Hot Issues
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Photographers Invited to Compete in Marine Environment Photo Contest Scuba divers and other ocean enthusiasts giving it their best eco shot this World Ocean Day (more) |
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| Virtually Celebrate World Ocean Day in Second Life To celebrate World Ocean Day during International Year of the Reef 2008, and to raise awareness about the value and importance of coral reefs and threats to their health and sustainability, Project AWARE is holding a parade on 28 June 2008 in the online virtual world of Second Life (SL). (more) |
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| Warmer World May Mean Less Fish Global Warming Adding to Pollution and Over-Harvesting Impacts on the World's Key Fishing Grounds Says New UNEP - "In Dead Water" - Report (more) |
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| More Oceanic Sharks Added to the IUCN Red List Oxford, England, 22 February 2007 (IUCN) – More oceanic or “pelagic” sharks are being added to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species based on the findings of this week’s international expert workshop, convened by the IUCN Species Survival Commission (SSC), that examined the conservation status of these highly migratory sharks against Red List criteria. (more) |
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| Scientists Reveal First-Ever Global Map
of Total Human Effect on Oceans February 14, 2008 -- More than 40 percent of the world's oceans are heavily affected by human activities, and few if any areas remain untouched, according to the first global-scale study of human influence on marine ecosystems. (more) |
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Project AWARE Announce Global International Year of the Reef Art Contest - Every Act Counts Project AWARE Foundation is calling all kids to grab their paint brushes and crayons and get creative for coral reefs. (more) |
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| Divers Worldwide Represented in Washington, DC Scuba diving community shows support for International Year of the Reef 2008... (more) |
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| Leading Conservation Organizations Join Forces for Coral Reefs Washington, DC – January 25, 2008 – Two top nonprofit conservation organizations, Project AWARE Foundation and Reef Check Foundation, have formally partnered with one mutual goal - to protect coral reefs around the world. (more) |
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| Marine Conservation Goes Virtual Project AWARE Among First International Nonprofits on Second Life... (more) |
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| White House Unveils Plans to Address Trash in the Ocean Initiative Boosts Project AWARE’s Long-Standing International Cleanup Day Efforts... (more) |
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| Scientists Fear Rare Dolphin Driven to Extinction 11 September 2007 – An international research team, including biologists from NOAA Fisheries Service, has reported in an online scientific journal that it had failed to find a single Yangtze River dolphin, or baiji, during a six-week survey in China. (more) |
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| Corals Added to IUCN Red List of Threatened Species for First Time 12 September 2007 – Arlington, Virginia – For the first time in history, the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species includes ocean corals in its annual report of wildlife going extinct. (more) |
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| Release of Red List Underscores Urgency for Conservation Action 12 September 2007 – The Shark Alliance and coalition member organization Project AWARE are highlighting with concern the growing number of European sharks and rays considered at risk for extinction, according to the newly released 2007 IUCN (World Conservation Union) Red List of Threatened Species. (more) |
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| EUROPEAN SHARK WEEK 2007 - Every Fin Counts As a member of the Shark Alliance, a coalition of non-governmental organizations dedicated to restoring and conserving shark populations by improving European fishing policy, Project AWARE supports the European Shark Week event scheduled in October 8th – 14th 2007. (more) |
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| Landmark "Central Coast" Marine Protected
Areas Will Be in Effect September 21 -
California's Marine Life Protection Act Launched as First Region Opens 31 August 2007 - California's landmark Marine Life Protection Act will go into effect from Pigeon Point to Point Conception on Friday Sept. 21. This action will establish a Central Coast Region, composed of 29 marine protected areas (MPAs), from San Mateo County to Santa Barbara County. (more) |
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| World's First Sustainable Tuna fishery Certified,
Bringing Hope to Troubled Industry SAN DIEGO-The world's first certified sustainable tuna fishery was announced today, a move that could help save one of the world's most valuable fish - and the fishing industry that relies on it - from extinction. (more) |
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| Mercury in Chilean Seabass Mercury in Chilean Seabass Problem Underscores Need for Federal Testing of Imports Seafood Industry Claims Contradict Accepted Science (more) |
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| Shark Finning Repeal in Ecuador The recent addition of the Galapagos Islands to UNESCO’s List of World Heritage Sites in Danger underscores the need for the Ecuadorian Government to take meaningful, decisive action on a wide spectrum of conservation issues surrounding Galapagos. (more) |
