Ocean News

In an average month, the areas of the ocean most used by pelagic sharks will have a 24% overlap with industrial longline fisheries. That’s according to a landmark study: “Global spatial risk assessment of sharks under the footprint of fisheries”, published today in the journal Nature. The findings, which represent…

Reef manta rays (Mobula alfredi) are homebodies at heart, keen to keep closer than we’d previously imagined to D’Arros Island and the neighbouring St Joseph Atoll. This finding, part of a new study that details the movements of reef mantas in the Amirante Islands of Seychelles using acoustic telemetry, places…

Shortfin mako sharks (Isurus oxyrinchus) range widely across the seas, but they respond differently to similar environmental cues in different parts of their range. These sharks responded very differently to water depth, bathymetric slope, sea surface temperature, primary productivity and sea surface height gradient in two regions of the western…

You’d be forgiven for not knowing the otherworldly creature called the elephantfish. With the odd, trunk-like appendage on its head that it uses to root around for crabs on the sandy seafloor, this relative of the elasmobranchs (sharks, rays and skates) is aptly, if oddly, named. Also known as a…

Angel shark populations have received full protection in the Canary Islands. Three species of angel shark: the Angelshark (Squatina squatina), as well as the sawback angelshark (S. aculeata) and smoothback angelshark (S. oculata) have been listed on the Spanish Endangered Species List for Canary Island waters. All three species are…

Who you are, what you eat, and where you swim, matter. At least, that’s the message when it comes to different shark species, and how vulnerable they are to contaminants throughout their lifetime. No risk assessments, or management plans, currently factor in the magnitude of pollutants accumulating in different shark…

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…