Ocean Policy News

April 30, 2025

Top Headlines

Paying Fishers to Release Endangered Catches Can Aid Conservation, but Only If Done Right

Apr. 23, 2025 — A new study has revealed that an incentive program increased live releases of endangered species caught as bycatch. However, unexpectedly, the overall positive impact was reduced by some vessels ...

World on Course to Trigger Multiple Climate 'Tipping Points' Unless Action Accelerates

Apr. 23, 2025 — Multiple climate 'tipping points' are likely to be triggered if global policies stay on their current course, new research ...

Coastal Management Model Plays the Long Game Against the Rising Tides

Apr. 21, 2025 — To protect against rising sea levels in a warming world, coastal cities typically follow a standard playbook with various protective infrastructure options. For example, a seawall could be designed based on the latest climate projections, with the ...

Caspian Sea Decline Threatens Endangered Seals, Coastal Communities and Industry

Apr. 10, 2025 — Urgent action is needed to protect endangered species, human health and industry from the impacts of the Caspian Sea shrinking, research has ...

Latest Headlines

updated 4:22pm EDT

Shrinking Andean Glaciers Threaten Water Supply of 90 Million People, Global Policy Makers Warn

Mar. 20, 2025 — Scientists will warn policymakers that the shrinking glaciers of the Andes threaten the water supply of 90 million people on the South American ...

Sharks Are Dying at Alarming Rates, Mostly Due to Fishing. Retention Bans May Help

Mar. 14, 2025 — Nearly one-third of sharks are threatened with extinction, mostly due to fishing. While mandated releases are helpful, researchers discovered that ...

Environmental Impact of Unexploded Ordnance in the Baltic Sea

Feb. 26, 2025 — The south-western Baltic Sea has about 3,000 kilograms of dissolved toxic chemicals released from unexploded ordnance, according to a new study. The substances were detected in almost all water ...

Arctic Study Urges Stronger Climate Action to Prevent Catastrophic Warming

Feb. 24, 2025 — Remember when 2 degrees Celsius of global warming was the doomsday scenario? Well, we're now staring down the barrel of something much worse. From the fish on your plate to the weather outside your ...

The Rising Tide of Sand Mining: A Growing Threat to Marine Life

Feb. 21, 2025 — Scientists outline the urgency to better identify the significant damage sand extraction across the world heaps upon marine ...

Scientists Call for Efforts to Protect Habitats of Critically Endangered Shark Species

Feb. 20, 2025 — The whitefin swellshark has been assessed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as Critically Endangered for a number of years ...

Economically, Culturally Important Marine Species Vulnerable to Changing Climate

Feb. 12, 2025 — Dungeness crab, Pacific herring, and red abalone are among the marine species most vulnerable to the changing climate's effect on California's ...

Why We Need to Expand the Search for Climate-Friendly Microalgae

Feb. 11, 2025 — As global efforts to combat climate change intensify, microalgae stand out as an underutilized yet promising ...

California's Marine Protected Areas Boost Fish Populations Across the State

Feb. 10, 2025 — It's 1999, the 21st century is on the horizon, and California has big plans for marine conservation. New legislation has presented a mandate to establish an ambitious network of marine protected ...

Model of Antarctica's Water Enhances Sea Level Forecasts

Feb. 11, 2025 — Researchers have generated the first dataset of water flow beneath the entire Antarctic Ice Sheet, which will lead to more accurate projections of sea level rise. The team modeled Antarctica's ...

Man's Best Friend May Be Nature's Worst Enemy, Study on Pet Dogs Suggests

Apr. 10, 2025 — New research into the overlooked environmental impact of pet dogs has found far-reaching negative effects on wildlife, ecosystems and ...

Scientists Harness AI to Help Protect Whales, Advancing Ocean Conservation and Planning

Feb. 11, 2025 — Researchers have developed an artificial intelligence (AI) tool that will help predict endangered whale habitat, guiding ships along the Atlantic coast to avoid them. The tool is designed to prevent ...

Study Takes a 'Bite' out of Shark Depredation Using Citizen Science

Feb. 11, 2025 — Shark depredation is a rising issue in recreational fishing, especially in Florida, where sharks steal fish straight off anglers' lines. Researchers harnessed citizen science -- social media, ...

