Flooded Forests
Mangrove forests are a vital part in the aquatic ecosystem. Learn more about mangrove forests and how divers can explore them.
![Over-under shot of a mangrove forest with fish below](https://dan.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Over-under-shot-of-a-mangrove-forest-with-fishi-below.jpg)
Mangrove forests are a vital part in the aquatic ecosystem. Learn more about mangrove forests and how divers can explore them.
Garbage, especially plastics, can be found all over the world in all kinds of bodies of water. Read more about what is being done and what divers can do help clean it all up.
The Coral Triangle, a particular section of the Western Pacific, is on the path of comprehensive conservation. Read more.
Are sharks really facing extinction for an Asian delicacy? Learn more about shark populations and conservation efforts.
Overfishing can cause irreversible damage to local ecosystems. Learn more about overfishing and how to combat it.
For more than five years, divers and scientists along the U.S. West Coast have watched a disaster play out before their eyes. Sunflower sea stars fell victim to a wasting disease, which wiped out roughly 90 percent of the global population in 2013. Seven years later, scientists see no signs of recovery. Without the sea stars, the population of purple urchins that sea stars eat has exploded and mowed down entire forests of bull kelp. The West Coast experienced intense ocean warming from 2014 to 2017, and by 2015 divers began seeing urchin barrens — vast swaths covered in piles of spiny creatures and little else.
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.
Legislation was proposed that could lead to the degradation of marine environments through overfishing and limiting transparency. Read more about how divers can help save the oceans.
Ocean activists, divers and other passionate individuals, often come to Washington, D.C. to show support for a variety of marine initiatives. The 2018 March for the Ocean made a splash.
Fishing gear debris is unfortunately common in the waters surrounding Hawaii, and it threatens green sea turtles and the endangered Hawaiian monk seal. Volunteer divers, however, have come together to restore these waters.