Dear Deeply Readers,
Welcome to the archives of Oceans Deeply. While we paused regular publication of the site on September 1, 2018, we are happy to serve as an ongoing public resource on ocean health and economy. We hope you’ll enjoy the reporting and analysis that was produced by our dedicated community of editors and contributors.
We continue to produce events and special projects while we explore where the on-site journalism goes next. If you’d like to reach us with feedback or ideas for collaboration you can do so at [email protected].
Exploring potential solutions to issues affecting the world’s oceans and the people and wildlife that depend on the marine environment.
Follow via RSS
Farmed Atlantic salmon don’t fare well in the wild. That’s a problem when they escape their pens and breed with vulnerable Atlantic salmon populations, spreading their genes. Scientists are now urging aquaculture companies to consider raising fish that won’t reproduce.
Carolyn Savoldelli, a research analyst for the World Resources Institute, explains her group’s effort to curate, decipher and connect a growing amount of open ocean data to aid scientists and policymakers.
Mark J. Spalding President, The Ocean Foundation
Plastic production is expected to quadruple by 2050. Mark J. Spalding, president of The Ocean Foundation, explains how fully understanding the scope of the pollution problem convinced him that current efforts are not sufficient.
Alistair Hobday Senior Principal Research Scientist, CSIRO Oceans and Atmosphere
Australian marine research scientist Alistair Hobday writes about why it’s important to start naming and classifying marine heatwaves as the phenomenon increasingly wreaks havoc on ocean ecosystems.
Sara Aminzadeh Executive Director, California Coastkeeper Alliance
Sara Aminzadeh, executive director of California Coastkeeper Alliance and a member of the California Coastal Commission, says there’s momentum for ambitious ocean commitments to be made at the upcoming Global Climate Action Summit.
Paul Harvey Environmental Science Researcher, Australia’s Macquarie University
As governments around the world rightly consider bans of various kinds of disposable plastics, nuance is needed to protect crucial applications, such as in research, food aid and medicine, argues environmental science researcher Paul Harvey of Macquarie University.
Wave pools are opening far away from the coasts. Surfer and environmentalist Steve Hawk discusses his high hopes – and biggest fears – for the future of the technology and whether it will inspire more or less love of the ocean.
Global Fishing Watch is using satellites to monitor brightly lit fishing vessels at night, adding to its ability to monitor a growing portion of the world’s commercial fleet. The goal: to help crack down on illegal fishing and make seafood more sustainable.
For World Oceans Day, we asked nonprofit leaders and scientists what they thought people could do to improve the health of oceans and coasts. Their advice ran the gamut.
Kimberley Davies Postdoctoral Research Associate, Dalhousie University
The need for new protections for North Atlantic right whales in Canada’s Gulf of St. Lawrence underscore these animals’ dire situation – and how little we still know about them.
Utila, a Honduran island in the Caribbean Sea, is transforming the plastic trash that washes up on its beaches into material used to build roads, an increasingly popular use for marine pollution.
As fishers on Wasini Island began seeing the effects of coral ecosystem degradation, including declining catches, they revived an age-old tradition of conservation to replant and protect their reef.
Put your tray tables and seat backs in an upright position and prepare to go plastic-free. Alaska Airlines becomes the first U.S. carrier to replace plastic stir straws on its flights with sustainable alternatives, as the campaign against single-use plastic grows.
Joanne Porter Associate Professor, Heriot-Watt University Orkney Campus
Clara Mackenzie Postdoctoral Researcher at the Institute of Aquaculture, University of Stirling
The scuttling of 52 German warships off Scotland nearly a century ago during World War I spawned a habitat for a diverse array of crab, lobster, starfish, sea urchin and fish. Now bottom trawling and climate change is imperiling that refuge, say two researchers.
The Carnegie Airborne Observatory spent 16 days flying over a region devastated by hurricanes, using advanced tools to discover the extent of coral reef cover and assess its condition. The data will help with coral restoration efforts.
Regions of the world where scientists have struggled to collect data on ocean health due to geopolitical and safety concerns are becoming accessible by stealthy, seafaring robots.
Projects to convert retired oil rigs into artificial reefs are controversial. But advocates and consultants Emily Callahan and Amber Jackson argue this practice provides valuable habitat at a time when natural coral reefs are disappearing.
