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Marine scientists say new research from the Ningaloo Reef highlights the need for greater protection of the marine park.

The Australian Institute of Marine Science, along with WA’s Department of Environment and Conservation is finalising five years of research into the fish and coral populations on the reef.

Martial Depczynski from AIMS says the research will be used by management agencies to develop a long-term monitoring program of the marine life in the park.

“It’s going to give us a good idea of where these fishes are actually concentrated, so we’ve got quite a number of sites, there’s 300 kilometres of coastline at Ningaloo and it’s important to identify which areas are important so they can be conserved properly.”

The Sea Shepherd have officially unveiled their new high-tech anti-whaling vessel, the MV Gojira (“Godzilla” in Japanese), and are heralding the ship as yet another tool in their fight against illegal whaling by the Japanese.

Originally called the Ocean 7 Adventurer, the Gojira is a 115 ft stabilized monohull twin diesel powered vessel capable of a max speed of around 24 knots. The Sea Shepherd spent around $250K for new engines and propellers — so the official max speed may in fact be a bit higher.

Captain Paul Watson intends for the vessel to be a “harpoon interceptor”, effectively filling the role of the Ady Gil, which sank last year after a collision with a Japanese whaling vessel.

“The factory ship is the one we’re after and if we can find it, we can shut down whaling,” Sea Shepherd...

They may be the largest fish species in the world but whale sharks can execute underwater

Fishing nations have agreed a small cut in Atlantic bluefin tuna quotas, after meeting in Paris.

The International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tuna (ICCAT) set the 2011 quota at 12,900 tonnes, down from 13,500 tonnes.

Conservationists say the bluefin tuna is threatened by overfishing, and much deeper cuts are needed.

They have criticised ICCAT in the past for failing to ensure that the species and others are fished sustainably.

Correspondents say the 48 countries represented at the talks were divided over what action to take, with some calling for a lower quota or even a temporary suspension of bluefin fishing to allow stocks to recover.

But industry representatives and the governments that back them said the limits agreed at the meeting were sufficient.

“The actual catch ...

A team of researchers and students from Maine found no outward negative effects on the hundreds of whales, dolphins and birds they saw while traversing the Gulf of Mexico this summer to assess the impacts of the BP PLC oil spill.

John Wise Sr., an environmental toxicologist at the University of Southern Maine, said Tuesday he was surprised to not see any signs of oil — in the water or on animals — during 59 days of crisscrossing the Gulf. But he thinks whales and other animals could suffer long-term damage from the oil and the dispersants that were used to break it up.

Wise was the scientific director on a 93-foot laboratory-equipped sailboat taking tissue samples from whales, fish, squid and other marine organisms...

Divers have discovered the world’s longest underwater chalk reef – off the coast of Norfolk.

The incredible 20 mile chalk reef, which is teeming with colourful fish, plants and wildlife, has remained hidden under the North Sea for 300 million years.

The amazing natural phenomenon, which lies just half a mile from the shore, features massive two-metre high rock arches and deep gullies where the water has worn away the chalk.

The team of amateur volunteer divers came across the remarkable rocky plain – a mere 15 feet under the sea – when they were surveying the area.

It is one-and-a-half times longer than the Thanet Coast chalk reefs in Kent, which are 14 miles long and were previously recorded as the longest in the world.

‘It is an absolutely fantastic find for us,’ said diver Rob Spray, 4...

Humans may now be able go deep inside the waters, as a US scientist has designed a scuba suit would allow us to breathe liquid like fish.

Arnold Lande, a retired American heart and lung surgeon, has patented a scuba suit that would allow a human to breathe “liquid air”, a special solution that has been highly enriched with oxygen molecules.

“The first trick you would have to learn is overcoming the gag reflex,” the Independent quoted Lande, a 79-year-old inventor from Missouri, as saying.

“But once that oxygenated liquid is inside your lungs it would feel just like breathing air,” he said.

Lande envisages a scuba suit that would allow divers to inhale highly-oxygenated perfluorocarbons (PFCs) – a type of liquid that can dissolve enormous quantities of gas...

It’s been nearly 13 years since researchers first discovered the Pacific Trash Vortex, a country-sized mass of plastic debris in the North Pacific Gyre.

Since that time, countless boats have come back with anecdotal reports of masses of plastic floating in the sea.

Earlier this week, we had the chance to sit down with two people who voyaged into the gyre this past summer: Mary Crowley, Project KAISEI co-founder and executive director of the Ocean Voyages Institute and Nick Mallos, a marine scientist with The Ocean Conservancy.

The pair took part in a 20 person, three-week expedition in August on the research vessel Kaisei that took them from San Francisco to San Diego. This is what they found.

One of the most striking things about traveling into the so-called plastic island is that it is...

The Marine Conservation Alliance (MCA), a coalition of harvesters, processors and communities involved in the Alaska groundfish and crab fisheries, renewed its support today for scientifically set catch limits.

As projected last year, Bering Sea pollock stocks are staging a rebound, following a two year downturn.

Federal scientists have determined that the overall biomass of Bering Sea pollock has virtually doubled, going from roughly 4.6 million metric tons in 2010, to 9.6 million metric tons for 2011.

An international team of marine biologists will be assessing the biodiversity and health of coral reefs in waters off Semporna, which is a priority conservation area.

WWF Malaysia said the 20-day expedition, which begins on Nov 29, was jointly organised with Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Universiti Malaya and the Netherlands Centre for Biodiversity Naturalis.

Members of the expedition include Netherlands