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| Groundbreaking Whale Shark Research June 2007 - Project AWARE supports a group of researchers using ground breaking technology to achieve real research results for whale sharks in the wild. (more) |
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| Countries Reverse Decision to Protect Precious Red Corals Conservationists decry move as politically motivated; urge industry and range states to act. (more) |
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| Hurricanes May Aid Stressed Coral Corals stressed by warming conditions may benefit from the passage of a hurricane -- as long as it doesn't slam right into them. Bleaching of corals has been a growing problem in recent years with the loss of algae or reduction of pigment in the living corals that occurs when they are stressed by warming water. (more) |
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| CITES Decides on the Fate of Three Vulnerable Shark Species The outcome of the 14th Meeting of the Conference of CITES Parties (CoP14) hosted by the Netherlands between June 3 and 15 of 2007 was disappointing for the many organizations and coalitions, including Project AWARE, who worked hard to promote better shark fisheries management. Our support for Germany's proposal to list Spiny Dogfish and Porbeagle sharks under Appendix II and the U.S. and Kenya's proposal to ban international trade in sawfish was only partially successful as only the ban on sawfish trade was successful. (more) |
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| NOAA Partners With U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service to Help Sharks Keep their Fins July 2007 - The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service have joined forces to expand their ability to analyze dried shark fins and identify the species from which they were removed. This new partnership will support efforts to curtail shark finning, the practice of removing a shark’s fins at sea and throwing the carcass overboard. Shark finning is prohibited in federal waters of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea. (more) |
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| CITES Backs Red, Pink and Other Corals Red, pink and other coral species in the genus Corallium will be better protected from over-exploitation after delegates attending a meeting of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES ) adopted a US proposal to list the genus in Appendix II of the convention. (more) |
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| More Fishing Populations Experiencing Overfishing than Last Year WASHINGTON - More fish species have been added to the list of species classified as experiencing overfishing since last year than have been taken off, according to the National Marine Fisheries Service's (NMFS) report on the status of U.S. marine fisheries for 2006 released today. The Marine Fish Conservation Network (Network) pointed to this report as an example of flawed regional management and called for the NMFS to develop strong, clear guidelines to implement a newly improved federal fisheries law. (more) |
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| Overfishing Large Sharks Affects Entire Marine Ecosystem Fewer big sharks in the oceans mean that bay scallops and other shellfish may be harder to find at the market, according to an article in the March 30 issue of the journal Science, tying two unlikely links in the food web to the same fate. (more) |
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| Gentle Giants’ Numbers in Decline The iconic whale sharks that congregate at Ningaloo Reef off Western Australia are declining in number, according to a recent study published in the Journal of Animal Ecology. (more) |
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| Bush Administration Calls for Greater
Protection of Nation's Coral Reefs WASHINGTON—The Bush Administration delivered proposed legislation to Congress today calling for greater protection for the nation’s coral reefs. The bill, the Coral Reef Ecosystem Conservation Amendment Act of 2007, reauthorizes the Coral Reef Conservation Act of 2000 and adds greater protections for coral reefs while enhancing marine debris removal and increasing the government’s ability to work through cooperative partnerships. (more) |
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| Threats to Migratory Sharks Highlighted Bonn 17.03.2007: The Shark Alliance highlights the conclusion by the Scientific Council of the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) that 35 species of migratory sharks and rays considered Threatened by the IUCN (World Conservation Union), also meet the criteria for listing under the Convention on Migratory Species. (more) |
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| Project AWARE Support Year of the Dolphin 2007 The United Nations Convention on Migratory Species, which focuses on wild animals crossing national boundaries, has declared 2007 the Year of the Dolphin and Project AWARE is spreading the message on the urgent need to protect dolphins and other marine creatures. (more) |
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National – Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Reauthorization Act Passes Congress |
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| Researchers Warn About Coral Reef Deaths CHARLOTTE AMALIE, U.S. Virgin Islands -- Researchers warn that more than half of the world's coral reefs could die in less than 25 years, killed off by a deadly cocktail of rising sea temperatures, silt runoff from construction sites, algae and other toxic ingredients. (more) | |||
