Ocean News

This whole year has been an extraordinary adventure for both of us. When we started working for the Save Our Seas Foundation in January, we hardly knew what to expect. Of course we had read about the Foundation’s fantastic conservation work, but we only discovered its true power, the Save…

A group of 19 scientists from five research organizations have conducted the broadest field study of ocean acidification to date using sensors developed at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego. It is an important step toward understanding how specific ecosystems are responding to the change in seawater chemistry that…

Emails with the results of the review of project proposals were sent out on December 20th to all applicants for SOSF grants. If you have not received a response to your application, please immediately check your junk mail box in case your email filter has removed it. If you still…

We are extremely happy that the documentary Surfing and Sharks, for which Save Our Seas supplied the majority of funds, was a great success! According to a review of Surfing Village: In South Africa between Durban and JBay lies approx 1000km of untaimed topographical and oceanic paradise, in the middle…

A new study examining the complex and dynamic interactions between white sharks and Cape fur seals in False Bay, South Africa, offers new insights on the physical conditions and biological factors underlying predator-prey interactions in the marine environment. University of Miami (UM) Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science assistant…

The Micronesian Shark Foundation partnered with SOSF to continue its pilot education program throughout the Micronesian region. The program has been very successful in Palau for the last two years and the idea of expanding to other islands of the Micronesian Region became a reality early December 2011. The first…

The Foundation has received nearly 300 grant applications this year. Selected applicants will be invited to submit detailed stage II funding applications around December 15th, 2011. We thank you for your patience.

Half of all fish caught in the North Sea are thrown back overboard… dead. Six months ago, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall left the comfort of River Cottage behind, and went on a journey to find out what was really going on at the industrial end of our fisheries. What he found was…

Great news for giant mantas (Manta birostris)! Parties to the Convention on Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS) agreed today to list this species under CMS Appendix I & II, obligating member countries to implement strict protections for giant manta rays and their key habitats. The move comes as mantas…

Shark Conservation Gets a Boost Brussels, Belgium – 11/21/2011 – The Shark Alliance welcomed the long-awaited proposal today from the European Commission for closing the loopholes in the European Union’s ban on shark finning, the wasteful practice of slicing off a shark’s fins and discarding the body at sea. According…

Fishing nations at this year’s International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) meeting have adopted protections for silky sharks, but failed to take action to protect porbeagle sharks and to strengthen the ICCAT ban on shark finning. In a press release following the meeting held in Istanbul, SOSF-funded…

New law protects sharks in their vital pupping and feeding grounds The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) approved a measure to protect tiger sharks and three species of hammerheads from being fished out of state waters. “I commend the Commission for taking this significant step to protect these…

Save Our Seas supported project leader Nicolas Pilcher sent us exciting news from Malaysia! One of the major threats to marine turtles in the marine environment is incidental capture, injury, and mortality during fishing operations. A device that can avoid this, is called a "Turtle Extruder Device", or TED. A…

The Taiwan Fisheries Agency has announced that it will impose a ban on shark finning – the practice of slicing off the animal’s fins on-board and then throwing away the body at sea – next year, and mandate that sharks are landed with their fins attached. The move comes days after…

Toronto city council has voted to ban the sale of shark fin in the city. The ban, suggested by councillors John Parker, Glenn De Baeremaeker and Kristyn Wong-Tam, will outlaw the possession, sale, trade and distribution of shark fins or their derivative products. The proposal passed easily – by a…