Almost 40% of England’s seas are designated as marine protected areas. Their purpose, the government says, is “to protect and recover rare threatened and important marine ecosystems … from damage caused by human activities”. And yet in the four years to 2024, trawlers using vast nets, including those that scour the seabed, caught more than 1.3m […]
Tag: marine ecosystems
Trade in marine fish for aquariums includes threatened species, lacks oversight: Study
The United States is the main market for “ornamental” marine fish, those that end up as pets in aquariums. Now, a new study of U.S.-based online retailers has found that nearly 90% of traded species are sourced exclusively from the wild, including a number of threatened species, and that the trade is poorly tracked. The […]
Petition: Stop Octopus Farming Before It Starts in New York
New York has the opportunity to set a precedent for the protection of marine life and animal welfare with a critical new bill that seeks to ban octopus farming before it takes root. This legislation would amend the state’s environmental conservation law to prohibit the farming of octopuses for human consumption and restrict the sale, […]
As Oceans Warm, Predators Are Falling Out of Sync with Their Prey
For decades on the U.S. Mid-Atlantic coast, recreational anglers have braved the cold temperatures of late October and November to chase one of the region’s most iconic fish species, the striped bass. This season, just offshore of New Jersey and New York, the fall run was especially strong. “The amount of fish and [their size] […]
We need a North Pole Marine Reserve to secure a healthy future for Arctic waters (commentary)
In the 1990s, a single moratorium announcement wiped out an entire industry, leaving 37,000 people unemployed overnight. The ecological collapse of the Canadian Grand Banks Cod Fisheries is the most famous historical example of a collapse in fish stocks due to overfishing. Not only were cod stocks severely depleted, it was the largest layoff of […]
Fish Population Estimates May Be Overly Optimistic, New Study Reveals
Published in the journal Science, the study analyzed data from 230 significant fisheries worldwide, spanning from 1980 to 2018. The findings revealed that, on average, fish stock assessments overestimated populations by 11.5 percent. These optimistic estimates, the researchers argue, could potentially mislead management decisions, emphasizing the need for more conservative approaches to safeguard marine ecosystems. […]
As waterbodies lose oxygen, are we breaching a potential planetary boundary?
The Earth is in crisis — a reality made increasingly clear by intensifying heat, drought and storms, worsening pollution, land stripped of forests, and the ramping up of the sixth great extinction. But some scientists say we’re failing to prioritize a critical Earth change that is accelerating in the modern world and that helped drive […]
Here’s What Would Happen if All Marine Species Disappeared
Marine species play a critical role in maintaining the delicate balance of our planet’s ecosystems. Their existence is not only essential for the health of our oceans but also for the well-being of life on land. However, imagine a world where every marine species vanishes, leaving behind a barren and lifeless ocean. The implications of […]