The World’s Coral Reefs Are Running Out of Time to Recover, Research Finds – the New York Times
Rising sea temperatures mean reefs don’t have enough time to bounce back between intense heat waves, a new report warns…
On the Great Barrier Reef, management by Traditional Owners is growing – Mongabay
Joint management of the Great Barrier Reef is changing, with Traditional Owners playing an increasing role in the conservation of one of the seven natural wonders of the world…
Coral reefs off Benin, long presumed dead, discovered teeming with life – Frontiers in Marine Science
Using sonar surveys to narrow down their search areas and then an underwater drone and trail cameras to investigate, they identified a mesophotic coral garden teeming with species of reef-loving fish and multiple different varieties of coral. The researchers suspect that other as-yet undiscovered reef ecosystems could still be out there…
Traditional protection proves more successful for clams in American Samoa – Mongabay
For coastal Indigenous communities in American Samoa, giant clams are deeply rooted in fa‘a Sāmoa (the Samoan way of life) and local food systems…According to the findings of a study published in PeerJ, it is village-based protections like fa‘asao (fishery closures) that have helped conserve giant clams lying in the islands’ shallow water coral reefs. The authors found that the highest clam densities and species are located in remote sites and areas under traditional village enforcement, outperforming federally designated no-take zones on the most populated island….
World’s largest coral colony discovered off Australian coast by mother-daughter team – CNN Science
A mother-and-daughter team of citizen scientists has identified the world’s largest known coral colony, found on the Great Barrier Reef off the coast of Australia…
Japan using Saudi-made coral skeletons from expo for sea conservation – the Mainichi
Japanese universities are seeking to restore coral reefs and marine ecosystems after inheriting artificial coral structures that Saudi Arabia made and showcased at this year’s World Exposition in Osaka….
Planet’s 1st Climate Tipping Point Reached, report says, with Coral reefs facing ‘widespread dieback” – the Guardian
Unless global heating is reduced to 1.2C ‘as fast as possible’, warm water coral reefs will not remain ‘at any meaningful scale’, a report by 160 scientists from 23 countries warns…
Survival at sea: Cuba is rewriting its coral story – Oceanographic
While ocean warming and coral bleaching events make the headlines around the globe, there’s a team of pioneering marine researchers quietly working on new methods to rebuild coral populations more resilient to rising temperatures through groundbreaking means. And it’s all happening in Cuba…
The cost of the catch: A conservation corral for Cambodia – Oceanographic
In a remote corner of Cambodia, the team at Marine Conservation Cambodia has been fighting trawl-fishing for over a decade. On their tiny island in the Kep Archipelago seagrass meadows once sprawled the seabed. Now, much of that ecosystem lies in ruin..