Much of the fishing that takes place in international waters would be unprofitable without the billions of dollars in subsidies pumped in by governments to sustain the ecologically destructive industry,…
The remote island of South Georgia in the southern Atlantic Ocean has finally been declared free of invasive rats and mice in the world’s largest-ever rodent eradication effort. A monitoring…
Brazil will soon have four vast marine protected areas (MPAs) in the Atlantic Ocean, covering an area of more than 920,000 square kilometers (355,200 square miles). The new designation will increase the…
North Atlantic right whales face an increasingly uncertain future. Despite two decades of intensive monitoring and protection, their numbers have hit a seven-year skid, with an estimated 451 right whales…
It’s hard to adequately describe the importance of conch to the Bahamas. Conchs are ingrained in the culture; there are conch festivals, conch homecomings and conch-cracking competitions. On the Bahamian…
It’s no secret that widespread overfishing is driving many shark species to extinction. Many of these apex predators are ensnared incidentally as bycatch in longline fisheries targeting tuna or swordfish.…
A French oil giant suffered a set back in its bid to drill for oil near the mouth of the Amazon river. Ibama, Brazil's environmental regulator, today rejected Total SA's…
The federal prosecutor for the Brazilian state of Amapá has requested that the environmental licensing process for oil giants BP and Total to begin drilling in deep water near the…
This time last year, scientists announced the discovery of a reef system at the mouth of the Amazon River that they said is quite possibly the only reef of its…
True's beaked whales are notoriously elusive. Like other beaked whales, they dive deep into oceans for prolonged periods of time, and surface only for short breathing intervals, making them very…
As always, Mongabay covered a mix of environmental stories this year. While some species went extinct, several new species were discovered. Some forests were wiped out, but others were restored. Below, we take a look…
Marine scientists at the University of California Santa Barbara’s Benioff Ocean Initiative have developed a web-based tool, Deep Sea Mining Watch, to allow anyone to watch vessels engaged in deep…
The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced a new proposed rule last week that would create a new protected area in the Mid-Atlantic region in order to conserve…
Global warming is changing Earth’s oceans and those impacts will last for decades even if we rein in greenhouse gas emissions from human activities, according to new research. A report…
Greenland sharks, living in the cold, deep waters of the Arctic and North Atlantic Oceans, are one of the largest sharks in the world -- they can grow up to…
By now, you’ve probably heard of the massive, floating garbage patches swirling around in each of Earth’s five major ocean basins: the North and South Atlantic, the North and South…
rom space, there is only one stretch of ocean that lights up at night, in spring. Breaking the dark in a curved line near South America’s southern tip, the lights…
Scientists in the Labrador Sea recently made the first retrieval of data from one of 53 lines moored to the sea floor and studded with instruments that have been monitoring…
Scientists have discovered a previously unknown reef ecosystem at the mouth of the Amazon River, and they’re warning that plans to drill for oil nearby could put the reef at…
Under the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, 168 signatory countries committed to the creation of marine protected areas encompassing 10 percent of the world’s oceans by 2020. Given that just…
America's Atlantic coast will remain off limits for oil and gas drilling for now. Following uproar from coastal communities and environmental groups, the Obama administration announced Tuesday that it was reversing its…
Photograph of Grey snapper (Lutjanus griseus) in a school of adults on the reef. Photo by: E. D’Alessandro. For the first time, marine biologists in Florida have recorded evidence of…
Norway has its biggest minke whaling season in over 20 years. As of late August, Norway has killed 729 northern minke whales (Balaenoptera acutorostrata) during its annual whaling season, the…
Invasive predator can live in nearly freshwater environments, may threaten estuaries, rivers You may have recently read the controversial story on invasive lionfish research involving Dr. Zack Jud of Florida…
Bottom trawling is a practice used by commercial fisheries around the world in which a large, heavy net is dragged along the ocean floor to scoop up everything in its…
The Critically Endangered European eel makes one of the most astounding migrations in the wild kingdom. After spending most of its life in Europe's freshwater rivers, the eel embarks on…
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) raised its estimate of the number of storms that will likely form during this year's Atlantic hurricane season. NOAA now predicts 12 to…
Northern rockhopper penguins covered in oil. Photo by: Tristan Conservation Team of Simon Glass, Wayne Swain and Matthew Green. Courtesy of: The Tristan da Cunha Website. Disturbing photos show northern…
Nightingale Island as viewed from Google Earth. Conservation workers have found hundreds of oiled northern rockhopper penguins (Eudyptes moseleyi) after a cargo vessel wrecked on Nightingale Island, apart of the…
