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The UK has vowed to help protect the world’s coral reefs from climate change and warming oceans, after it yesterday announced it has formally joined the Coral Reef Life Declaration (CRLD). By joining the CRLD, the UK said it is “committing to safeguard coral reefs and bolster scientific research into the threats they face”.

Accounting for just 0.25 per cent of the world’s marine environment yet home to 25 per cent of all marine life, coral reefs are crucial to ocean eco-systems and the sustainability of many key fisheries.

Yet, as the BBC’s hit nature documentary series Blue Planet II laid bare last year, the world’s coral reefs are under severe threat from warming oceans and climate change.

Rising sea temperatures have already prompted mass bleaching of reefs, most notably on the Great B...

Like other coral reefs around the world, Australia’s Great Barrier Reef is facing big threats from climate change — such as warmer and more acidic seawater and increased ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun. Last year experts said large sections of the reef were essentially dead, bleached into oblivion.

But scientists Down Under have come up with a sunscreen of sorts that they say could help protect the reef during heat waves. It’s an ultra-thin layer of calcium carbonate — the same material naturally found in coral skeletons — that could be applied to the water’s surface above the reef.

“Our aim is to give the coral time to adjust to the changed conditions of high temperature and doses of UV light so that the coral forms different chemical structures that can survive,” Dr...

Situated on Roatan’s south shore, Coco View Resort is perched on the edge of the world’s second largest coral reef. We have spectacular and convenient diving. Take a short ride on one of our custom dive boats to many of Roatan’s best dive sites like “Mary’ Place” and “Too Tall, Too Small”. Or explore the pristine coral walls and 140’ “Wreck of the Prince Albert” in our famous “Front Yard” – only a few fin kicks from your room!

At Coco View Resort, you can dive and snorkel to your heart’s content, 24/7! Shore diving is available whenever you desire! Grab a tank and go! When you are not in the water, enjoy delicious meals and tasty tropical drinks in the Clubhouse. Be entertained by talented local musicians and dancers...

Large scale sporting events often become miniature ecological disasters due to the huge amounts of single-use plastic waste left scattered in parkland, roads and lakes each time such an event is held.  A mass sporting event the size of the London Marathon can easily get through 750,000 bottles of water and result in up to seven tonnes of waste – a problem that has not gone unnoticed by environmental groups looking to tackle plastics.

Anyone who has taken part in such an event will be familiar with the carnage at water stations as endless plastic cups or bottles are quickly drained before being carelessly cast aside.

Add to this the thousands of competitors and spectators involved, and each event can rapidly turn into a potent reminder of the world’s plastic crisis.

Responding to th...

Climate change is threatening to wipe out coral reefs within our lifetime. One solution is the establishment of marine protected areas (MPAs), but what should MPAs look like, and how large should they be? That question was raised in a provocative op-ed published recently in the New York Times that argued against large-scale MPAs in favor of smaller MPAs that protect threatened coastlines and single reefs.

In a recent piece for News Deeply published today, Conservation International senior vice president ‘Aulani Wilhelm says that argument needlessly draws a line between two parts of the same solution.

“It’s a false choice — the reality is that we need both,” Wilhelm writes...

This is crazy: Just over 100 years ago, Thomas Huxley, who, by the way was a great biologist, said the oceans are so plentiful, they’re inexhaustible. Fast forward to today, and I’m sorry to report Thomas Huxley was mistaken.

In fact…your ocean is in more trouble than ever before.

This article is going to share with you the current state of your ocean (warning: it’s worrying) and what you can do to help protect the reason you’re alive today. Spoiler Alert: it’s simpler than you may think.

Please read it here

Across the globe, sharks have been hit hard by fishing and habitat destruction, which has led to declines in many populations. Marine conservation efforts are increasingly focused on managing particular regions to prevent certain kinds of fishing, or to restore a certain habitat, within their boundaries – things like marine protected areas. So knowing how sharks move around the ocean and use different regions to eat, mate or give birth is particularly important.

In recent years, great advances have been made tracking animals (including sharks) with electronic tags, but it remains very expensive and relatively few animals have been tracked. Not only that, but knowing where a shark is doesn’t necessarily tell you why it is there.

We’re part of a team of 73 scientists from 21 countries wh...

You may have seen that the internet has been buzzing about The Ocean Cleanup Project. However, even if you’re familiar with the term, it can take a lot of research to truly understand what the Ocean Cleanup Project really is. We’ve done that work for you and gathered all the information you need to get up to date on The Ocean Cleanup Project, discuss the garbage issues plaguing our oceans, and decide how you can help with this issue. If you’re interested in learning about the Ocean Cleanup Project, its origins, what it does, how you can be a part of it, and in gaining a better understanding of the seriousness of the issue of trash in our oceans, read on!

What Is The Ocean Cleanup Project?

In 2013, the Ocean Cleanup Foundation was established by an 18-year-old dutch inventor named B...

New data has revealed more than 500 sharks have been caught off Queensland as a result of a controversial shark control program. The majority of sharks were found dead and many others were euthanased over a 12-month period last year through the use of drumlines and nets.

Conservation groups say the Queensland Government program, which was established more than 50 years ago, needs to be abolished.

Australian Marine Conservation Society (AMCS) senior marine campaigner Tooni Mahto called the practice “inhumane and archaic”.

“Under the Queensland control program there are 26 species of shark which are listed as being a threat to humans. That’s totally nonsensical,” she said.

In New South Wales, the State Government is trialling the use of “smart” drum lines, which alert authorities when an an...

Beneath the crystal-clear waters of the Indian Ocean island nation of the Seychelles, a fight is growing to save the coral reefs that shelter a range of creatures, from tiny invertebrates to the sprawling octopus, from climate change.

The fragile reefs act both as a protective barrier for coastlines and an attraction for the tourists who keep the country’s economy going. But the reefs are also one of the first victims of rising ocean temperatures.

The Seychelles in some areas lost up to 90 percent of its coral reefs in 1998 in an environmental event known as bleaching, where coral in warming waters expel the colorful algae that live within their skeletons and, without their nutrients, starve...