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.
Alert Diver Category: Water Planet
Celebrating Seagrass
The benefits of protecting seagrass cannot be overstated. Seagrass purifies the water, helps protect against coastal erosion, helps sustain small-scale fisheries that support communities, and increases fish populations and biodiversity. It sequesters much more carbon per area than terrestrial forests and reduces ocean acidification. Healthy seagrass means a healthier ocean.
Chasing Weeds
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 […]
The Ocean Less Traveled
TALK TO ANY HUMAN UNDER THE AGE OF 13, and they have probably been asked, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” I was just 3 years […]
Rewilding Mustique’s Reefs
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?
Watch My Garden Grow
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.
Protecting Hawai‘i’s Fishes
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?
Greater Protection for Reef Corals
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.
To Eat or Not To Eat Fish
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 […]
Blame the Ballast
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. […]