Published by Ocean Conservancy Recently, when flying over the Beaufort Sea in the Arctic, NASA scientists stumbled on a bit of a mystery: three holes in the sea ice surrounded by irregular circular shapes. As part of its Operation IceBridge mission, NASA has been photographing, mapping and documenting how climate change is affecting both the Arctic […]
Published by Ocean Conservancy Beach cleanups are in our DNA here at Ocean Conservancy, so when we had the opportunity to work with partners from Oceans North, Ecology Action Centre and Friends of McNabs Island to co-host a beach cleanup in Halifax, Nova Scotia on Earth Day, we knew we couldn’t miss it. © Eric DesRoberts Marine […]
Published by Ocean Conservancy I’m back in Alaska after a journey to London for a meeting of the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), a specialized agency of the United Nations that regulates shipping. Now that the jetlag has finally worn off, I’m ready to share all that happened—both the newsworthy […]
Published by Ocean Conservancy Todays’ guest blog is from Virginia Schutte. She is the Science Media Officer at the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium (LUMCON), where she experiments with new ways to make science accessible. She earned her PhD in Ecology from the University of Georgia before becoming a science communicator. Mark Benfield was shocked to hear of the […]
Published by Ocean Conservancy Last year, we told you about how the rebuilding of red snapper in the Gulf of Mexico was being jeopardized by a long recreational fishing season that would lead to overfishing. This year, managers are trying something new—experimental strategies that give states more say in how recreational fishing is managed. This has […]
Published by Ocean Conservancy Have you been spending time in the deep sea this week? We have! Thanks to the amazing livestream from NOAA’s Okeanos Explorer, we’ve been exploring corals, shipwrecks and much more on the Gulf of Mexico seafloor. © NOAA Okeanos Explorer They’ve done so much incredible work already in just the first week of […]
Published by Ocean Conservancy Have you been spending time in the deep sea this week? We have! Thanks to the amazing livestream from NOAA’s Okeanos Explorer, we’ve been exploring corals, shipwrecks and much more on the Gulf of Mexico seafloor. © NOAA Okeanos Explorer They’ve done so much incredible work already in just the first week of […]
Published by Ocean Conservancy Last week I had the pleasure of attending the Spring Cleanup hosted by the Pacific Coast Shellfish Growers Association (PCSGA) on the South Puget Sound. As I pulled up (in torrential downpour) to the Arcadia Boat Ramp in Shelton, WA, I was heartened to see not only volunteers from eight shellfish farms, […]
Published by Ocean Conservancy Earth Day is a special annual reminder of the how important it is to take care of the world we live in. This year, the Earth Day Network has dedicated its focus on Ending Plastic Pollution and how, as a community, we can work towards solutions. From the tiniest plankton to the […]
Published by Ocean Conservancy There’s a lot of awe-inspiring stuff that happens in our natural world, and if there’s one thing I’ve learned about science over the years it’s this: never say never. That’s why I was optimistic when I read the headlines about the discovery of mutant enzymes that can solve our ocean plastic problem; […]
Published by Ocean Conservancy This conversation has been edited for clarity and length. Former Secretary of State John Kerry sat down with me to talk about our ocean. During his tenure at the State Department, Kerry led the Arctic Council, helped to create the Our Ocean conference series and championed ocean causes. While you were at […]
Published by Ocean Conservancy When Scott Pruitt was confirmed as Administrator of the EPA more than a year ago, his nomination raised red flags from all corners of the ocean conservation community. At his confirmation hearing, those concerns were validated as Pruitt demonstrated a serious lack of understanding the threats facing our ocean and the communities […]
Published by Ocean Conservancy Eight years. It has been that long since the Deepwater Horizon exploded, killing 11 people and triggering the biggest environmental disaster in U.S. history. Who can forget the horror of the first few days as oil leaked into the Gulf and continued to pump from the deep-water Macondo oil well? An estimated […]
Published by Ocean Conservancy Maybe you’ve had a rough day and don’t feel there’s much that could make you smile right now. Or perhaps you’ve just woken up, and you’re still waiting for that coffee to kick in. Maybe it’s been awhile since you’ve had a good laugh. Regardless which of these apply to you, nowadays […]
Published by Ocean Conservancy We’ve got some news to share: while Friday the 13th only comes around a few times a year, these ocean-dwelling animals exist as their creepy selves all year round. From a crustacean the size of a small cat to a squid with the word ‘vampire’ in its name…you’re in for a frightfully […]
Published by Ocean Conservancy On February 27th, 2018, a sperm whale washed ashore on the beach of Cabo de Palos in southern Spain. The whale was young and thin, measuring about 33 feet in length. Beach goers curiously gathered around, considering how the young whale met this fate. In the weeks since then, experts from the […]
Published by Ocean Conservancy Just last month, the International Maritime Organization, the United Nations agency tasked with regulating global shipping, celebrated its 70th anniversary at its headquarters in London, with a ceremony that included a dedication by Her Majesty, the Queen of England. Here are five things you need to know about the IMO and our […]
Published by Ocean Conservancy Today, NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer, is setting out to explore corals, shipwrecks and much more on the Gulf of Mexico seafloor, and they’ll be livestreaming their discoveries. To get a behind-the-scenes look at the work NOAA does on these missions, a few of us from Ocean Conservancy toured the Okeanos Explorer while […]
Published by Ocean Conservancy Eight years ago, this month, the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded and sank in the Gulf of Mexico, unleashing the worst environmental disaster in U.S. history. That summer, BP oil killed hundreds of thousands of sea turtles, while more than 28,000 sea turtle eggs were relocated from their nests in Alabama and […]
Published by Ocean Conservancy President Trump and Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke are in a hurry to open Arctic waters to risky offshore drilling. Last week, they kicked off a planning process for a new oil and gas lease sale in the Beaufort Sea—even though the Beaufort Sea is currently off-limits to new leasing. What’s […]