Ocean News

World Oceans Day is celebrated annually on 8 June. On this day, we celebrate what our oceans mean for our survival and wellbeing, and highlight some of the more pressing challenges to their healthy functioning. It’s been unofficially observed since the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, but…

A tiny, candy-striped fish gaping goggle-eyed from its hiding place below the overhang on a coral reef is easily overlooked. “Once one knows what to look for and where to look, it is relatively easy to find them”, explains Dr Ryan Daly, former Research Director of the SOSF D’Arros Research…

The South African Minister of Environmental Affairs announced twenty new marine protected areas (MPAs) – a move that increases the oceans protected around the country’s mainland territory from 0.4% to 5%. The MPAs were formally gazetted yesterday and will take effect on 1 August this year. Designed to pack a…

Today reminds us which species need immediate conservation focus and is a chance to learn what we can each do to turn the tide for highly threatened biodiversity. Endangered Species Day follows the recent release of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) report, which details that…

Words by Michael Scholl The 34th DOK Festival opened on May 8, 2019 in Munich with the world premiere of the film The Whale and the Raven by Mirjam Leuze. The team that made this exceptional documentary was present during the opening ceremony at the Deutsches Theatre, which hosted a…

In a surprise coup, the ruling order in False Bay, South Africa has been toppled.  The broadnose sevengill sharks (Notorhynchus cepedianus) and white sharks (Carcharodon carcharias) that once reigned at the top of the ocean food chain in this ecosystem have been replaced by a new super predator. A new…

The Save Our Seas Foundation is proud to support research and conservation in different ways. While it funds many individual projects that start and finish over the years, several key relationships with partner organisations have been fostered to continue into the future. Research and education are the focus of the…

A new study published in Marine Policy this month has shown that less than a quarter of the commercial elasmobranchs (species of sharks, rays and skates) are adequately accounted for in fisheries data from the Mediterranean and Black Seas. The poor quality of data reported in fisheries is a lost…

Sea anemones can ingest plastic microfibres in seawater, and it seems that stressed, bleached sea anemones are more at risk when it comes to consuming and retaining these plastics in their bodies. These are the key findings from a new study published in the journal Environmental Pollution. The response of…

While the Save our Seas Foundation has focused on projects that prioritise the conservation of highly threatened groups such as the shark-like rays, and urgent focal themes of research such as fisheries, this year has also seen 17 projects supported across a range of scientific questions and key challenges. Included…

Sharks, rays, skates and chimaeras form an important part of catches in fisheries around the world. When they’re monitored, fisheries can give researchers an important window into what’s happening with the status of many species and are a reserve of really valuable information. However, more often than not, we know…

Shark-like rays are some of the most threatened species in our oceans, but surprisingly little is known about most of them. In many cases, critical baseline data is needed to know where we might still find these species, how their populations are faring and understand how they live out their…

FLAWS: Shark Bites and Emotional Public Policymaking was published in April by Palgrave Macmillan and launched at SEA LIFE Sydney Aquarium. The book is written by Dr. Christopher Pepin-Neff, a Senior Lecturer at the University of Sydney, and explores different policy responses to shark bite incidents around the world. We…

The disappearance of white sharks (Carcharodon carcharias) from their hot spot at Seal Island in False Bay, South Africa, coincides with increased sightings in sevengill sharks (Notorynchus cepedianus) in the same area. Typically, sevengill sharks are known from the kelp forests in the bay, but might their presence at this…

The St. Joseph Atoll in Seychelles is a vital nursery for young blacktip reef sharks (Carcharhinus melanopterus) and sicklefin lemon sharks (Negaprion acutidens). That’s the latest from SOSF project leader Ornella Weideli, in her publication submitted to the Journal of Fish Biology. A mark-recapture study, where baby sharks of both…