A new study shows that sustainable fish farming in deep ocean waters could produce as much seafood as all of the world’s wild fisheries, in a space the size of Lake Michigan or Africa’s Lake Victoria.
Ancient whales, such as Janjucetus illustrated here, used their sharp teeth to capture and process their prey.
Carl Buell
Matthew Savoca, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
A new study shows that anchovies – key food for larger fish – are attracted to plastic trash because it smells like food. This suggests that toxic substances in plastic could move up through food chains.
Giant kelp can grow up to 60cm a day, given the right conditions.
Joe Belanger/shutterstock.com
In an extract from his new book, Tim Flannery explains how giant kelp farms could suck carbon dioxide from the air and store it in the ocean’s depths, while encouraging species like fish and oysters.
Hey, what about us? Whale shark (spotted) and manta ray, a close shark relative.
Justin Henry
As the Discovery Channel and National Geographic Wild unleash a week of dueling shark programs, a biologist advises viewers to take what they see with a large grain of sea salt.
Surveying the bottom of the ocean turns out to be far from easy. But there was something wonderful about seeing animals we have only read about in old books.
Furious winds keep the McMurdo Dry Valleys in Anarctica free of snow and ice. Calcites found in the valleys have revealed the secrets of ancient subglacial volcanoes.
Stuart Rankin/Flickr
Melting ice from Antartica could feed vast plankton blooms, trapping carbon in the ocean. To understand this complex mechanism, researchers looked at volcanoes deep under glaciers.
There are a number of ways the global community can protect the oceans.
Shutterstock
Cuban and US scientists are forming partnerships to protect coral reefs and fisheries in both countries. But President Trump may soon announce steps to slow or reverse the US opening to Cuba.
Many African countries are sitting on vast and under-utilised oceanic territories that have the potential to unlock enormous economic value, if properly governed.
Humpback whales getting a feed.
Janie Wray/North Coast Cetacean Society
Plastics pose a major threat to seabirds and other animals, and most don’t ever break down - they just break up. Every piece of petrochemical-derived plastic ever made still exists on the planet.
Fish leave bits of DNA behind that researchers can collect.
Mark Stoeckle/Diane Rome Peebles images
Animals shed bits of DNA as they go about their lives. A new study of the Hudson River estuary tracked spring migration of ocean fish by collecting water samples and seeing whose DNA was present when.
Suspected pirates surrender to a multinational naval force in 2009.
Reuters/Jason R. Zalasky/U.S. Navy
Any relapse of piracy is likely to foster an even more dangerous brand of hijackings on Somali waters. It’s therefore an opportune time to address piracy once and for all.
Suspected Somali pirates captured by the Dutch navy working under NATO command.
Reuters/Joseph Okanga