| Cyanide Fishing Wreaks Havoc The use of cyanide and other poisons for fishing is a largely illegal practice that continues to supply the lucrative aquarium and live fish trade. But what exactly is cyanide fishing? How does the practice harm coral reef environments? What are governments doing about it? And what can I do to help? (more) | |||
| California Fish and Game Commission
Approves Network of Marine Protection Zones A new Marine Protection Zone Network is promising to replenish depleted marine species and restore fishing and tourism industries along Central California, USA's coastline. Find out how this effort is the first of its kind and will work to rebuild the marine environment along the coastline.(more) | |||
| Coral Bleaching Coral bleaching events appear to be increasing in frequency since 1982 and the second half of 2005 was no exception with high water temperatures leading to a major bleaching event. Although the damage is yet to be fully assessed, past events like the 1997-1998 El Nino that destroyed as much as 16 percent of the world’s coral reefs and the numerous 2002 events that occurred along Australia's Great Barrier Reef, in Palau's pristine waters, throughout the Seychelles and off of Okinawa, Japan resulted in significant damage. (more) | |||
| United Nations to Consider Deep Sea Trawling Ban UNITED NATIONS — The United Nations needs to stop the destruction of deep sea ecosystems by banning fishermen from trawling nets on the ocean floor, Australia, New Zealand and Palau, joined by actress Sigourney Weaver, said Tuesday. (more) |
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| Sewage, Coastal Destruction Threaten Marine Life
THE HAGUE — Sewage is a growing threat to oceans and seas, putting at risk marine life and habitats as the pollution problem escalates, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) said in a report on Wednesday. (more) |
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| International Cleanup Day Shows Results Hoping to exceed last year's haul of 3329 metric tons/3670 tons of trash on land and 97,069 kilograms/107,000 pounds of trash underwater, volunteers at this year's International Cleanup Day turned out in force at one of more than 1075 events around the world. (more) |
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| Scientists Issue Second Coral Warning Due to High Caribbean Sea Temperatures CHARLOTTE AMALIE, U.S. Virgin Islands — Scientists issued a warning Tuesday that temperatures in the Caribbean Sea were abnormally high and approaching levels that could be disastrous for coral reefs -- many of which suffered unprecedented die-offs last year due to hot waters.(more) |
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| New Shrimp Farm Rules Aim to Save Asian Mangroves KUALA LUMPUR — Environmental regulation of shrimp farming operations across Asia takes a major step forward next month, when the U.N. food agency considers adoption of a set of tougher industry guidelines published on Tuesday.(more) |
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| President Designates Largest Marine Reserve on Earth June 15th - President Bush designated the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Marine National Monument, the largest no-take marine conservation area in the world, just ahead of the Great Barrier Reef, Australia.(more) |
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| Take Action to Protect Deep Sea Corals Slow growing, deep water coral species can live for centuries – but they’re being destroyed in seconds by modern fishing gear called bottom trawls. Bottom trawls are weighted fishing nets up to 200 feet wide that are dragged across the ocean floor obliterating everything it their path.(more) |
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| Island Nation Creates Third Largest Marine Park A tiny island nation in the Pacific Ocean has created the world's third-largest marine reserve, as global efforts to preserve biodiversity widen to include everything from insects to fish to forests.(more) |
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| Hawaiian Swordfish Fishery to Close Over High Sea Turtle Catch In an unprecedented but legally mandated action, the Western Pacific Fisheries Management Council requested the Secretary of Commerce to shut down the swordfish fishery before it exceeds its allowable "take" of critically endangered loggerhead sea turtles. (more) |
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| Project AWARE Whale Shark Project
Joins Forces with ECOCEAN Project AWARE Foundation, the dive industry’s leading non-profit environmental organization has recently joined forces with ECOCEAN a marine conservation group dedicated to the conservation of the whale shark. (more) |
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| Seychelles Bans Cutting Sharks' Fins VICTORIA — The Seychelles has banned the cutting off of sharks' fins by foreign fishermen to curb a flourishing global trade that is threatening the survival of the sea predator and marine ecosystems. (more) |
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| First Japan Fishery Seeks Environmental Certification London - The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC)[i] welcomes the announcement that the Kyoto Danish Seine Fishery Federation (KDSFF) flathead flounder and snow crab fishery, Japan, is seeking certification under the MSC's programme for sustainable and well-managed fisheries. (more) |
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| First Japan Fishery Seeks Environmental Certification London - The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC)[i] welcomes the announcement that the Kyoto Danish Seine Fishery Federation (KDSFF) flathead flounder and snow crab fishery, Japan, is seeking certification under the MSC's programme for sustainable and well-managed fisheries. (more) |
