Archive

A new scientific study published in PeerJ – the Journal of Life and Environmental Sciences has tracked juvenile whale sharks across the Philippines, emphasizing the importance of the archipelago for the species. The study is the most complete tracking study of whale sharks in the country, with satellite tags deployed on different individuals in multiple sites. The […]

‘…the clearness of the water afforded me one of the most astonishing and beautiful sights I have ever beheld.  The bottom was absolutely hidden by a continuous series of corals, sponges, actinic, and other marine productions  of magnificent dimensions, varied forms, and brilliant colours. The depth varied from about twenty to fifty feet, and  the […]

By Joshua Copping and Bryce Stewart The whale shark is the largest fish in the world, but much of its lifecycle remains shrouded in mystery. These giants gather in just a handful of places around the globe – something which has long baffled scientists – but our new research has started to explain why. A […]

Scientists from Large Marine Vertebrates Research Institute Philippines (LAMAVE), Tubbataha Management Office (TMO) and the Marine Megafauna Foundation (MMF) have successfully tagged a 3.5-metre tiger shark and three grey reef sharks as part of a long-term study in Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park. The research expedition between 22 May and 2 June is the latest in the four years that the organizations […]

As beautiful as coral reefs may be they, sometimes they just can’t touch the excitement of diving in a wasteland of mud, sand and rubbish, knowing that hiding there will be some of nature’s weirdest underwater creatures. When you’ve had enough of all those wonderfully coloured fish and dazzling invertebrates living in harmony with the […]

Baa Atoll in the Maldives is the setting for a seasonal spectacle unlike any other witnessed at any other location in the world. The bay of Hanifaru (‘narrow reef’ in Dhivehi) is formed within a westward meandering spur running from the southeastern edge of a small island and large sand flat cay called Hanifaruhuraa. The […]

Written by Terry Umphenour “Maximum depth will be eighteen meters and dive time will be fifty minutes. Gear up.” The dive briefing command sent 25 enthusiastic young divers from Concordia International Schools in Shanghai and Hanoi down to the dive platform on Manta Queen III’s dive deck. The students and their seven adult leaders had […]

From getting stuck in nets to eating plastic that they think is food, creatures worldwide are dying from material we made. BY NATASHA DALY Read this story and more in the June 2018 issue of National Geographic magazine. On a boat off Costa Rica, a biologist uses pliers from a Swiss army knife to try to extract a plastic straw from […]

Sharks have a serious PR problem. Starting with Steven Spielberg’s movie Jaws, the admonition ‘don’t go in the water’ became a matter of common sense for many people. Threatening background music used in shark documentaries and media coverage focusing on negative events, such as attacks on surfers, helped build the unfavorable image of sharks. After years of being depicted […]

Plastics, among other pollutants, are one of the most commonly found in oceans and on beaches globally.  This is mainly for two reasons: first, plastic is very durable and often low in cost, so it is universally used for consumer and industrial products, and second, plastics do not biodegrade completely, remaining in the world’s oceans […]