Archive

Marine archaeologists believe they have found the world’s deepest military wreck – they are now trying to decide which of two American Fletcher-class destroyers they have captured on video at 6,220m in the Philippine Sea. According to Guinness World Records, the previous deepest wreck was a German vessel found at 5,762m. Video footage captured by a remote […]

Leading American non-profit The Nature Conservancy (TNC) this week launched a radical plan to protect more than four million square kilometres of the world’s oceans over the next five years through ‘Blue Bonds‘  designed to unlock $1.6 billion of funds for marine protection. The plan is to help as many as 85 countries refinance their […]

WORLDWIDE, PLASTIC CONSUMPTION has reached over 320 tons per year. Most of the plastics produced are of a one-time use nature and is rapidly added to burgeoning landfills or disposed of as litter. A smaller portion is either recycled or incinerated (which has its own set of problems). The plastics that are introduced into the […]

As published in the Shanghai Daily.  Full text below for easier reading. FULL TEXT PLASTIC is the most prolific form of waste the world has ever seen. From the depths of the Mariana Trench to the heights of Mount Everest, humans have left no place untouched by plastic. Buildups of enormous quantities of plastic bags […]

The Republic of Palau has banned sunscreen and other related products containing chemicals that are known to be harmful to coral reefs. President Tommy E Remengesau, Jr, of the Republic of Palau, signed The Responsible Tourism Education Act of 2018 into law earlier this week. In doing so, Palau becomes the first country to ban […]

The Mu Koh Similan National Park – often referred to as ‘the Similan Islands’ or ‘the Similans’ – re-opened to visitors last week with a raft of new regulations to promote sustainable tourism with the intention of preserving the natural beauty of the islands. The Similans, part of southern Thailand’s Phang Nga province and most […]

The first global database of marine parks and conservation efforts is being created to help establish what is working and where more protection is urgently needed. James Cook University researchers in Australia say the database will lead to better marine parks by helping to bridge critical gaps in marine conservation planning. Dr Jorge G Álvarez-Romero from the […]

All over the world, sea turtles are swallowing bits of plastic floating in the ocean, mistaking them for tasty jellyfish, or just unable to avoid the debris that surrounds them. Now, a new study out of Australia is trying to catalog the damage. While some sea turtles have been found to have swallowed hundreds of […]

Evidence shows that human activities, including overfishing, oil spills, pollution, and climate change are altering ocean environment beyond their natural state over the last few decades. According to numerous scientific studies, marine species are declining in many places, which impacts on the marine ecosystems and may lead to undesirable consequences for the biodiversity. We need […]

Source: IUCN Tiny plastic particles washed off products such as synthetic clothes and car tyres could contribute up to 30% of the ‘plastic soup’ polluting the world’s oceans and – in many developed countries – are a bigger source of marine plastic pollution than plastic waste, according to a new IUCN report. The report looked […]