Chris Free, University of California, Santa Barbara
As the oceans warm, fish are moving to stay in temperature zones where they have evolved to live. This is helping some species, hurting others and causing a net reduction in potential catch.
Though they’re protected worldwide, great white sharks encounter longline fishing vessels in half of their range.
Wildestanimal/Shutterstock
The endangered Hector’s dolphins are found only in coastal seas in New Zealand, but conservation experts describe New Zealand’s proposed protection plan for the marine mammals as misleading.
Marine protected areas are geographically distinct regions of the ocean that are given special protection under law.
Shutterstock
The New South Wales government has turned its back on plans to create sanctuary zones covering 2.4% of waters around Sydney, despite evidence that these ‘no-take’ areas are crucial for protecting fish.
A fisherman holds up the saw of a sawfish caught in Madagascar. The species is dwindling along the coasts of Madagascar and Mozambique.
Ruth H. Leeney
The world has some 500 million square kilometres of ocean. But just 55 million square kilometres remain untouched by intensive human activities such as fishing.
A whale shark basking in the Maldivian shallows.
Melody Sky
Much of the world’s ocean is teeming with ‘cryptic’ fish species, which are small and hard to spot. But a new technique shines a light on these fish, which may in turn help to keep our seas healthy.
Plankton has a chemical fingerprint that reveals where it came from. Scientists have now used this to track sharks at the opposite end of the food web.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his wife Sophie Grégoire Trudeau kayak in the Gulf Islands National Park Reserve, in British Columbia.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has taken swift action on protecting marine areas over the past two years, but he’ll need to continue this momentum if he is to cement his legacy.
The mouth of the Murray River delivers vital nutrients to marine life in the ocean beyond.
SA Water
Low flows in the Murray River in recent years have harmed tiny marine plants called phytoplankton, with consequences for local marine species and management.