Clipperton: A Plastic Paradise
A little dot in the Pacific, Clipperton is surrounded by coral reefs and encloses a stagnant lagoon. Despite looking like paradise, Clipperton is being invaded by plastic.
![Several divers wrangle a discarded net with the goal of removing it from the ocean](https://dan.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Divers-remove-discarded-netting.jpg)
A little dot in the Pacific, Clipperton is surrounded by coral reefs and encloses a stagnant lagoon. Despite looking like paradise, Clipperton is being invaded by plastic.
How many times have you noticed the line of weeds out of the corner of your eye and driven past, around, or through it without a second glance on your […]
DESCENDING THE LIMESTONE STAIRS OF BONAIRE’S famous 1,000 Steps dive site in full scuba gear is challenging. It’s just 64 steps down, but it feels like many more. Once you make it down, you’re rewarded with a Caribbean reef teeming with life …
IT’S NO SECRET THAT CARIBBEAN REEFS ARE IN CRISIS. Many stony coral species face an uncertain destiny, and some scientific predictors point toward extinction in the near future for some species.
What is the value of a dead reef compared with the value of a living marine ecosystem?
In late 2019 the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and a cadre of state, federal, university, and restoration practitioner partners launched Mission: Iconic Reefs (MIR), a two-phased, 20-year, ecosystem-scale restoration initiative for the Florida Keys that focuses on restoring seven high-value, iconic reef systems.
CHARLES DARWIN’S FIVE WEEKS IN THE GALÁPAGOS Islands were crucial to the development of his theory of evolution, likely due to the Galápagos having the world’s second-highest proportion of endemic species. What if Darwin had instead visited the islands with the world’s highest rate of endemism?
SEAFOOD HAS LONG BEEN AN INTEGRAL PART of the human diet, and some people consider it to be an inexhaustible food source. Fish-finding sonar, satellite locating systems, 100-mile-plus longlines with […]
Reef corals demand greater protections. Broad reef protections have been helpful, protections specifically for corals are needed. Read more about threats to corals and what you can do as a diver and ocean lover.
MARITIME TRANSPORT HAS MORE TO DO WITH CORAL DISEASE than you might think. Just like most animals, corals can get diseases. Researchers first recognized coral disease in the early 1970s. […]
One of the world’s most destructive invasive species is gaining new ground — or water — in Canada and up to Alaska. Carcinus maenas, which translates to “raving mad crab,” outcompetes many local crab species in devouring clams, oysters, and mussels, and they sometimes even eat other crabs and juvenile fish. They destroy seagrass, an essential habitat for juvenile salmon, herring, rockfish, and many other marine animals.