Ocean Sentry
When scientists and veterinarians cut open her womb and stomach, they found a horrifying sight: A dead baby whale, and nearly 50 pounds of plastic waste jammed into her belly.
April, 2019
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3 April
Bleaching has struck the southernmost coral reef in the world
This month corals in Lord Howe Island Marine Park began showing signs of bleaching. The 145,000 hectare marine park contains the most southerly coral reef in the world, in one of the most isolated ecosystems on the planet.
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3 April
Climate change threat to dolphins’ survival
Their analyses revealed that the dolphins’ survival rate has fallen by 12 percent following the heatwave of 2011. Moreover, female dolphins were giving birth to fewer calves—a phenomenon that lasted at least until 2017.
March, 2019
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29 March
Galápagos islands have nearly 10 times more alien marine species than once thought
Over 50 non-native species have found their way to the Galápagos Islands, almost 10 times more than scientists previously thought, reports a new study in Aquatic Invasions published Thursday, March 28.
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28 March
Canadian hunters want to club tens of thousands more baby seals to death in cull expansion
Hunters in Canada want to be allowed to club to death tens of thousands more baby seals each year in an expansion of their annual cull.
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28 March
Endangered hawksbill turtle shell trade is much bigger than scientists ever suspected
According to the paper, which drew on data from the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans, nearly nine million hawksbills were hunted for their shells during the 148-year period from 1844 to 1992.
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25 March
Temperature blob in Pacific Ocean gives a glimpse of climate impact on humpback whales
Humpback whales were once hunted to the point that they became endangered, but several decades ago, international laws were enacted to protect them, and they rebounded. But now, it appears the whales face a new threat—climate change.
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25 March
Many sharks closer to extinction than feared: Red List
Human appetites are pushing makos and other iconic sharks to the brink of extinction, scientists warned in a new assessment of the apex predator’s conservation status.
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25 March
Dead whales can help polar bears survive warming periods but may be too hard to find
Human activities, including coastal development, could limit access to carcasses, researchers say.
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22 March
Ocean sink for human-made carbon dioxide measured
As reported in the latest issue of Science, the researchers have found that the ocean has taken up from the atmosphere as much as 34 gigatonnes (billions of metric tonnes) of human-made carbon between 1994 and 2007. This figure corresponds to 31 per cent of all anthropogenic CO2emitted during that time.
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21 March
Thumbs up for marine blueprint in the Mediterranean
Thanks to a trailblazing marine protection initiative in Turkey, the tide may finally be turning for the Mediterranean monk seal – one of the world’s most threatened marine mammals.
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20 March
Expert team prepares to visit notorious “Whale Jail”
The Whale Sanctuary Project is organizing a team of experts from non-profits and other NGO’s to go to Srednyaya Bay in Primorsky Region on the Far East coast of Russia and assess the condition of the orca and beluga whales being held there.