RAJA AMPAT, Indonesia — Tucked in the curve of a bay in Indonesia’s Raja Ampat archipelago, a floating structure appears like the tip of an iceberg. Below the surface, it’s…
TOKYO — Japan is actively exploring pathways to mine the deep sea of its exclusive economic zone (EEZ), in an effort to lessen reliance on imported mineral resources needed for…
KONO, Papua New Guinea — Chris Malgan sits in his outrigger canoe, singing and shaking a ring of coconut shells in the water next to the boat. The inky skies…
Thousands of miles off the southeast coast of South America lies a set of remote islands, one broad and comma-shaped, the others a series of small dots that trail off…
JAKARTA — Indonesia is developing a satellite constellation to beef up monitoring of its marine and fisheries resources with the maiden launch of a nanosatellite scheduled this July. That inaugural…
A vessel carrying thousands of tons of fertilizer has sunk in the Red Sea, raising fears of an environmental disaster in a part of the ocean known to harbor some…
The southern section of the Great Barrier Reef is undergoing extensive coral bleaching, according to researchers who recently surveyed the region. The discovery has raised fears that this fragile coral…
KONO, Papua New Guinea — News of apparent renewed interest in deep-sea mining came as a shock to Jonathan Mesulam in late 2022. Looking out over the Bismarck Sea that…
Marine protected areas intended to safeguard biodiversity in the ocean come in many different sizes and shapes. Some cover large swaths of the ocean, while others are smaller in scale.…
Migratory species that travel long distances in the ocean, including sharks, turtles and dolphins, face an unprecedented number of threats resulting from human actions. At the latest assembly of the…
Kamy Yeung said she wanted to do more scuba diving. So in 2014, she signed up to be a volunteer diver for a newly launched reef fish survey project in…
JAKARTA — The Indonesian government’s efforts to tackle illegal fishing in its vast waters have had the unintended consequence of driving an increase in maritime piracy, according to a new…
Raja Ampat on the Bird’s Head Peninsula of far northwestern New Guinea is often called the “crown jewel” of the region. This equatorial archipelago contains probably the world’s greatest concentration…
In later 2023, the international community concluded negotiations for a new ocean governance treaty, formally called the “Agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)…
To bring seabirds back to Kaho‘olawe, you need to first find the cats. And to find the cats on Kaho‘olawe, you need to know where to find the bombs. Eleven…
How do you count manatees? Ideally, standing by a river while playing with the aquatic mammals. However, in a world where manatee populations face increasing threats, a faster and more…
Over millennia, animals including walruses, seals, lemmings, muskox and migratory birds evolved to survive the polar north’s extreme cold. But on land and at sea, wildlife are struggling to adapt to a rapidly warming climate and altered ecosystems.
JAKARTA — Indonesians are set to vote in presidential and legislative elections on Feb. 14 in a landmark moment for the world’s largest archipelagic country. But maritime observers say none…
When the body that manages fisheries across the vast international waters of the South Pacific Ocean met earlier this month, it made key decisions on bottom trawling, labor rights, observation…
JAKARTA — The construction of Indonesia’s new capital city on the island of Borneo may destabilize the current stable population of endangered proboscis monkeys, a study has warned. President Joko…
LAMONGAN, Indonesia — Wawan has traded in stingrays for years out of the port in Lamongan, a district in Indonesia’s East Java province. At dawn, fishers are often seen returning…
ANTANANARIVO — With coral cover declining in Madagascar, Koraï, a Franco-Malagasy startup, has shifted its focus to coral reef restoration from its predecessor’s specialization in coral export. Jeimila Donty, its…
KARACHI — His sandaled feet drenched in black mud, Rashid Rasheed points to one of the mangrove nurseries he’s been looking after for the past few years. With wooden walls…
PHNOM PENH — In late December 2023, on a remote island in Preah Sihanouk province, off the southwest coast of Cambodia, a team of conservationists uncovered nine nests belonging to…
The organization responsible for managing the catch of more than half the world’s tuna holds a key section of its annual compliance meeting in secret. For three days, a committee of…
CENTRAL ARU, Indonesia — One afternoon last November, Natanel Ginobal, 67, drove his motorboat to check the mud crabs caught by the traps he had installed earlier the day. He…
Despite enacting different laws and regulations, both old and new, Bangladesh has faced a decline in marine fish stocks and diversity over the years, thanks to the rampant use of…
Palau has become the first nation to ratify the high seas treaty, a legally binding international agreement that seeks to protect and manage ocean areas beyond national jurisdiction. Other countries,…
TOLOWA DEE-NI' NATION, California — Three tribes along California's rugged northern coast made history in late September by designating the first Indigenous Marine Stewardship Area (IMSA) in the United States.…
Nearly a quarter of the world’s wild-caught seafood is scooped up by bottom trawlers, fishing vessels that drag heavy nets over the seafloor. These boats fish the world over and…