An Arctic 'Beyond Recognition' by 2100

Feb. 7, 2025 — Based on the current pledges of countries for limiting their emissions of greenhouse gases, global temperatures are projected to reach 2.7 degrees Celsius beyond pre-industrial levels by the end of ...

'Marine Prosperity Areas' Represent a New Hope in Conservation

Feb. 6, 2025 — An international team of researchers introduces a promising new initiative in marine conservation, dubbed 'Marine Prosperity Areas.' This science-informed effort goes beyond protecting ...

Fishing and Conserving in Great Barrier Reef's Marine Reserves

Feb. 5, 2025 — A new study of the Great Barrier Reef has revealed that the network of no-take marine reserves supplies nearly half of the region's coral trout fishery ...

Earth Scientists Study Sikkim Flood in India to Help Others Prepare for Similar Disasters

Jan. 30, 2025 — Experts from the global Earth science community have pieced together what happened during the massive Sikkim flood to try to help others prepare for similar ...

Researcher on Energy Revolution: Sustainability Is Still a Work in Process

Jan. 30, 2025 — The world is experiencing more frequent and intense heat waves, floods, hurricanes, and wildfires due to rising greenhouse gas emissions. The energy sector is one of the largest contributors to ...

Global Sea Level Very Likely to Rise Between 0.5 and 1.9 Meters by 2100 Under High-Emissions Scenario

Jan. 27, 2025 — An interdisciplinary team of researchers has projected that if the rate of global CO2 emissions continues to increase and reaches a high emission scenario, sea levels would as a result very likely ...

UMaine-Led Team Develops More Holistic Way to Monitor Lobster Industry

Jan. 23, 2025 — After two years of data collection, quantitative and qualitative analyses, meetings and stakeholder interviews, a team of researchers developed new socioeconomic indicators to holistically monitor ...

Ecologists Uncover Significant Ecological Impact of Hybrid Grouper Release Through Religious Practices

Jan. 19, 2025 — Ecologists have identified significant ecological risks associated with the release of hybrid groupers into Hong Kong's coastal waters, a practice often linked to religious 'mercy ...

Small-Scale Fisheries Essential to Global Nutrition, Livelihoods

Jan. 15, 2025 — Small-scale fisheries play a significant but overlooked role in global fisheries production and are key to addressing hunger and malnutrition while supporting livelihoods around the world, according ...

Climate Fee on Food Could Effectively Cut Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Agriculture While Ensuring a Social Balance

Jan. 10, 2025 — Greenhouse gas emissions in agriculture could be significantly reduced in a socially equitable way through a climate fee on food, combined with climate dividends. A new study suggests that pricing ...

States Struggle to Curb Food Waste Despite Policies

Jan. 9, 2025 — Current state policies aren't enough to curb food waste. Study shows states are falling short of the reduction goals set by the U.S. Environmental Protection ...

A Sustainable Development Goal for Space?

Jan. 9, 2025 — An international team of scientists has called for the creation of an 18th addition to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, which would aim to mitigate against the accumulation of space ...

Mediterranean Sharks Continue to Decline Despite Conservation Progress

Jan. 8, 2025 — New research has found more than 200 measures to protect sharks and rays across the 22 coastal states of the Mediterranean region. However, while elasmobranchs have made it onto many policy agendas, ...

The Social Cost of Carbon, a Crucial Tool for Setting Climate Policy, Omits Key Effects

Dec. 17, 2024 — The social cost of carbon -- an important figure global policymakers use to analyze the benefits of climate and energy policies -- is too low, finds a new ...

Overfishing Has Halved Shark and Ray Populations Since 1970

Dec. 12, 2024 — A new analysis reveals that overfishing has caused populations of chondrichthyan fishes -- sharks, rays, and chimaeras -- to decline by more than 50 per cent since 1970. To determine the ...

Researchers Reveal Key Factors Behind Japan's Plastic Waste Removal Rates in Rivers

Dec. 12, 2024 — Plastic pollution is a growing problem in Japan, prompting cleanup efforts to recover plastic litter from water bodies. However, research on recovery rates from different river basins remains ...

AI Predicts That Most of the World Will See Temperatures Rise to 3°C Much Faster Than Previously Expected

Dec. 10, 2024 — AI predicts that most of the world will see temperatures rise to 3C much faster than previously ...