At the Ocean Risk Summit in Bermuda, experts gathered to advance a new model for how insurance and reinsurance companies can leverage their products and balance sheets to restore marine ecosystems and slow climate change impacts.
Forget ‘Spidey sense’ – the seafloor-dwelling mantis shrimp can perceive light and colors invisible to humans. Scientists are investigating its complex and utterly bizarre vision system and how it could help create advanced underwater cameras, medical devices and robots.
Researchers analyzed the environmental impacts of replacing land-raised meat with farmed seafood to feed a burgeoning population and found aquaculture could preserve nearly 750 million hectares. But there could be nutritional tradeoffs.
Researchers often can’t afford to send remotely operated vehicles to the far reaches of the ocean. Now they’re collaborating with business to take advantage of discoveries made by ROVs deployed by oil and gas companies.
Lionfish are decimating valuable native species in the western Atlantic Ocean, but spearing the predators hasn’t been enough to slow their spread. Now scientists and fishers are developing traps and other technology to catch the voracious fish en masse.
Since California imposed clean air restrictions on vessels that travel through state waters, the number of fatal collisions with the big marine mammals has fallen as captains slow down. But much more needs to be done to reduce ship strikes, marine biologists say.
Claire Nouvian, one of the winners of this year’s Goldman Environmental Prize, has successfully battled to protect marine life from destructive fishing practices.
As the ocean’s pH drops, scientists are studying whether kelp and seagrass can create refuges that could help marine life survive acidifying waters.
Chip Cunliffe, director for sustainable development at XL Catlin, a global insurance and reinsurance group, explains why his company is hosting the first-ever Ocean Risk Summit in May and what it hopes to accomplish.
Michael Roberts SEACAMS R&D Project Manager at the Centre for Applied Marine Sciences at Bangor University
Shipwrecks from both world wars are serving as models for research into how tidal and wave energy infrastructure will withstand marine conditions and potentially serve as artificial habitat.
Watamu is a popular tourist town that has had to organize a collective effort to keep its beaches and ocean clean. However, there are limits to what it can do about a global problem.
The European Space Agency is developing technology to allow satellites to identify the concentration, movement and origin of plastic debris across the world’s oceans.
Marine scientist Edward Allison says his research shows that in some developing countries, fish farming is not benefiting nutritionally vulnerable communities. That has triggered a backlash from other researchers and the aquaculture industry.
'Aulani Wilhelm Senior Vice President, Center for Oceans at Conservation International
Coral reefs are vital marine ecosystems, but time is running out to protect them from climate change. The only way to stave off a coral catastrophe, says ‘Aulani Wilhelm of Conservation International, is to scale up marine protected areas – and fast.
MIT scientists have developed a soft-skinned robotic fish that can study marine life up close and personal in coral reefs and other ecosystems without altering their behavior.
In the latest installment of Deeply Talks, we discuss the world’s first insurance policy for a coral reef with experts at the Nature Conservancy. In Mexico, the policy will pay for coral reef restoration when destructive hurricanes strike.
After years of work to bring oysters back, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation found funding and interest harder to maintain, says scientist Chris Moore. So it helped form a new partnership that aims to plant 10 billion oysters by 2025 and grow a bigger oyster-farming industry.
As hurricanes become more destructive in a warming climate, coral reefs protect coastal property worth billions of dollars. Now Mexico is taking out the world’s first insurance policy on a coral reef to ensure its restoration after storms strike.
Scientists are investigating the role microbiomes play in coral health, trying to identity those microbial traits that make coral reefs resilient as ocean temperatures rise and bleaching events accelerate.
Nine teams are advancing in the XPRIZE Foundation’s $7 million contest to create technologies that will scale up humanity’s ability to understand and chart the deep ocean.
The Nature Conservancy’s Rob Weary explains how the group brokered an innovative financing deal that could serve as a model for ocean protection in island developing nations.
Last year, Maui and the Big Island banned polystyrene food containers that contribute to the islands’ coastal pollution problem. Now, Hawaii’s legislature is taking action toward the U.S.’ first statewide prohibition on foam packaging, which is toxic to marine life.
We cut through the hype about the technology behind Bitcoin that is emerging as a powerful new tool to build tamper-proof transparency and trust into seafood supply chains. If it works, blockchain could help combat illegal fishing, worker abuse and seafood fraud.
Have a story idea? Interested in adding your voice to our growing community?
Learn more