• Ocean

New Study Finds It’s Noisy in the Deep

• drilling
• jellyfish
• loud
• noise
• ocean
• pollution
• ships
• sound
• whales

New scientific research sheds light on a growing problem — ocean noise pollution — but the good news is that this one is solvable.  The problem is that much of ocean life depends on sound for survival and when anthropogenic noise increases, it drowns out the soundscapes that guide ocean life, The New York Times reports.

Why This Matters:  Impacts of noise had been documented on marine mammals like dolphins, but now it is clear it impacts a wide variety of marine life, including zooplankton and jellyfish.

• Ocean

New Report Provides Roadmap for Fully Protected Oceans 

• #30x30
• Channel Islands Marine Sanctuary
• conservation
• Great Barrier Reef
• marine protected areas
• National Marine Sanctuary
• ocean

Each year, the ocean removes almost a third of all global CO2 emissions. But as the ocean warms, it’s becoming less effective as a carbon sink and could release billions of tons of carbon back into the atmosphere.  A new report from Environment America Research & Policy Center provides some guidance on effective ocean protections and highlights six successfully protected ocean sites to serve as role models.

Why This Matters:  Recently, with the support of 450 elected officials, President Biden signed an executive order to protect 30% of all U.S. land and waters by 2030.

• Ocean

California Crab Collab Tests New Fishing Tech to Prevent Whale Bycatch

• Dungeness crab
• entanglment
• fishing gear
• National Marine Sanctuary Founation
• research
• sea turtles
• whales

By Amy Lupica, ODP Staff Writer A team effort to end whale and sea turtle bycatch is underway in California, and experts hope it can put an end to deadly entanglements in fishing gear that threaten marine populations. The National Marine Sanctuary Foundation, California Ocean Protection Council (OPC), and California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) will […]

• Ocean

Sea-Levels Rising Faster Than Anticipated

• climate change
• coastal communities
• Seal Level Rise

by Ashira Morris, ODP Staff Writer The seas are rising, and they’re inching upward much faster than anticipated. According to a new study published in the journal Ocean Science, climate change is causing the ocean to rise even quicker than the most pessimistic prior forecasts.  This research finds that just a 0.5 degree Celsius increase […]

• Ocean

President Biden Stands Up for the Ocean

• corals
• fisheries
• fishing
• marine mammals
• monument
• Northeast Canyons and Seamounts
• ocean
• whales

By Priscilla Brooks Common sense and science appear to have returned to United States environmental policy. In a flurry of executive orders during his first weeks in office, President Biden has committed to pausing oil and gas leasing on federal lands and offshore areas, rejoining the Paris Climate Agreement, reviewing the Trump Administration’s efforts to […]

• Ocean

Brexit Trade Deal has Fisherman Throwing Fish Back

• Brexit
• climate change
• fishers
• Scotland
• shellfish

Scottish fishers are scrambling to stay afloat during COVID-19, and Brexit red-tape is making it even harder. Attempts to navigate new border checks and customs rules have been met with paperwork issues and administrative errors, causing delays in shipments to the European Union.

Why This Matters: Brexit isn’t the only thing threatening the Scottish fishing industry. As the North Sea warms, fish distributions shift and change, and experts say Scottish fisheries are largely unprepared.