The great mass of castaway plastic collecting in the northern Pacific Ocean is much larger than past estimates, and it’s growing, according to a new study. As a species, we…
Even as the world is waking up to the problems created by the massive amounts of plastic pollution in Earth’s oceans — and taking steps to address the issue —…
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…
Technology above the clouds is helping scientists study sharks beneath the waves. A new initiative combines shark movement data with publicly available vessel identification data—both transmitted to researchers via satellite—to…
Attendees at the world’s largest wildlife conference have called for stepping up protection for 34 migratory species, including giraffes, whale sharks and two of Africa’s big cats. “Migratory animals play…
This episode of the Mongabay Newscast takes a look at our new investigative series, “Indonesia for Sale,” and also features a new acoustic study of Amazonian bats. We recently published…
A new alliance, introduced today at an EU-hosted conference on oceans in Malta, has joined the global effort to shore up legality in the seafood industry. Between 11 million and…
International trade in silky and thresher sharks will now be strictly regulated, according to a press release by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). All three species…
Music has a unique ability to inspire awareness and action about important issues — and we’re excited to welcome a living legend onto the program to discuss that very topic.…
Markets around the world sell products made from the processed parts of wild animals and plants, which are sometimes illegal and mislabeled. A research team using DNA barcoding technology to…
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.…
Dave Ebert pulls up an image on his computer screen. The object in the picture is shaped like an oversize arrowhead, thin, yellowish, and fraying at its edges. It’s a…
Coral reefs may be underwater, but they are also under fire: overfishing is dramatically altering these underwater treasures. While most people never get to see these ecosystems up close, they…
Singapore has emerged as the world's second largest trader of shark fins by value after Hong Kong, according to a new report by the wildlife trade monitoring group TRAFFIC. Shark…
As I reached the surface, I could hardly believe my eyes. The black shadow of the vessel turned, revealing its distinct cigar-shaped profile. Seeing a submarine at sea with a…
In 2016, massive new ocean protected areas and transformative policies to fight illegal fishing brought hope. Meanwhile, the world’s worst coral bleaching event, record sea ice lows, and coastal flooding…
More than 50 percent of the sharks and rays native to the Mediterranean Sea are at a high risk of extinction, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) announced Monday.…
GILI TRAWANGAN, Indonesia — The sun is rising behind Mount Rinjani as a group of divers boards a boat to Shark Point, a spot popular among sea turtles and reef…
Since September 24, representatives from more than 180 countries have been gathered in Johannesburg, South Africa for the seventeenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties (CoP17) to the Convention…
On September 15, Hollywood actor and environmental activist Leonardo DiCaprio launched a new campaign for sharks and rays at the third annual Our Ocean conference in Washington, D.C. The Global…
In 2013, Indonesia declared the whale shark a protected species, hoping to put a dent in the thriving trade in its body and parts which was pushing the world’s largest fish…
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…
The world’s largest fish, the whale shark, is in deep trouble. According to the latest IUCN assessments, the school bus-sized fish has now been up-listed from Vulnerable to Endangered on the…
Airline Cathay Pacific joined a growing number of air carriers to ban shipments of shark fin. The move, announced last week, came in response to a campaign by WildAid, a…
rotected waters contain more sharks than open-access fishing zones, concluded a recently released study based in the waters of West Papua, Indonesia. The research adds to mounting evidence that “spatial…
Marine biologist Carl Safina is a noted author and research professor at Stony Brook University, where he focuses on ocean sciences and is co-chair of the Alan Alda Center for…
Personality in humans defines who we are. It is the unique combination of qualities and traits that form our distinct characters as individuals. Many people don’t tend to think of…
How are several satellite tag technologies used in tandem to track movements of an iconic and wide-ranging marine species?
Drones will now hover above Australian coastal waters in a bid to reduce shark attacks, Australian government announced this week. The first drone trial began at Coffs Harbor in the…
