Chile: First Country to Protect All Seamounts from Bottom Trawling

Oceana welcomes the historic reform of the Chilean Fisheries Law passed by the Chilean Congress. The law bans bottom trawling in the country's vulnerable marine ecosystems, including the precautionary closure of all seamounts in Chile, establishes a system in which all fishing quotas will be based on scientific recommendation, and requires the implementation of reduction plans for bycatch and discards for every commercial fishery.

Humans changing saltiness of the seas

When you hear about climate change it's most often about melting glaciers and sea ice, increasing frequency of heatwaves and powerful storms. Maybe, you'll hear about the acidification of the oceans too. What you don't hear about is the saltiness of the seas. But that's changing too, according to a new piece of research just published in Geophysical Research Letters.

Fisheries reforms: MEPs back plan to protect stocks

Euro MPs have backed fisheries reforms aimed at protecting endangered stocks and curbing the practice of throwing unwanted fish back into the sea dead. Fish discarded at sea are reckoned to account for almost a quarter of all EU catches. The fisheries committee vote came as EU ministers began negotiations on next year's fishing quotas.

The Ten Best Ocean Stories of 2012

Despite covering 70 percent of the earth’s surface, the ocean doesn’t often make it into the news. However, Smithsonian.com have compiled their top ten ocean stories from James Cameron exploring the deep sea, to raised awareness of sea-level rise following Hurricane Sandy, to new satellite technology allowing us to learn more about ocean wildlife. Click here for the full round up. Photo courtesy of Chadica via Flickr (CC BY 2.0)

NOAA scientists advance climate, ocean and atmospheric science in record-setting year

The year just ending is one of new records: the lowest Arctic sea ice minimum since satellites records began in 1979; the United States’ most widespread drought, second only to the drought of the 1930s in area affected; and virtual certainty that 2012 will be the United States’ warmest year on record.

European Parliament Shows Leadership on Common Fisheries Policy

Members of the European Parliament’s Fisheries Committee today voted in favour of ending overfishing in and by the EU by 2015 and for the recovery of fish stocks by 2020. This is a major step in ensuring the future sustainability of EU fish stocks and for the long-term stability of the EU fishing fleet.

Scottish fishing industry facing EU power struggle

Fishing leaders say a European power struggle will threaten the future of the industry in Scotland. For the first time the European Parliament wants a say on setting fishing entitlements. Some fear the move could cause automatic cuts to kick in. The row came on the eve of today's annual talks of the European Council of Ministers to determine next year's quotas and days at sea. Watch here for this BBC report from Peterhead. Photo courtesy of Silverfox09 via Flickr (CC BY 2.0)

More luxury hotels take shark fin off their menu

About 6 percent of luxury hotels in three major Chinese cities have stopped serving shark fin, a survey has found. Although the controversial delicacy remains on the menu at most hotels, Green Beagle Environment Institute, a Beijing-based non-government organization that was the main sponsor of the survey, said the results are encouraging and reflect increased awareness.

Ocean observation system offers insight into marine ecosystem

Argo, a global observing system based on drifting sensors cycling from the surface to the ocean mid-depths, reached a major milestone with one million observations. The international research program has been building up an array which is now enabling new insights into the ocean's central influence on global climate and marine ecosystems after starting in late 1999 with 10 drifting robotic sensors deployed by Australia in the Indian Ocean.

Cook Islands' shark sanctuary creates world's largest

The Cook Islands has approved a shark sanctuary in its waters, making for the largest such sanctuary in the world. The South Pacific island chain declared a 1.9 million-sq-km sanctuary, contiguous with one established last week by neighbouring French Polynesia.

Latest from World Ocean Radio: Holiday Episode: At the Fishhouses

Each year during the festive period, World Ocean Radio host Peter Neill reads "At The Fishhouses" by Elizabeth Bishop. This poem was chosen above all others not only for its relevance for the New Year, but because it distills years of Bishop's seaside meditations and evokes the clarity of meaning contained in personal encounters with the world ocean.

Days to Save our Seas!

Overfishing is killing our seas, but in just 4 days, a crucial EU vote could stop the devastation. The outcome is on a knife edge, and a key UK MEP could mean the difference between life or death for our seas – so OCEAN2012 are urging him to get off the fence!

Bankrupting our oceans: Fisheries Ministers following scientific advice only 1 out of 10 times

An analysis launched today by WWF shows that over the past nine years fisheries ministers have only followed scientific advice in 13% of their decisions; and set fishing quotas on average 45% higher than the recommended scientific advice. This means that ministers have approved fishing of 6.2 million extra tons of fish, in addition to the scientifically proposed catch levels – this is legalised overfishing.

