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].
An extensive survey of the Great Barrier Reef finds that a spike in ocean temperatures in 2016 led to a fall in populations of parrotfish, which keep corals healthy and help them recover from bleaching events by eating harmful algae.
A new study finds that industrial fishing vessels flying the flags of wealthy nations are catching the majority of the world’s fish, adding to a growing discussion over how food security and sustainable fishing are connected.
Last year, a bold initiative set out to locate coral reefs most likely to survive global warming. That turned out to be far easier said than done – but now scientists hope the results will rally attention to regions where there’s hope to save crucial marine ecosystems.
Researchers say the effects of more frequent and intense weather would hit hardest in developing countries that rely on fishing for livelihoods and sustenance. But few have studied the potential catastrophic impacts on global fisheries – or the potential solutions.
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.
Oliver Knowles Senior Oceans Campaigner, Greenpeace International
The environmental group and the world’s biggest tuna producer are collaborating to improve working conditions and environmental practices. Now other seafood companies need to join a global effort to make tuna fishing sustainable.
Robert Parker at the University of British Columbia has calculated greenhouse gas emissions from the global fishing industry. He talks about what the data show and why not all fisheries are alike.
Jefferson Keith Moore Professor of Earth System Science, University of California, Irvine
Over the next two centuries, warming oceans could trap nutrients at the poles and starve out many of the world’s fisheries, according to a recent study.
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.
An international team of researchers finds that seabirds aren’t shifting their breeding times as ocean temperatures rise, which risks putting them out of sync with the availability of prey to find for their young.
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.
Aquaculture proponents view the ocean off Southern California as an ideal place for an emerging industry. The key, new research found, will be to carefully locate facilities to minimize environmental risks and conflicts with other marine uses.
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.
Sarah Cooley, a marine scientist at the Ocean Conservancy, explains the environmental group’s strategy for reaching out to both sides of the aisle on legislation to address ocean challenges in a divisive political environment.
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.
Scientists testing North Atlantic mesopelagic fish eaten by the ocean’s top predators found that nearly 75 percent were contaminated with microplastic fibers. Researchers have also discovered microplastics in the scat of gray seals and in the Atlantic mackerel they eat.
When researchers reconstructed historical data using modern techniques, they determined that nations have not accurately accounted for past fish catches. But a top U.N. fisheries official disputes the scientists’ methodology and conclusions.
Thai Union, one of the world’s largest seafood companies, is exploring if digital logs and satellite connectivity on fishing boats could help prevent human rights abuses and illegal fishing. Darian McBain, global director for sustainability, says results look promising.
In our latest Deeply Talks, experts from Vulcan and Schmidt Marine Technology Partners discuss new technologies being developed and deployed around the world to stop illegal fishing, which is depleting valuable fish species and devastating other marine life.
Official development assistance for fisheries in developing nations dropped by about one-third between 2010 and 2015. University of British Columbia researcher Colette Wabnitz says the trend is surprising, but the story is complicated.
Regulations that took effect this month require detailed tracking of some imported fish. The program is welcomed by conservation groups and American fishers, but it is not clear is how well it will work.
Key negotiations will begin to protect biodiversity in two-thirds of the ocean and reduce greenhouse gas emissions from shipping. Meanwhile, watch for advances in sustainable aquaculture production both in the U.S. and globally.
The ocean may cover more than 70 percent of the planet, but it doesn’t get covered nearly enough in the news. Oceans Deeply launched in June to help fill that gap. Catch up on our coverage during a busy year for ocean health.
In the past year, scientists exploring the world’s marine biodiversity and geology have found the deepest fish in the sea and drilled into a submerged ancient continent. Read more about some of the fruits of the year in ocean exploration.
A growing number of companies are intercepting plastic before it enters the ocean and harms marine life, turning trash into everything from sunglasses and surfboard fins to swimwear and skateboards.
Independent fisheries observers are put onboard commercial fishing boats to collect crucial data for regulators on what is being caught and how. But their role can put them in conflict with captains and crew. Observers are now fighting an effort to undermine protections for their work.
Expectations that the World Trade Organization would reach an agreement this week in Buenos Aires to prohibit government subsides that promote overfishing and illegal fishing were dashed when one country blocked negotiations.
With a 2020 mandate to prohibit harmful fisheries subsidies that have led to the overexploitation of fish that feed billions of people, the World Trade Organization may finally take action at its biennial meeting this week in Argentina.
A landmark 16-year prohibition on commercial fishing in the once ice-covered central Arctic Ocean will allow nations to conduct research on marine life in a little-explored region that is rapidly changing as climate change accelerates.
Tens of millions of the top ocean predator are killed every year when they’re caught in fishing lines. Researchers tracked blue sharks to see how close they get to fishing boats whose locations are now mapped worldwide in an effort to detect illegal activity.
Fish 2.0 brings together startups and investors that want to make seafood more sustainable. Founder Monica Jain says emerging technologies and market forces will push the industry to change – sooner rather than later.
The recent escape of 160,000 Atlantic salmon raised in Pacific Ocean pens and environmental concerns about the impact of fish farms on wild populations have prompted a new look at inland aquaculture.
An initiative called FISH-i Africa helps coordinate the efforts of eight cash-strapped countries to uncover and catch pirate fishing operators in the western Indian Ocean.
Jellyfish are thriving as warming seas, acidification and deoxygenation threaten other marine life. After long ignoring the beautiful but mysterious creatures, scientists are trying to figure out what makes them such survivors in the age of climate change.
As momentum builds for an international treaty to protect high seas biodiversity, national leaders and business executives at the fourth Our Ocean conference vowed to take action to fight climate change, plastic pollution and other threats to marine ecosystems.
Research into the migratory habits of severely depleted Pacific bluefin tuna populations offers new information about their behavior and insights into how to prevent overfishing of the valuable species.
An FAO study finds that more than 100 commercial seafood species ingest microplastic, which can be contaminated with toxins. More worrying are the unknown health effects of even smaller nanoplastics.
The ocean has lost 2 percent of its oxygen in just 50 years. Now scientists have for the first time measured a devastating loss of oxygen in ancient oceans, which could help them quantify future losses.
Marine researchers at the University of California, Santa Barbara, mapped out the potential of the open ocean to support farmed fish and came to some surprising conclusions.
Past efforts to reduce collisions between these highly endangered marine mammals and ships offer lessons for officials trying to save North Atlantic right whales in Canada’s Gulf of St. Lawrence.
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