‘Take It Down and They’ll Return’: The Stunning Revival of the Penobscot River – reasons to be cheerful

A historic project in Maine shows that when dams are removed, a river and its fish can recover with surprising speed…
The Unsustainable Harvest of Coastal Sands – Science

Although coasts form a crucial part of the natural wealth of the planet, their conservation is increasingly jeopardized owing to the growing human footprint. With 50% of the world’s population living within 150 km of a coastline, increasing urbanization and population pressures are threatening these fragile ecosystems…
Sea Isle’s Beach Replenishment Project to Start in Spring – Sea Isle News

Sea Isle City approved a $3.2 million funding package Tuesday to pay for its share of a beach replenishment project that will restore parts of its eroded shoreline with 640,000 cubic yards of fresh sand…(that) is part of a $33.7 million project by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that will include replenishing the storm-damaged beaches and dunes in the southern end of Ocean City and Strathmere…
The Mangrove Grandparents of El Delgadito – Hakai Magazine

For over a decade, Ana María and David have led their community to restore Mexico’s desert mangroves with dedication, experimentation, and plenty of heart..
Hann Bay, Senegal: from coastal idyll to industrial dumping ground – in pictures – the Guardian

It’s mid-morning on a sunny day and Yvette Yaa Konadu Tetteh’s arms and legs barely make a splash as she powers along the blue-green waters of the River Volta in Ghana. This is the last leg of a journey that has seen Tetteh cover 450km (280 miles) in 40 days to become the first person known to swim the length of the waterway.
It’s an epic mission but with a purpose: to find out whatis in the water and raise awareness of pollution in Ghana…
Plastic credits are supposed to support new cleanup projects. Do they? – Grist

Critics say they won’t work, for one of the same reasons carbon credits haven’t…
We Traced the Forever Chemicals Getting Into Ocean Ecosystems – the Conversation

PFAS, the “forever chemicals” that have been raising health concerns across the country, are not just a problem in drinking water. As these chemicals leach out of failing septic systems and landfills and wash off airport runways and farm fields, they can end up in streams that ultimately discharge into ocean ecosystems where fish, dolphins, manatees, sharks and other marine species live…
Microplastic-eating plankton may be worsening crisis in oceans, say scientists – the Guardian

A type of zooplankton found in marine and fresh water can ingest and break down microplastics, scientists have discovered. But rather than providing a solution to the threat plastics pose to aquatic life, the tiny creatures known as rotifers could be accelerating the risk by splitting the particles into thousands of smaller and potentially more dangerous nanoplastics…
The World Is Running Out of Male Sea Turtles – Science Alert

Green sea turtles are already an endangered species, mainly due to humans hunting them, harvesting their eggs, degrading their habitats, or entangling them in garbage of some kind. But they also face another, more insidious threat from people: the loss of male hatchlings from the species…that this is partly caused by rising temperatures due to climate change – but a new study has now unveiled another human-caused problem driving this trend. Certain pollutants may promote feminization in sea turtles, explains lead author Arthur Barraza, a toxicologist with the Australian Rivers Institute at Griffith University…