue&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/embrace-blue-foods-as-a-climate-strategy-at-cop30-fisheries-ministers-say-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-309298</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>On first International Day of the Deep Seabed, we seek stewardship and consensus (commentary)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/on-first-international-day-of-the-deep-seabed-we-seek-stewardship-and-consensus-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/on-first-international-day-of-the-deep-seabed-we-seek-stewardship-and-consensus-commentary/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>30 Oct 2025 08:51:20 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Leticia Carvalho]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Erik Hoffner]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/10/28100701/Ifremer-Taxonomy-2-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=308301</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Atlantic Ocean, Global, Indian Ocean, and Pacific Ocean]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Business, Commentary, Conservation, Corporate Social Responsibility, Deep Sea, Deep Sea Mining, Ecosystems, Environmental Law, Governance, Law, Marine, Marine Animals, Marine Conservation, Mining, and Oceans]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Beneath the waves of the high seas, beyond the national borders of any country, lies the deep seabed. Known in international law as the “Area,” it covers 54% of the global ocean and lies at depths from 200 to 10,000 meters (from 660 to almost 33,000 feet) below the ocean&#8217;s surface. It is home to [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Beneath the waves of the high seas, beyond the national borders of any country, lies the deep seabed. Known in international law as the “Area,” it covers 54% of the global ocean and lies at depths from 200 to 10,000 meters (from 660 to almost 33,000 feet) below the ocean&#8217;s surface. It is home to ancient geological formations and ecosystems that most may not know enough about to even picture in their mind: abyssal plains, seamounts and hydrothermal vents, some soaring 35 m (115 ft) high, millions of years in the making. These ecosystems exist in extreme conditions of perpetual darkness, high pressure and near-freezing temperatures. Even in these circumstances, life finds a way, largely living on chemical versus sunlight sources of energy. Geological processes in the Area have led to rich mineral resources, including polymetallic nodules, polymetallic sulfides and cobalt-rich ferromanganese crusts, among others, that could play a role in the future of humanity’s progress. A jellyfish (family Rhopalonematidae) photographed at a depth of around 3,000 m (9,800 feet) at the Utu seamount off American Samoa in 2017. Image by NOAA Ocean Exploration via Flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0). It is through this lens that I could not be more delighted to celebrate this inaugural International Day of the Deep Seabed. Proposed by the governments of Fiji, Jamaica, Malta and Singapore, their initiative reflects a shared commitment to raising awareness about the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, and the 1994 Implementation Agreement. These brought into existence the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/on-first-international-day-of-the-deep-seabed-we-seek-stewardship-and-consensus-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-308301</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Drone surveys offer early warnings on whale health and survival</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/drone-surveys-offer-early-warnings-on-whale-health-and-survival/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/drone-surveys-offer-early-warnings-on-whale-health-and-survival/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>16 Oct 2025 11:09:59 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Abhishyant Kidangoor]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Abhishyantkidangoor]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/10/16085514/Banner-Image-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=307767</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Atlantic Ocean, North America, Pacific Ocean, and United States]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Climate, Climate Change, Conservation, Drones, Environment, Oceans, and Whales]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[How are whale populations faring? Traditionally, getting an answer to that question involved counting whales by taking their photos and identifying them from their natural markings. However, a caveat persisted. Whales live a long time and reproduce very slowly. That means it often takes “a long time to learn about changes in the population as [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[How are whale populations faring? Traditionally, getting an answer to that question involved counting whales by taking their photos and identifying them from their natural markings. However, a caveat persisted. Whales live a long time and reproduce very slowly. That means it often takes “a long time to learn about changes in the population as well as their health,” John Durban, senior scientist at the Anderson Cabot Center for Ocean Life at the New England Aquarium, told Mongabay in a video interview. Now, Durban and his team are deploying drones and photogrammetry to complement their existing work and determine how whale health is being impacted by climate change. They measure the size and shape of whales from high-resolution aerial photos captured by drones. Using this data, they’ve been able to make a link between environmental factors and the