UK seas to gain 31 marine conservation zones

The UK's sealife will be protected by 31 new conservation zones aimed at preventing trawling and dredging destroying life on the ocean floor, under plans announced by the government on Thursday. But ministers rejected advice to create 127 zones, including all the areas where no activity would have been allowed, leading campaigners to describe the plan as "pitiful" and a "bitter disappointment".

Waitrose halts plans to expand Shell partnership

Greenpeace has claimed victory after intense campaigning prompted Waitrose to put on hold its plans to expand its partnership with Shell – the oil company which is planning to drill for oil in the Arctic. The UK supermarket had been considering opening new shops in Shell petrol stations across the country, but Waitrose managing director Mark Price has confirmed that the roll-out of the forecourt partnership has been put on ice until after 2013.

Marine conservation group says UK lacks ambition to preserve seas

The Marine Conservation Society says the UK government's plans for protected ocean areas are too limited. The government has been accused of a "lack of ambition" to preserve the seas, ahead of an expected announcement later today about plans for a series of protected marine areas.

David Miliband (ex UK Foreign Secretary) on need for no-take Marine Reserves and High Seas governance

Thirty years ago, the Cold War was at its height and the United Kingdom had just clawed its way out of recession. Perhaps those factors explain why, this week in 1982, when 119 government delegations chose to sign the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), the UK was not among them. According to Donald Rumsfeld, Britain’s then-prime minister, Margaret Thatcher, declared UNCLOS to be “nothing less than the international nationalization of roughly two-thirds of the Earth’s surface.”

Papua New Guinea sea floor mining project in jeopardy

A dispute between Papua New Guinea and Canada's Nautilus Minerals threatens to sink plans to mine gold and other metals for the first time from the ocean floor. It could also work against Papua New Guinea's efforts to restore faith in its vast resources potential and entice more foreign companies to follow the likes of Exxon Mobil, Newcrest Mining and Barrick Gold and invest billions of dollars in resource projects.

Chasing Ice movie reveals largest iceberg break-up ever filmed

It's like watching 'Manhattan breaking apart in front of your eyes', says filmmaker James Balog. He's describing the largest iceberg calving ever filmed, as featured in his movie, Chasing Ice. After weeks of waiting, the filmakers witnessed 7.4 cubic km of ice crashing off the Ilulissat glacier in Greenland. Chasing Ice, released in the UK on Friday, follows James Balog's mission to document Arctic ice being melted by climate change.

Scary news for corals from the Ice Age

There is growing scientific concern that corals could retreat from equatorial seas and oceans as the Earth continues to warm, a team of international marine researchers warned yesterday. Working on clues in the fossil coral record from the last major episode of global warming, the period between the last two ice ages about 125,000 years ago, the researchers found evidence of a sharp decline in coral diversity near the equator.

World's Largest Tuna Body Grants Protection for Whale Sharks, But Continues to Endorse Overfishing

The conservation outcomes from a week-long Western and Central Pacific Commission (WCPFC) annual meeting in Manila, Philippines were mixed as 25 governments strengthened protection for whale sharks and took some action on illegal fishing, but failed to stop overfishing of bigeye tuna in the Pacific.

Ancient fungi found in deep-sea mud

Researchers have found evidence of fungi thriving far below the floor of the Pacific Ocean, in nutrient-starved sediments more than 100 million years old. The discovery has the potential to turn the brown muck of the sea floor into pure gold for biologists looking for alternative forms of life — and possibly for pharmaceutical companies seeking antibiotics to combat the growing problem of drug-resistant bacteria.

Ocean gliders help in battle against climate change

Unmanned, autonomous ocean gliders are collecting data in the Southern Ocean, 1,000m below the surface, and sending it back to climate scientists and oceanographers.

Joint Inspection Unit Completes Evaluation of UN-Oceans

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has transmitted to the UN General Assembly (UNGA) the report of the Joint Inspection Unit's evaluation of UN-Oceans. The report examines the inter-agency mechanism, maps out the activities of its members in the last five years on oceans and coastal issues, and includes recommendations.

Illegal Tuna Fishing Crackdown in Pacific Can Save $1 Billion

A new data-driven process to further crackdown on illegal tuna fishing in the Pacific will help reduce the loss of local fish industry earnings by up to $1billion. A recent two-week surveillance operation to detect illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing activities in the region has confirmed how necessary data collection is to deter and eliminate fish plundering from the world’s biggest and most important tuna fishery.

