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Our future depends upon sustaining ocean health and building resilience to climate change and other ocean stressors like pollution and acidification. Protecting at least 30% of the ocean by 2030 through implemented, fully, and highly protected Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) is necessary for ocean and planetary health. Establishing an MPA can take years for communities – it is a complicated process in most countries but there are some common steps to take. Last year a number of organizations teamed up to create a short guide to creating MPAs. And now, to make it even easier, a group of ocean scientists and artists created a comic book version of the Guide to explain the 4 stages of MPA establishment. Biodiversity is not safeguarded until an MPA is implemented and enforced — getting it right from the start is key.
While humans face COVID-19, freshwater mussels could be facing a pandemic of their own. Researchers have found a novel densovirus, dubbed “Mussel-bola,” that may be responsible for killing 80,000 mussels in a 650 foot stretch of the Clinch River in Virginia over only 2 years.
Why This Matters: Mussels serve as a proverbial canary in the coalmine for freshwater ecosystems.
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Today marks the 4th birthday of the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts National Monument which was created by President Obama in 2016. The monument is the first fully protected marine area in the US Atlantic Ocean and is special because it home to precious marine ecosystems and species like fragile deep-sea corals, diverse schools of fish […]
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by Dr. Gareth Lawson The Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument holds a special place in my heart. This monument, designated by President Obama four years ago this week, protects crucial marine habitats for incredible species, from whales to corals, along the edge of the New England continental shelf. Unfortunately, this monument is currently […]
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