Ocean News

Hundreds of citizen science sightings reveal opportunities to protect Australia’s four iconic sawfish species New hotspots for green sawfish in Weipa and Karratha. A sawfish nursery in the Brisbane River until about 1950. Evidence that sawfish have not completely disappeared from NSW waters, with a Newcastle sighting. Juvenile sawfish reported…

Last year, 18 species of sharks and rays were listed on CITES Appendix II. This raised an alarming red flag over these species, and made us all aware that we have a big problem. Putting wedgefishes, giant guitarfishes and shortfin mako sharks on CITES Appendix II commits governments to regulating…

Readers of the Save our Seas magazine have come to expect a visual feast that dives deep into our oceans and explores the contemporary conservation issues facing sharks and rays. Now, the design and creativity of the magazine have been recognized at the 10th International Creative Media Award (ICMA). The…

Conservationists, policymakers and scientists have come together to launch a plan of action for three species of Critically Endangered Angelsharks in the Mediterranean. The Mediterranean Angelsharks: Regional Action Plan formalises what should be done to protect the Sawback Angelshark, Smoothback Angelshark, and Angelshark. This development was lead by The Shark…

Research shows that bleached corals may recover at D’Arros Island and St. Joseph Atoll, Seychelles. “Seeing the changes to the reef was devastating”, begins Clare Daly, former programme director of the Save our Seas Foundation D’Arros Research Centre (SOSF-DRC) in Seychelles. “The sort of stuff that makes you wonder: ‘is…

The hard work of Dr Ramón Bonfil and his team at Océanos Vivientes has paid off in the form of new protective measures for eight species of rays in Mexico’s waters. According to new Mexican legislation, the protection of species at risk of extinction has been amended – a move…

Each year on 17 October, we celebrate the curious group of rays called sawfishes. With their serrated, blade-like snouts that we call their “rostrum”, and their tall dorsal fins and low-slung bodies suited to cruising the seafloor, these extraordinary fishes make our seas the otherworldly place at which we all…

Reef manta rays (Mobula alfredi) may be the oceanic butterflies of Seychelles, winging their way through these Western Indian Ocean waters and transporting vital nutrients to a remote coral reef, helping to promote coral growth. These results come from the latest study published by Lauren Peel, a Save our Seas…

For a newborn blacktip reef shark (Carcharhinus melanopterus), having a big mama may give you a significant headstart in life. Shark pups born to larger female sharks are fatter and bigger than their counterparts, conferred with fat reserves inherited from their mothers. This energy-rich store sustains shark pups at the…

Eighteen species of endangered sharks and rays, as well as three sea cucumber species, were approved for listing on CITES Appendix II today. After nearly two weeks of negotiations at CoP18 hosted in Geneva, Switzerland, over 70% of votes supported the listings across all species. It’s a move that will…

In July this year, an update to the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species saw 9 out of the 10 recognised species of wedgefish classified as Critically Endangered. All six species of giant guitarfish were classified the same. This category, the highest threat ranking…

With over 200 species of chondrichthyans (sharks, rays, skates and chimaeras) in their waters, the Philippines are no doubt an important archipelago for sharks. What has project leader AA Yaptinchay worried, however, is that there is currently little in the way of awareness and management for the majority of these…

This week, nations from around the world are gathered in Geneva, Switzerland to vote on trade restrictions and regulations for endangered species. In the midst of heated negotiations, days of meetings behind closed doors and strong lobbies before Parties make their decisions, the eyes of marine scientists and ocean conservation…

Giant trevallies (Caranx ignobilis) are no strangers to making headlines. These fish burst out of the waters in Seychelles, and into public fascination, on a sequence in BBC Earth’s Blue Planet II, sniping fledgeling terns from the sea’s surface. But their TV debut with David Attenborough came before that, swimming…

Cape Hangklip at the southwestern tip of the Cape Peninsula of South Africa has tricked many a travel-weary sailor of yesteryear. Often enough, in fact, that they named the bay into which they mistakenly retreated False Bay. For early mariners on their return leg from the east, it was all…