Experts have interviewed fishers, tourism operators and recreational sea users in 50 marine protected areas to see how well any negative human impacts are being reduced.
Scalloped hammerheads pose no risk to us – but we pose enormous risk to them. Our discovery of a large new aggregation gives us an opportunity to protect these animals.
Open ocean sharks are globally threatened with extinction. Knowing where they are helps us protect them. Here, new research into silky sharks reveals priorities for conservation.
Macquarie Island isn’t just a windswept rock halfway to Antarctica. It’s a globally unique home to dozens of bird and marine mammal species, hence the government’s plans to give it greater protection.
With strategic planning, the marine protected area network could be a third smaller, cost half as much, and still meet the international target of protecting 10% of every ecosystem.
Snorkeling off the California coast, a high school student found heaps of golf balls on the ocean floor. With a marine scientist, she showed that golf courses were producing tons of plastic pollution.
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.
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.
Australia was thought to have some of the most sustainable fisheries in the world, but a recent count has found that fish numbers have plummeted by a third.
Australia is among nations calling for a 1 million square km marine park off East Antarctica. But Russia and China remain opposed, and a recent summit yet again failed to seal the deal.
Is Australia undervaluing its most valuable natural asset by only charging $6.50 a day to visit the Great Barrier Reef? And would it help if tourists were asked to pay more?
Australia’s reputation as a global leader in marine conservation is being put at risk by plans to strip back sanctuary areas within marine parks, say scientists from around the globe.