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| Project AWARE Grant Helps Track
Great Whites Journey A female great white shark tagged in waters off South Africa has completed the first known transoceanic trip for an individual shark. According to Swiss marine biologist Michael Scholl, leader of the South African White Shark Trust (WST), Ramón Bonfil of the New York based Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and a number of other organisations, the shark travelling more than 20,000 kilometres to the coast of Australia and back again. (more) |
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| Wal-Mart Sets 100% Sustainable Fish Target for North America London - Rupert Howes, Chief Executive of the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), welcomed the recent announcement by Wal-Mart that the company is seeking to source all of its wild-caught fresh and frozen fish for the North American market from fisheries that meet the MSC’s independent environmental standard for sustainable and well-managed fisheries. (more) |
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| Europeans Prefer Seafood that is Environmentally Responsible In the first-ever poll of European consumers, supermarkets, chefs and restaurateurs on attitudes toward seafood and the ocean, 79% said that the environmental impact of seafood is an important factor in their purchasing decisions. (more) |
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| Finning Banned in Northwest Atlantic At their recent meeting in Tallinn, Estonia, the Northwest Atlantic Fishery Organization (NAFO) Member countries moved to ban shark finning in the international groundfish and shrimp trawl fisheries in the northwest Atlantic. (more) |
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| Senator Inouye’s Marine Debris Legislation Passes Senate Project AWARE Foundation applauds the United States Senate for passing the Marine Debris Research, Prevention, and Reduction Act (S. 362) on 1 July. Senate approval of the bill, which will reduce marine pollution and strengthen our ocean ecosystems, demonstrates a bipartisan commitment to ocean health by our national leaders. (more) |
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| The Future of the Whale - International Whaling Commission Meeting At the June 2005 annual meeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) in Ulsan, South Korea, the Commission debated several resolutions that could have meant a return to commercial whaling. (more) |
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| Fisheries Science and Management Enhancement Act of 2005 (HR 1431) A major point of debate between scientists, fishers and environmentalists over the last few years has been how to adequately use science when making decisions. New proposed legislation in the United States intends to address just that issue. (more) |
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| Bottom Trawling Bans off Alaska and in the Mediterranean February brought sustainable fishery legislation in Europe and the United States. The General Fisheries Commission...(more) |
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| Staghorn and Elkhorn Coral Proposed for Endangered Species Act Listing The United States National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) recently recommended that elkhorn and staghorn corals be listed as threatened under Appendix II...(more) |
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| Call for a Moratorium on Deep-Sea Bottom Trawling In February this year two groups numbering more than 1100 scientists from 69 countries simultaneously released a statement calling for a moratorium on deep-sea bottom trawling...(more) |
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| US Coral Reef Task Force Meeting The US Coral Reef Task Force (USCRTF) recently met in Washington DC to hear status reports from various government agencies, states and territories as well as provide a forum for public comment. (more) |
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| US Ocean Action Plan The US Commission on Ocean Policy released their final report, An Ocean Blueprint for the 21st Century, on 20 September 2004. (more) |
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| Project AWARE Tsunami Relief Fund in Action The Tsunamis that struck the South and Southeast Asia region on Sunday, 26 December 2004 after a massive earthquake below the Indian Ocean off Northwest Sumatra, Indonesia, has become a disaster of enormous proportions. (more) |
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| Reef Ball Foundation Call For Volunteers In response to the recent Tsunami disaster across South East Asia, Project AWARE Foundation has implemented a number of initiatives to assist with the cleanup and restoration efforts in the worst affected regions. (more |
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| Support the Marine Debris Research and Reduction Act Marine debris in the form of trash, litter and fishing gear on our beaches and underwater environments is a serious problem. It contaminates natural habitat, harms ocean life and makes shorelines unfit for divers and swimmers. (more) |
