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..
Sand groomers v turtles: how wildlife is falling foul of the demand for Insta-perfect beaches – the Guardian
From the turtle-nesting beaches of Italy to Greek island bird havens, across the Mediterranean campaigners are fighting to protect habitats from tourists seeking a picture-perfect holiday…
More than 80% of world’s coral reefs hit by worst bleaching event in history – the Independent
‘We’re looking at something that’s completely changing the face of our planet,’ scientists warn…
15 years after the BP oil spill disaster, how is the Gulf of Mexico faring? – Mongabay
The Deepwater Horizon disaster on April 20, 2010, was the largest offshore oil spill in U.S. history, releasing an estimated 4.9 million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico…Fifteen years later, the gulf ecosystem shows a complicated picture of both resilience and lingering damage, with some species, like brown pelicans, recovering, while others, like humans, dolphins and deep-sea corals, continue to struggle with long-term health impacts.