animals’ health, giving them a clearer picture of how whale populations are faring and fluctuating. “We have been looking at the individual health of whales as a kind of early-warning system before they die or start having reproductive issues,” Durban said. “That gives us a lot more power to assess the impact of things like climate change.” For their research, the team focused on two species of whales in two different ocean basins: North Atlantic right whales (Eubalaena glacialis) that live off the coast of New England in the northeastern U.S., and orcas (Orcinus orca) in Alaska. For the former, the team ventures out into Cape Cod Bay in March and April&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/drone-surveys-offer-early-warnings-on-whale-health-and-survival/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-307767</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>São Tomé and Príncipe commits to creating a marine protected area network</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/09/sao-tome-and-principe-commits-to-creating-a-marine-protected-area-network/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/09/sao-tome-and-principe-commits-to-creating-a-marine-protected-area-network/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>19 Sep 2025 07:07:44 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Victoria Schneider]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Malavikavyawahare]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/09/18140348/37954751862_3aae019c28_3k-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=306174</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Atlantic Ocean, Central Africa, and Sao Tome And Principe]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Conservation, Ecology, Ecosystems, Environment, Environmental Policy, Fish, Fisheries, Fishing, Food, Islands, Marine, Marine Animals, Marine Conservation, Marine Protected Areas, Oceans, Poverty, and Saltwater Fish]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The island nation of São Tomé and Príncipe has taken a significant step in marine conservation, announcing that it will establish eight marine protected areas in its coastal waters. The declaration is the country’s first formal commitment to marine protection. The law designating the MPAs has been approved by the Council of Ministers and is [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The island nation of São Tomé and Príncipe has taken a significant step in marine conservation, announcing that it will establish eight marine protected areas in its coastal waters. The declaration is the country’s first formal commitment to marine protection. The law designating the MPAs has been approved by the Council of Ministers and is expected to be published in September, João Pessoa, the government’s director of fisheries and aquaculture, told Mongabay. “[The designation of the MPAs] is not only about protecting biodiversity. It is also about ensuring food security, preserving our traditional fishing culture, and strengthening resilience to climate change,” Pessoa said. Pedro Ramos, project officer at U.K.-based nature conservation NGO Fauna &amp; Flora, told Mongabay by email that for the first time, there will be laws that prohibit or restrict certain fishing activities in specific locations. Local fishers will face such restrictions for the first time. Flying fish for sale at a market in São Tomé. Image courtesy of Rede De Áreas Marinhas Protegidas De STP (RSTP)/Fauna &amp; Flora. Fishing is predominantly artisanal in the country, with fishers using small boats and nonselective gear. They land whatever they can net, regardless of species or size. “This lack of selectivity, combined with the proximity to sensitive coastal zones, has had serious consequences for critical habitats such as nurseries and breeding grounds,” Ramos said. São Tomé and Príncipe comprises two islands in the Gulf of Guinea located 200 kilometers (about 120 miles) off the coast of the Central African nation&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/09/sao-tome-and-principe-commits-to-creating-a-marine-protected-area-network/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/09/sao-tome-and-principe-commits-to-creating-a-marine-protected-area-network/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-306174</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Deep-sea mining is a false solution to our challenges (commentary)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/08/deep-sea-mining-is-a-false-solution-to-our-challenges-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/08/deep-sea-mining-is-a-false-solution-to-our-challenges-commentary/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>19 Aug 2025 16:53:47 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Pradeep Singh]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Erik Hoffner]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/05/29120433/Richard-BaronThe-Metals-Company-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=304564</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Atlantic Ocean and Pacific Ocean]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Circular Economy, Commentary, Conservation, Deep Sea, Deep Sea Mining, Ecosystems, Energy, Environment, Governance, Marine, Marine Conservation, Mining, Oceans, and Renewable Energy]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The deep sea, the planet’s most expansive and least understood ecosystem, remains largely unexplored. Yet while the deep sea may seem a dark and distant space, events underwater directly impact our lives, from essential services like climate regulation to fisheries and the marine food web. While scientific understanding of this realm is nascent, a new [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The