• Ocean

Chile Proposes Unprecedented High Seas Protections in the Pacific

• #30x30
• areas beyond national jursdiction
• Chile
• exclusive economic zones
• high seas
• marine protected area
• MPA

Chile has been making significant headway in ocean protections, establishing marine protected areas (MPAs) in 43% of its national waters. Now, the country is making waves with an ambitious new proposal to establish an MPA that would stretch over 2,900 kilometers wide in international waters, or the high seas, in the southeastern Pacific. 

Why This Matters: About 60% of our oceans lie outside of any one nation’s control and are colloquially referred to as the “high seas.” These waters contain vast ecosystems rich in biodiversity, but only one percent has been officially protected. 

• Animals

Broad Coalition Develops Drones to Protect Critically Endangered New Zealand Dolphins

• dolphins
• endangered species
• MPA
• New Zealand

by Amy Lupica, ODP Staff Writer A coalition of scientists, environmentalists, fishers, and the New Zealand Government has developed a special drone to monitor and protect one of New Zealand’s most endangered aquatic mammals. There are just 63 Māui dolphins remaining off the west coast of New Zealand, and experts hope that this new technology can give them critical insight that […]

• Ocean

Earth Week Interview: Aulani Wilhelm (Part 2)

• CI
• MPA
• open ocean

While we write about the need to protect oceans and marine ecosystems as a key part of climate action a lot here at ODP, it’s still an often overlooked goal for climate advocates. However, protecting the open ocean (the deep ocean beyond the continental shelf, and often beyond national boundaries) is one of the most […]

• Ocean

The Presidential Power of Marine National Monuments

• Antiquities Act
• Marine National Monument
• marine protected area
• MPA

Much as our national parks on land are some of our greatest natural treasures, marine national monuments safeguard precious ecosystems and protect them now and for future generations. The National Marine Sanctuary System encompasses more than 600,000 square miles of marine and Great Lakes waters, and contains amazing cultural and historical resources, as well as […]

• Ocean

Celebrating 4 Years of Northeast Canyons and Seamounts

• marine protected area
• MPA
• Northeast Canyons and Seamounts
• oceans

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 […]

• Ocean

Achieving Fully Protected Marine Reserves Is Increasingly Urgent

• 30 by 30
• MPA
• ocean conservation

by Jenna Sullivan-Stack, Postdoctoral Scholar, Oregon State University Department of Integrative Biology When preparing for the birth of my son this February, I decided to make him a mobile of some of the things that are most important to me (I am not crafty, so this was a real labor of love). What I ended […]