coral
Latest News

U.S. Creates Atlantic Deep-Sea Coral Protection Zone

GLOUCESTER, Massachusetts, December 19, 2016 (ENS) – Working together, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NOAA, and the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council have designated a large offshore area in the Mid-Atlantic Ocean for the protection of deep-sea corals. […]

ice
Air/Climate

Sea Ice at Both Poles Hits Record Lows

BOULDER, Colorado, December 10, 2016 (ENS) – Unusually high air temperatures over the Arctic Ocean, persistent winds from the south, and a warm ocean have resulted in a record low Arctic sea ice extent for November, say scientists at the National Snow and Ice Data Center, NSIDC, at the University of Colorado, Boulder. […]

Mexico coast
Latest News

Mexico Safeguards Vast Stretches of Coast, Deep Ocean

CANCUN, Mexico, December 5, 2016 (ENS) – Much of Mexico’s Caribbean coast, Baja coast and deep ocean are to become protected areas, President Enrique Peña Nieto announced Monday at the opening of the 13th Conference of the Parties (COP 13) to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity underway in Cancun. […]

corals dead
Latest News

Coral Die-Off Devastates Great Barrier Reef

TOWNSVILLE, Queensland, Australia, December 1, 2016 (ENS) – Scientists have confirmed the largest die-off of corals ever recorded on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. The worst affected area, a 700 km (435 mile) stretch in the northern region of the world’s largest reef, has lost 67 percent of its shallow-water corals in the past nine months. […]

whales
Latest News

Japan’s Whaling in Defiance of World Court Stirs Anger

PORTOROZ, Slovenia, October 24, 2016 (ENS) – As delegates from around the world gather in Portoroz for the 66th meeting of the International Whaling Commission on Monday, pro-whaling and anti-whaling nations are set to clash yet again over Japan’s so-called “scientific whaling.” […]

drill
Air/Climate

Acid Oceans Killing Antarctic Food Web

CANBERRA, Australia, August 9, 2016 (ENS) – An acidifying ocean absorbing too much carbon dioxide from the atmosphere could have a major impact on the staple diet of krill – with serious repercussions for the entire Antarctic ecosystem, scientists from the Australian Antarctic Division have found. […]

whale
Latest News

New Whale Species Discovered in North Pacific Ocean

LA JOLLA, California, July 31, 2016 (ENS) – Scientists have identified a beaked whale that lives in the cold and remote North Pacific Ocean as a new species. They have yet to officially name the whale, but have confirmed the species as a member of the genus Berardius. […]

Samoa
Latest News

New Partnerships Shield Vulnerable Small Island States

NEW YORK, New York, July 19, 2016 (ENS) – United Nations Headquarters was bustling with activity on Monday, full beyond capacity as island dwellers from around the world gathered for the Multi-Stakeholder Partnership in the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development Goals. […]

unloading tuna
Latest News

World Environment Day Targets Wildlife Crime

NEW YORK, New York, June 5, 2016 (ENS) – The first international accord to end illegal fishing went into effect today in celebration of World Environment Day. The pact is now legally binding for the 29 countries and the European Union that have signed on to it, says the UN Food and Agriculture Organization. […]

coral and seaweed
Air/Climate

Northern Great Barrier Reef Loses 35% of Its Corals

TOWNSVILLE, Queensland, Australia, May 31, 2016 (ENS) – One-third of the corals in the northern and central parts of the Great Barrier Reef are bleached out and dying due to climate change, according to Australian researchers who just finished months of intensive aerial and underwater surveys. […]

bloom
Latest News

Satellite Data Helps Detect Harmful Algal Blooms

WASHINGTON, DC, April 9, 2016 (ENS) – Freshwater polluted by harmful algal blooms costs the United States at least $64 million a year. Now four federal agencies are collaborating on a $3.6 million research project to transform satellite data into information in formats that managers can use. […]

coral
Latest News

Heat Stress Killing Corals on Great Barrier Reef

TOWNSVILLE, Queensland, Australia, April 6, 2016 (ENS) – The most pristine section of the world largest coral reef is experiencing the worst mass bleaching event in history, scientists have determined during aerial and in-water surveys of the Great Barrier Reef. […]

oil rig
Energy

Obama Halts Atlantic Offshore Oil and Gas Leasing

WASHINGTON, DC, March 17, 2016 (ENS) – The Obama Administration is withdrawing the middle and southern Atlantic seaboard from its next five-year offshore oil and gas leasing plan after objections from the Pentagon and from coastal communities in Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia. […]

fish
Latest News

Taiwan Warned of Looming Fishery Collapse

TAIPEI, Taiwan, February 4, 2016 (ENS) – The number of coastal fish species in northern Taiwan has dropped by 75 percent over the past three decades, finds a new study by Taiwanese researchers. Weak and poorly enforced fisheries regulations put the island nation at greater risk of a marine ecosystem collapse than the planet as a whole. […]