• 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

Best of 2020: The Creation of Tristan da Cunha MPA

• #30x30
• Blue Belt Programme
• marine protected areas
• National Geographic
• Pristine Seas

On Friday, the government of Tristan da Cunha, a four-island archipelago in the South Atlantic, announced that it is creating the fourth-largest marine “no-take” reserve in the world. 

Why This Matters:  As National Geographic states, while 8% of the world’s ocean territory is protected at some level, commercial fishing is banned in only 2.6%.

• Ocean

Another Notch on the U.K.’s Blue Belt- Tristan da Cunha’s Marine Protection

• #30x30
• Blue Belt Programme
• marine protected areas
• National Geographic
• Pristine Seas

On Friday, the government of Tristan da Cunha, a four-island archipelago in the South Atlantic, announced that it is creating the fourth-largest marine “no-take” reserve in the world. 

Why This Matters:  As National Geographic states, while 8% of the world’s ocean territory is protected at some level, commercial fishing is banned in only 2.6%.

• Ocean

Protecting 5% More of the Ocean Yields 20% More Fish For Food

• #30x30
• fisheries
• marine protected areas
• marine protection
• ocean conservation

A new study published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academies of Sciences proves that protecting an additional 5% of the world’s ocean area leads to an increase of 20% more fish for fishermen to catch and thus much more food for people to eat.

Why This Matters:  Right now only 2.5% of the ocean is fully protected, but the goal is 30% protected by 2030.

• Ocean

Climate Change Impacting Fish Spawning, While Not Enough Habitat Is Protected By Fisheries Managers

• #30x30
• climate change
• fish
• fisheries
• fishing gear
• marine protected areas
• ocean warming

We know that rising ocean temperatures are causing fish stocks to migrate to cooler waters, and now we have new evidence as to why.  A study by German scientists found that juvenile fish and fish that are ready to mate are especially sensitive to changes in water temperature, and as a result, up to 60 percent of all species may be forced to leave their traditional spawning areas as waters warm.

Why This Matters:  Fish populations need functional habitat to survive and procreate.

• Ocean

One Cool Thing: A Graphic Guide to Creating Marine Protected Areas

• #30x30
• #OneOceanOnePlanet
• healthy ocean
• marine protected areas
• ocean

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 […]