Oceans and Protected areas News

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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

Chile’s plan to protect another 10% of its ocean is stalled by the new government

Shanna Hanbury 23 Apr 2026

10% of the ocean is protected. Now just 20% more to go

Elizabeth Claire Alberts 6 Apr 2026
Sperm Whales Up Close Underwater in Indian Ocean, Western Australia. Photo credit: © Alex Westover

The ocean’s enforcement gap

Rhett Ayers Butler 23 Mar 2026
Common dolphins (Delphinus delphis) ride the bow wave of a research vehicle in the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument in 2024. Image courtesy of Alex DeCiccio/University of Rhode Island Inner Space Center for Mystic Aquarium, public domain.

Trump opens only US marine national monument in Atlantic to fishing — again

Edward Carver 10 Feb 2026

Mexico considers shrinking protected areas for endangered vaquita porpoise

Maxwell Radwin 10 Feb 2026

A new treaty comes into force to govern life on the high seas

Rhett Ayers Butler 17 Jan 2026
A Samoan coral reef from the air. Image courtesy of Andy Estep.

Marine protected areas expanded in 2025, but still far from 30% goal

Shanna Hanbury 8 Jan 2026

Seafloor survey in Cambodia finds simple anti-trawling blocks help seagrass recover

Keith Anthony Fabro 15 Dec 2025
A breaching northern bottlenose soars out of the water. Image by Sanna Isojunno via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0).

A rare bright spot for whales: Decades of conservation pay off for endangered population in Canada

Stella Mayerhoff 5 Dec 2025

What’s at stake for the environment in Honduras’ presidential election?

Maxwell Radwin 26 Nov 2025
Sámi reindeer herders and conservationists set up a protest camp at the facilities of the Blue Moon Metals Nussir mine in Finnmark county, Norway. Photo by Rasmus Berg / Natur og Ungdom.

Plans to dispose of mining waste in Norway’s Arctic Ocean worries Sámi fishers, herders

Aimee Gabay 18 Nov 2025
Trawlers docked outside Sihanoukville. Screenshot from ‘Illegal fishing and land grabs push Cambodian coastal communities to the brink’ by Andy Ball / Mongabay.

Chaos on Cambodia’s Coast

Mongabay.com 3 Nov 2025
Corals and fish in Lighthouse Reef atoll, Belize.

Belize’s blue reputation vs. reef reality: Marine conservation wins, and what’s missing (commentary)

Rhett Ayers Butler 31 Oct 2025

State-NGO collaboration expands protection for Patagonia’s biodiversity hotspot

Mark Hillsdon 16 Oct 2025
Redwood forest in California. Photo by Rhett Ayers Butler

Conservation in a hotter world

Rhett Ayers Butler 29 Sep 2025

Study spotlights West Papua habitat as whale sharks face increased pressures

Basten Gokkon 28 Sep 2025

Indonesia reopens Raja Ampat nickel mine despite reef damage concerns

Hans Nicholas Jong 12 Sep 2025
Banner image: Corals and fish within the Bitaug MPA. Image © Dean Apistar/WCS Philippines.

Community efforts yield new marine protected area in the Philippines

Kristine Sabillo 20 Aug 2025
Mobula munkiana rays in the Sea of Cortez. Photo by Rhett Ayers Butler / Mongabay

Guarding Mexico’s blue frontiers: A conversation with Alejandro González

Rhett Ayers Butler 30 Jul 2025
Mark Erdmann releasing a thresher shark. Photo courtesy of Mark Erdmann.

Sharks didn’t rebound—so Mark Erdmann is putting them back

Rhett Ayers Butler 13 Jul 2025
Small islands in Raja Ampat, West Papua, Indonesia. Photo credit: Rhett Ayers Butler. 

Listings of Indonesian islands renew fears of privatization for coastal communities

Basten Gokkon 8 Jul 2025
Rashid Mohamed Rashid

What happens to artisanal fishers when a deep-sea fishing port comes to town?

Anthony Langat 27 Jun 2025

Indigenous divers on Chile’s island restore seabed to protect seafood sources

Ana Cristina Alvarado 24 Jun 2025

As a fishing port rises in Kenya, locals see threats to sea life, livelihoods

Anthony Langat 23 Jun 2025
Sediment is clearly visible close to nickel mining operations on Kawe Island, Raja Ampat, discolouring the water in one of Indonesia’s most biodiverse marine areas. The concession covers an area of 5,922 hectares and is located within the mega-biodiversity region of Raja Ampat, West Papua. Image courtesy of Greenpeace.

No respite for Indonesia’s Raja Ampat as nickel companies sue to revive mines

Hans Nicholas Jong 13 Jun 2025
Banner image of the waters around Maupiti Island in French Polynesia by Sophie Hurel via Wikimedia Commons (CCBY3.0).

French Polynesia creates world’s largest marine protected area

Kristine Sabillo 12 Jun 2025
Banner image: The Madikwe Game Reserve in South Africa captured by the Pléiades Neo satellite. Image courtesy of the Airbus Foundation and Connected Conservation Foundation.

‘Satellites for Biodiversity’ upgrades with new projects and launches insight hub

Kristine Sabillo 26 May 2025
Split shot in the waters of San Benedicto, Mexico. Credit: Enric Sala/National Geographic Pristine Seas

Protecting coastal waters may be the best investment you’ve never heard of, says Kristin Rechberger

Rhett Ayers Butler 29 Apr 2025
A school of fish in the Palmyra Atoll in the Pacific. Image courtesy of Bryce Groark.

Trump opens massive marine protected area to commercial fishing

Shreya Dasgupta 18 Apr 2025
Crested black macaque. Photo by Rhett A. Butler / Mongabay.

Why conservation research findings are rarely surprising

Rhett Ayers Butler 16 Apr 2025

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