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| New Report Details Status of Coral Reefs Worldwide Twenty per cent of coral reefs worldwide have been effectively destroyed and show no immediate prospects for recovery. Twenty-four percent of the world’s reefs are under imminent risk of collapse through human pressures, and a further 26% are under longer-term threat of collapse. Coral reefs in the Caribbean are undergoing major declines, with coral cover on many Caribbean reefs having declined by up to 80%. These are among the findings of Status of Coral Reefs 2004, compiled by more than 240 contributors from 98 countries and published by the multinational Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network (GCRMN). (more) |
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Costa Rica Passes Long Awaited Fisheries Law San Jose, Costa Rica - On February 10, 2005 Costa Rican senators unanimously approved a new national fisheries law. The proposed law has been debated since 1995, when parts of an antiquated fisheries law from 1948 were ruled unconstitutional. (more) |
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| Top Ten Most Wanted Fish The top ten is out but this is a list that no one, or no fish, wants to be on. That’s because the Marine Fish Conservation Network (www.conservefish.org) and Oceana (www.oceana.org) just put out a list of the ten fish species most in jeopardy in the United States. Although the choices were tough, the group whittled the down the list selecting ten (actually 11 due to a tie for tenth place) federally managed United States fish species overfished to 1-10 percent of their pre-directed fishing population levels. (more) |
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Bush Establishes Committee to Set Policy on Oceans |
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The Wildlife Photographer of the Year Competition Organized by the National History Museum and BBC Wildlife Magazine |
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| Fisheries Management Reform Act of 2004 Following on the heels of the Pew Ocean Commission and US Ocean Commission reports, Democratic Representative Nick Rahall from West Virginia, USA along with 15 additional representatives, introduced the Fisheries Management Reform Act of 2004 (HR 4706) into the United States Congress...(more) |
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| Calling
All Divers to a New Conservation Cause Earthdive Initiative to Boost Protection of Oceans and Seas Snorkellers and scuba divers across the globe are being enlisted to help save the world’s oceans and seas...(more) |
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| Not
Your Average Squid Market squid is the most important commercial fishery in California, USA. Find out more about the deep sea dwellers in need of better protection along the Pacific coast. (more) |
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| Help
Support the Fisheries Management Reform Act of 2004! On June 24, 2004, Representatives Nick Rahall (WV) and Sam Farr (CA) introduced H.R. 4706, the Fisheries Management Reform Act of 2004. Over 14 other Members of Congress joined Representatives Rahall and Farr in support of the need to improve governance and management of the nation's oceans.(more) |
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| More
sharks to be put on endangered "Red List" JOHANNESBURG, South Africa — More shark and ray species are to be classified as endangered on a global watch list in another sign that the planet's oceans are in trouble, a leading scientist said on Wednesday...(more) |
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| Preserve
the U-701 The wreck of the U-701 was originally discovered by a small group of divers in the coastal waters off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, USA in 1989...(more) |
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Ailing
Alaska killer whales to get protection ANCHORAGE, Alaska — U.S. officials said Thursday they are granting special protection to a small group of Alaska killer whales that has dwindled in number since some members were seen swimming through oil from the 1989 Exxon Valdez spill...(more) |
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| $25,000
Grand Prize for "Smart Gear" that Lowers Bycatch Rate Vancouver - An unprecedented coalition of fishermen, scientists and conservation groups announced the launch of the International Smart Gear Competition today...(more) |
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| Australian
Parliament Passes Re-Zoning Bill For Great Barrier Reef, Creating
World's Largest Reserve System The largest marine protected area in the world now also includes the largest network of no-take areas. In late March, the Australian Parliament passed a bill to re-zone the multiple-use Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, setting aside one-third of the 344,000-km2 park as off-limits to all extractive activity...(more) |
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United
States Commission on Ocean Policy Releases Preliminary Report |
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| Independent
Oceans Commission Calls for Immediate Reforms: Scientists, fishermen, conservationists, elected leaders, and business officials unveil recommendations to avert decline of ocean wildlife and collapse of ocean ecosystems...(more) |
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| Illegal
Shark Finning As the appetite for pricey shark fin soup has grown in Asia over the past decade, so has a taste for the money to be made from the lucrative trade of selling shark fins...(more) |
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| First
Sharks Listed to CITES Two shark species have some new friends as both Basking and Whale Sharks were added to Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) during the last meeting in Santiago, Chile...(more) |
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Project AWARE Foundation. All Rights Reserved |