Pew Applauds French Polynesia for Creating the World's Largest Shark Sanctuary

Josh Reichert, managing director of the Pew Environment Group, issued the following statement in response to French Polynesia announcing comprehensive and permanent shark protections. The announcement was made on Dec. 6 during the annual meeting of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission meeting in Manila, Philippines.

Latest from World Ocean Radio: More Answers for Sandy

As the power is restored, transportation comes back online, and life and order return to a semblance of normal, another storm fades from memory. Yet superstorm Sandy has left us with some very hard questions and facts. In this episode of World Ocean Radio, host Peter Neill poses a series of questions that demand answers and will suggest that if we begin to change our ways now we may yet realise a habitable future living by and with the sea.

Are microbeads and microplastics in beauty products a threat to the oceans?

It is true that microscopic particles of polyethylene now bob around the high seas. It's also true that the origins of these microplastics are likely to be consumer products. Washing your face can be an act of pollution if you use a cleaner that contains zillions of plastic microbeads for exfoliation. Too small to be sifted out at sewage treatment plants, they end up in the ocean, where the plastic becomes a persistent pollutant.

Pollutants released by seafloor trawling affect marine life

Commercial bottom trawling, the technique of pulling fishing gear across the seabed to catch fish and other seafood, releases pollutants trapped in the seabed, which can negatively affect local marine life and ecosystems. Recent findings from a Norwegian fjord show how mussels can take up high levels of contaminants released by trawling, with important health implications for consumers.

The Transporter: Cloud Banks Carry Mercury

The towering redwood forests along California's coast are known for the clammy fog that rolls in from the ocean almost every night. Now scientists have discovered an unwelcome stowaway in these cloud banks: mercury.

Chagos Outreach Programme

ZSL have teamed up with the Chagos Conservation Trust (CCT) in a new initiative towards introducing environmental training to UK-based and overseas Chagossian communities. During the Summer of 2012, various events were held which aimed to promote environmental issues and educate on the diversity of wildlife to be found in this specially protected area. Watch this film to find out more.

Scientists warn we are eating through the oceans' iron

Iron is a crucial component for the oceans’ marine life and for carbon storage – but its removal through fishing isn’t being tracked, researchers said at the Autumn Meeting of the American Geophysical Union.

Arctic lost record snow and ice last year as data shows changing climate

The Arctic lost more snow and sea ice between October 2011 and August 2012 than any year other on record, a premier US science agency reported on Wednesday, delivering the fullest picture to date of a region in the throes of rapid, system-wide change. The Arctic lost record snow cover and sea ice last year – even though air temperatures were not unusually high.

Waitrose and Shell - A Recipe for Disaster

Waitrose is starting to open stores at Shell petrol stations across the UK. But a partnership with Shell is a partnership with Arctic destruction. Greenpeace are taking on the UK Supermarket with a campaign to try and stop further destruction of the Arctic. Shell says it can drill safely in the frozen Arctic, and that the likelihood of an accident is very low. But experience of the offshore oil and gas industry, as well as common sense and scientific consensus tells us there is no way to drill safely in the frozen north.

Science robot ends Guinness record-breaking ocean journey

After a record-breaking 9,000-mile journey across the ocean, a small autonomous robot recently arrived in Australia having collected and transmitted a wealth of scientific data that could lead to a better understanding of the world's seas.

Marine Life on a Warming Planet

Since the beginning of the industrial era, humans have pumped increasing amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. This has led not only to a warmer climate but also to significant changes in the chemistry of the oceans. Click here for an IHT opinion piece on ocean acidification, a process that has already ruined many coral reefs and over time could threaten the entire marine food chain. Photo courtesy of Tonynetone via Flickr (CC BY 2.0)

Latest from World Ocean Radio: 200: The Sea Connects All Things

This week marks the 200th episode of World Ocean Radio. In honour of this anniversary, World Ocean Radio have chosen to re-broadcast their first episode - The Sea Connects All Things, which first aired December 7, 2007. This week and every week, World Ocean Radio celebrates the vast, interconnected global system that is the world ocean.

Estimating the use of drifting Fish Aggregating Devices (FADs) in the global tuna fishery

An estimated 47,000 to 105,000 fish aggregating devices (FADs) are currently in use worldwide to catch tuna and other species of fish, according to the Pew Environment Group. Pew released this first-ever estimate of the use of FADs at the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission meeting yesterday to bring attention to this growing and unregulated fishing technique.