deep sea, the planet’s most expansive and least understood ecosystem, remains largely unexplored. Yet while the deep sea may seem a dark and distant space, events underwater directly impact our lives, from essential services like climate regulation to fisheries and the marine food web. While scientific understanding of this realm is nascent, a new industry is rapidly emerging driven by the demand for rare metals essential for batteries, microchips and AI: deep-sea mining. In the past three years, more than 38 nations have voiced support for a moratorium on deep-sea mining, a rapid pace by the standards of multilateral lawmaking, and the equivalent of one new country signing on per month. This progress marks a major shift from just a few years ago, when states were either supportive of mining, reluctant to take a position, or were simply uninformed. The triggering of a treaty provision known as the “two-year rule” by the nation of Nauru in 2021, intended to accelerate deep-sea mining in areas beyond national jurisdiction, brought increased attention and scrutiny to the activity. Nevertheless, some private actors are pushing for the granting of applications for commercial deep-sea mining of minerals like copper, nickel and cobalt, despite significant concerns from global leaders, the scientific community and the public at large. A new species of Cnidaria collected at 4,100 meters that lives on sponge stalks attached to polymetallic nodules, like those which companies propose to mine. Image courtesy of Craig Smith and Diva Amon, ABYSSLINE Project. This divergence between&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/08/deep-sea-mining-is-a-false-solution-to-our-challenges-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/08/deep-sea-mining-is-a-false-solution-to-our-challenges-commentary/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-304564</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Former poachers guard Cabo Verde’s endangered sea turtles</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/08/former-poachers-guard-cabo-verdes-endangered-sea-turtles/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/08/former-poachers-guard-cabo-verdes-endangered-sea-turtles/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>04 Aug 2025 18:03:23 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Sonam Lama Hyolmo]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Latoya Abulu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/08/04173212/2-scaled-e1754330170778-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=303705</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Atlantic Ocean, Cape Verde, and West Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Conservation, Environment, Hunting, Illegal Trade, Marine, Marine Animals, Oceans, Poaching, Sea Turtles, Trade, and Turtles]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Seven years into patrolling on Cabo Verde’s islands, Roni Nelson Batista Ramos now protects endangered sea turtles on the beaches where he once poached them. A few decades ago, he hunted sea turtles to feed his family, he says, since consuming turtle meat was a common practice among locals on his island. Back then, all [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Seven years into patrolling on Cabo Verde’s islands, Roni Nelson Batista Ramos now protects endangered sea turtles on the beaches where he once poached them. A few decades ago, he hunted sea turtles to feed his family, he says, since consuming turtle meat was a common practice among locals on his island. Back then, all he did was hunt turtles, and it was free food on the table, Ramos tells Mongabay. However, after stricter conservation efforts and new legislation that criminalized killing threatened turtle species, poaching activities plummeted in the country. Many poachers were fined and struggled to adapt to a new life. “I had turtle meat for personal consumption and never realized I could make a living out of conserving them,” he says. “But now, I guard them against the poachers, and it’s motivating to see how these efforts have driven positive impacts for their conservation.” Ramos is among about a dozen former poachers who have been employed by conservation organizations to keep poaching numbers low on the country’s beaches. According to the Turtle Foundation, illegal catches of female turtles on the island of Boa Vista have declined from 1,253 in 2007 to just 20 in 2024. Meanwhile, in the same period, loggerhead turtle nests on the island increased more than sevenfold. Rangers find a sea turtle on the Lacacão beach during a morning census. Image courtesy of The Turtle Foundation. A ranger measuring a turtle’s shell and collecting data at the Canto camp. Image courtesy of The Turtle&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/08/former-poachers-guard-cabo-verdes-endangered-sea-turtles/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/08/former-poachers-guard-cabo-verdes-endangered-sea-turtles/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-303705</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Evolution in overdrive as Baltic cod shrink due to fishing pressure, study shows</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/evolution-in-overdrive-as-baltic-cod-shrink-due-to-fishing-pressure-study-shows/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/evolution-in-overdrive-as-baltic-cod-shrink-due-to-fishing-pressure-study-shows/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>18 Jul 2025 19:49:05 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Edward Carver]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Morgan Erickson-Davis]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/07/18175800/atlantic-cod-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=302816</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Atlantic