From jellyfish to basking shark, we’re developing 100 new signs to deepen deaf people’s connection with the ocean

New British sign language terms will cover marine creatures like this jellyfish. JDScuba/Shutterstock By Audrey Cameron, The University of Edinburgh For deaf people including schoolchildren, teachers and scientists, talking about marine species like the shortfin mako shark, loggerhead turtle and tiny phytoplankton usually means spelling out each term letter by letter. The lack of specific British Sign Language (BSL) signs for many marine species and concepts has made it […]

August 13, 2024 15

Environment

Technology to protect South Africa’s oceans: experts find that a data-driven monitoring system is paying off

A fishing boat launching into South African waters at dawn. Justin Klusener Photos Marjolaine Krug, University of Cape Town Nine years ago South Africa put in place an innovative information management system designed to monitor and protect its seas. The country is surrounded by the Atlantic and Indian oceans on its southern, eastern and western borders. The oceans are an important source of income and employment. The ocean economy contributed […]

March 12, 2024 50

Environment

By Anna Dulisse via Mongabay On an island chain in the middle of the Indian Ocean lies an invaluable treasure: “white gold.” While it may not be a gem to proposition a prospective fiancée with, it does protect the ocean’s most biodiverse ecosystem: coral reefs. Casey Benkwitt, a research fellow at Lancaster University in the U.K., says she couldn’t be more thrilled about it. “It’s exciting to learn and show something […]

February 29, 2024 14

Environment

Summit on migratory species sides with science, throws shade on deep-sea mining

Whale shark in Ras Mohammed National Park. Image by Cinzia Osele Bismarck / Ocean Image Bank By Elizabeth Claire Alberts via Mongabay Migratory species that travel long distances in the ocean, including sharks, turtles and dolphins, face an unprecedented number of threats resulting from human actions. At the latest assembly of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS), representatives of governments made a series of decisions […]

February 27, 2024 19

Environment

Ocean heating breaks record, again, with disastrous outcomes for the planet

A lemon shark in the mangroves in the Bahamas. Image by Anita Kainrath / Ocean Image Bank. By Elizabeth Claire Alberts via Mongabay Human actions are rapidly changing the world’s oceans, whether through overfishing, pollution or coastal development. But among the most intense pressures placed on the seas right now is humanity’s ongoing burning of fossil fuels, pumping dangerous amounts of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, which in turn has pushed sea temperatures to record levels. […]

January 31, 2024 7

Business / Economics

AI and satellite data map true scale of untracked fishing and ocean industry

By Elizabeth Fitt via Mongabay We’ve been largely flying blind when it comes to fishing, shipping and energy production intel on our oceans, according to a new study that combines artificial intelligence with satellite technology. Researchers found that more than three-quarters of industrial fishing activity and almost one-third of transport and energy activity is missing from public tracking systems, and therefore largely invisible globally. The study, from Global Fishing Watch (GFW), a […]

January 12, 2024 13

Environment

COP28 Galvanizes Finance and Global Unity for Forests and the Ocean

During the World Climate Action Summit, the COP28 Presidency and its partners presented a series of new and ambitious initiatives with an initial USD $1.7 billion of committed finance to simultaneously meet climate and biodiversity goals. President Lula da Silva and the COP28 Presidency also announced a two-year partnership to mobilize new resources and political support for nature on the road to COP30 in Belém. "Ensuring that nature in its […]

December 4, 2023 4

Business / Economics

In reversal, Mexico calls for moratorium on international deep-sea mining

By Elizabeth Claire Alberts via Mongabay Creature of the deep sea. Image by NOAA. On Nov. 21, Mexico became the latest nation to call for a moratorium on deep-sea mining in international waters. Before this announcement, some Mexican delegates to the International Seabed Authority, the UN-associated body tasked with regulating the activity, had expressed support for fast-tracking mining rules that would enable mining to start. This announcement came two weeks […]

November 29, 2023 10

Oceans