New research finds that large filter feeders in the waters of Indonesia could be ingesting dozens to hundreds of microplastic particles every hour. Due to their filter feeding strategy, manta…
It turns out that manta rays might be as picky about their friends as you or me. Researchers have found evidence of structured social relationships among wild, free-ranging reef manta…
Great white sharks, bull sharks, tiger sharks: All are household names, synonymous with media hype, and made infamous through films and documentaries. These “deadly” names represent just three species of…
New research finds that thousands of sharks and rays could be entangled in the plastic polluting Earth’s oceans. Scientists at the UK’s University of Exeter examined existing scientific literature and…
The smalleye stingray may be the largest of marine stingrays, but the species remains a mystery. It’s believed to be widely distributed across the Indo-West Pacific and has been recorded…
The largetooth sawfish, a large ray with a chainsaw-like nose extension, is among the largest fish in the world, growing more than 6.5 meters (20 feet) in length. This majestic…
A marine sanctuary in the Gulf of Mexico off Texas is teeming with baby manta rays, scientists say in a new study published in Marine Biology. Giant oceanic manta rays…
Scientists have long raised concerns over the future of sharks and rays, of which some 100 million are caught and killed on fishing boats every year. They have paid somewhat…
The government of Belize halted all exploration for oil in its territorial waters from Dec. 29, becoming one of the first developing countries to turn away from oil in favor…
Like all big fishing ports in Indonesia, Tanjung Luar is one that you can smell before you see. At 7 a.m., it is a thick crowd of fishwives, turmeric painted…
"This is for the future of our oceans," Indonesian Fishery Minister Susi Pudjiastuti exclaimed when she announced minimum size limits for lobster and crab catches in January this year. It…
Releasing the giant mamma freshwater stingray. Photo courtesy of Ocean Mysteries and Jeff Corwin. Conservationists and scientists have managed to catch-and-release what could be the world's biggest freshwater fish ever…
Reef manta rays (Manta alfredi) swim off Nusa Penida in Indonesia. Photo Credit: Paul Hilton/Greenpeace For the first time, Indonesia has sentenced an illegal manta ray trafficker to jail time…
A new study in the open access journal PLoS ONE estimates that manta rays are worth $140 million a year in tourism across 23 countries, significantly outweighing the worth of…
The scalloped hammerhead shark is one of five sharks and two manta rays that won protection today at CITES, so long as it isn't overturned. Photo by: Stacy Jupiter/WCS. Today,…