Marine protected areas News

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Found across the Canary Islands, the scarlet sea fan (Leptogorgia ruberrima) is a soft octocoral that provides shelter and food for many fish and other marine organisms. Image by thorsten72 via iNaturalist (CC BY-NC 4.0).

Spain proposes 23 new marine protected areas in the Canary Islands and Mediterranean

Francesco De Augustinis 21 Aug 2026
Many think of wildlife corridors as connected landscapes, but across the globe, animals on land, in freshwater, in the sea and in the skies need to be able to safely move to find food, water, to find a mate and reproduce. Flyways are aerial avian corridors. Image by AP Photos/Jae C. Hong.

Reconnecting the skies: Linking flyways for migratory seabirds across continents

Ruth Kamnitzer 21 Aug 2026
Members of the Kāi Tahu marine ranger team return from harvesting seaweed. Image by Edward Carver for Mongabay.

New Zealand opens marine reserves with groundbreaking Māori co-management model

Edward Carver 19 Aug 2026
Green sea turtle swimming in the waters of the Great Barrier Reef. Image by ©Commonwealth of Australia (Reef Authority), photographer J. Sumerling. CC BY 4.0.

On the Great Barrier Reef, management by Traditional Owners is growing

Cat Williams 18 Aug 2026
Oceanic whitetip shark (Carcharhinus longimanus), listed by the IUCN as a critically endangered species.

Global marine protected areas fail to safeguard most sharks and rays: Study

Madeline Shaw 14 Aug 2026
Cape Three Points, Ghana. Image courtesy of Hεn Mpoano.

Illegal mining threatens Ghana’s first marine protected area

Mabel Adorkor Annang 12 Aug 2026

Mining threat persists in Raja Ampat, Indonesia’s ‘Amazon of the Seas’

Hans Nicholas Jong 4 Aug 2026
A whitetip reef shark (Triaenodon obesus) stalks the reef at Luf Island, Papua New Guinea.

Four Pacific nations are planning one of the world’s largest ocean corridors

Rhett Ayers Butler 4 Aug 2026
Rainbow runner (Elagatis bipinnulata) and a juvenile bigeye tuna (Thunnus obesus) hang in the purse seine net of the French fishing vessel Trevignon

Drifting tuna fishing gear enter half of marine protected areas: study

Keith Anthony Fabro 31 Jul 2026
A basking shark (Cetorhinus maximus), an endangered species that uses Dogger Bank as a critical seasonal feeding ground and nursery. Image courtesy of Joost van Uffelen.

Wind farms join bottom trawlers and oil rigs in a protected North Sea sandbank

Christina Egerstrom 30 Jul 2026
A whitetip reef shark (Triaenodon obesus) in the Pacific Ocean off Panama. The species is listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List. Image courtesy of Mission Blue/Max Bello.

What happened to the vessels Panama busted in 2025 for fishing in its flagship MPA?

Edward Carver 21 Jul 2026
A split-view image of an underwater seascape and coastline of Mussau Island, within the Manus Marine Protected Area, Papua New Guinea.

Melanesian nations announce intention to create massive ocean reserve corridor

Ashley Yeong 17 Jul 2026

Gray whales are suffering catastrophic population decline in the Pacific Ocean

David Brown 16 Jul 2026
Mediterranean coast.

The unsung biodiversity of the Mediterranean Sea needs urgent protection

Mike DiGirolamo 15 Jul 2026
Linda Ingham with Pacific white-sided dolphin caught in Japanese driftnet, north Pacific. Photo © Greenpeace / Roger Grace

A marine protected area can ban fishing boats. It cannot stop drifting gear

Rhett Ayers Butler 13 Jul 2026
A view of Ngor Bay in Dakar, Senegal. Image by Jeff Attaway via Flickr (CC BY 2.0).

What will Africa’s story on ocean governance be? Interview with David Willima

Victoria Schneider 13 Jul 2026
Seagrass meadows, pictured above, play a critical role in carbon sequestration and protecting coastlines.

Scientists use AI to produce first high-resolution map of global seagrass extent

Abhishyant Kidangoor 10 Jul 2026

São Tomé declares first two of eight planned marine protected areas

Victoria Schneider 29 Jun 2026

Asia’s shark and ray hotspots remain poorly protected, study finds

Malaka Rodrigo 26 Jun 2026
Fishers in Sahamalaza-Iles Radama Marine Protected Area. Image courtesy of Madagascar National Parks.

Six marine sanctuaries recognized as Blue Parks, four of them in Africa

Malavika Vyawahare 24 Jun 2026
Sharks in French Polynesia. Image courtesy of Hannes Klostermann, Ocean Image Bank.

French Polynesia expands ocean protections to 30% of its waters

David Brown 18 Jun 2026
A humpback whale fluke.

Protect Antarctic krill to preserve the health of Africa’s coastal communities (commentary)

Carmen dos Santos 17 Jun 2026
Purple sea urchin on the Gaiola MPA sea floor. Image courtesy of Maurizio Simeone.

How a popular spaghetti dish is threatening Italy’s marine ecosystem

Manuela Callari 16 Jun 2026
Jannes Landschoff diving in the Great African Seaforest. Image courtesy of Jannes Landschoff.

World Oceans Day: Marine protected areas surpass 10% mark in 2026

Mongabay.com 8 Jun 2026
Dugong rescue in Thailand

Thai island community rallies to protect beloved dugongs, revive declining seagrass

Carolyn Cowan 21 May 2026
Sea pen in the South Arran MPA. Image © COAST/Howard Wood.

Seabed life triples after bottom trawling ban in Scotland protected area

Shanna Hanbury 14 May 2026

At world’s largest shark conference, scientists warn of a grim outlook across the board

Philip Jacobson 14 May 2026
Endangered Antarctic fur seals on South Georgia Island. Image by Rhett A. Butler/Mongabay.

China and Norway push to increase krill harvests around Antarctica

Francesco De Augustinis 14 May 2026
A waddle of chinstrap penguins (Pygoscelis antarctica) on Deception Island, Antarctica. Image courtesy of Jay Williams / WWF.

The Southern Ocean is key to our planet’s future & we have a chance to protect it this year (commentary)

Zac Goldsmith 13 May 2026

Ocean philanthropy: small sums for a vast domain

Rhett Ayers Butler 11 May 2026
Green sea turtles (Chelonia mydas) feeding on seagrass. Image courtesy of Liam McGuire via Ocean Image Bank.

With its first marine reserve, Ghana protects its ocean to secure its future (commentary)

Emelia Arthur 4 May 2026
A man on the Philippine island of Boracay walks beside a drainage pipe discharging untreated sewage into the ocean in 2018.

Nearly three in four marine protected areas undermined by wastewater pollution

Elizabeth Fitt 29 Apr 2026

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