NOAA Ship Oscar Elton Sette arrived back in its homeport of Honolulu  a few days ago after a month in Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument. The team of 17 scientists collected nearly 50 metric tons of marine debris, which threatens monk seals, sea turtles and other marine life in the coral reef ecosystem, in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (NWHI). NOAA has conducted annual removal missions of marine debris in the NWHI since 1996 as part of a coral restoration effort.

Plastic pollution off the northwest coast of North America is reaching the level of the notoriously polluted North Sea, according to a new study led by a researcher at the University of British Columbia.

The study, published online in the journal Marine Pollution Bulletin, examined stomach contents of beached northern fulmars on the coasts of British Columbia, Canada, and the states of Washington and Oregon, U.S.A.

"Like the canary in the coal mine, northern fulmars are sentinels of plastic pollution in our oceans," says Stephanie Avery-Gomm, the study's lead author and a gr MORE

The Indian Ocean archipelago of the Maldives announced at the Rio+20 summit it would create the world's biggest marine reserve to protect its fisheries and biodiversity.

"I would like to announce today Maldives will become the first country to become a marine reserve," President Mohamed Waheed said in a speech.

"It will become the single largest marine reserve in the world. This policy will allow only sustainable and eco-friendly fishing. MORE