Ocean and Europe]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Conservation, Environment, Evolution, Fish, Fisheries, Fishing, Food, Food Industry, Genetics, Marine, Marine Animals, Marine Conservation, Marine Protected Areas, Oceans, Overfishing, Research, Saltwater Fish, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[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. It’s one of the first studies to show that a marine species has evolved in response to fishing pressure. Sampled Eastern Baltic [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[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. It’s one of the first studies to show that a marine species has evolved in response to fishing pressure. Sampled Eastern Baltic cod, which are a distinct subpopulation of Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua), lost nearly half of their length from 1996 until 2019, according to the study, which was published in the journal Science Advances on June 25. The data collected for the study also showed that the fish lost nearly four-fifths of their weight over the same period. “If you just see the data, it’s crazy,” the study’s first author, Kwi Young Han, told Mongabay. Han is a postdoctoral researcher in marine evolutionary ecology at the GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel in Germany; the study emerged from her Ph.D. work. Han’s Ph.D. supervisor and co-author on this paper, Thorsten Reusch, said the findings had disturbing implications. “When the largest individuals are consistently removed from the population over many years, smaller, faster-maturing fish gain an evolutionary advantage,” Reusch said in a press release. “What we are observing is evolution in action, driven by human activity. This is scientifically fascinating, but ecologically deeply concerning.” (Left) A map of the Baltic Sea showing Bornholm Basin, the main spawning site for eastern Baltic cod. The fish historically also spawned in the Gotland Basin and Gdansk Deep, but no&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/evolution-in-overdrive-as-baltic-cod-shrink-due-to-fishing-pressure-study-shows/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-302816</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Global tracking study reveals marine megafauna hotspots lie largely unprotected</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/global-tracking-study-reveals-marine-megafauna-hotspots-lie-largely-unprotected/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/global-tracking-study-reveals-marine-megafauna-hotspots-lie-largely-unprotected/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>16 Jul 2025 16:02:51 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Keith Anthony Fabro]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rebecca Kessler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/06/27203226/AP25175119772976-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=301969</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Atlantic Ocean, Global, Indian Ocean, Pacific Ocean, and Southern Ocean]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Birds, Bycatch, Conservation, data, Ecosystems, Environment, Fish, Fishing, Governance, Marine, Marine Animals, Marine Conservation, Marine Mammals, Marine Protected Areas, Megafauna, Migration, Oceans, Research, Sea Turtles, Sharks, Whales, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[A global study tracking nearly 13,000 individual marine animals has uncovered a sharp disconnect between where these animals actually spend their time and where marine protections exist. The findings raise concerns over whether current conservation targets can deliver for ocean giants. Published in the journal Science on June 5, the study mapped the movements of [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[A global study tracking nearly 13,000 individual marine animals has uncovered a sharp disconnect between where these animals actually spend their time and where marine protections exist. The findings raise concerns over whether current conservation targets can deliver for ocean giants. Published in the journal Science on June 5, the study mapped the movements of 12,794 individuals from 111 marine megafauna species. The analysis drew from a global dataset built from nearly 16,000 original individual tracks comprising 11 million geoposition records. Researchers found that these animals spend 80% of their time in just 63% of the area they traverse — in zones the authors call Important Marine Megafauna Areas (IMMegAs). But only about 5% of these IMMegAs currently fall within marine protected areas (MPAs). “It was very interesting to see that some areas are just used by multiple species in many similar ways, [which] clearly shows hotspot areas that are of high biological and ecological importance,” Ana Sequeira, the study’s lead author and an associate professor in the Research School of Biology at Australian National University, told Mongabay by email. “These areas represent good candidates for areas that should be considered for protection.” The findings cast doubt on whether the 30&#215;30 global target under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework — protecting 30% of Earth’s land and sea by 2030 — can deliver for wide-ranging species without stronger alignment between protections and the places these animals actually use. “It was concerning to see that even if the total increase to 30%&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/global-tracking-study-reveals-marine-megafauna-hotspots-lie-largely-unprotected/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-301969</doi>				</item>
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