marine life

11.22.09

Fifty Years Ago, Fish Were Bigger; Fifty Years From Now, They'll Be Gone

A treasure trove of historical evidence finds that the fish your grand-dad claimed was "this big" may well have been

By Abby Seiff Posted 05.27.2009 at 12:13 pm 4 Comments

Great white whales. Schools of fish so thick they slowed boats. Sea monsters that could swallow a sailor whole. The last one may still be the stuff of lore, but scientists are using a curious series of census tools to gather evidence of an ocean that, as recently as decades ago, fairly teemed with marine life, far bigger and more plentiful that what's found in today's oceans.

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READ MORE ABOUT > Census of Marine Life, censuses, diversity, ecology, fish, marine life, seafood

Bush's Tropical Paradise

The president sets in motion the largest ocean preserve ever—but will industry kill it?

By Sharon Guynup Posted 11.26.2008 at 11:57 am 5 Comments

Sea Change: Bush’s proposal would preserve up to 700,000 square miles of the central Pacific, including the Mariana Trench, and protect sea life, such as leatherback turtles and coral reefs. Georgette Douwma/Getty Images

In his eight years as president, George W. Bush has done little to win the hearts of conservationists. Opponents criticize his backing of widespread drilling and mining projects, lax oversight of industrial pollution, and recent attempts to dismantle the 36-year-old Endangered Species Act.

But now, as he’s leaving office, the 43rd president is attempting to “blue” his legacy by granting national-monument status to a string of pristine islands, atolls and coral reefs in the center of the Pacific Ocean.

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READ MORE ABOUT > conservation, December 2008, marine life, ocean health, oceans, sea life

Coral Reefs in Troubled Waters

A team of international scientists discover that one-third of the world's coral-building reefs face extinction

By Jaya Jiwatram Posted 07.17.2008 at 1:37 pm 0 Comments

Time and time again we hear news about the danger the world's coral reefs are in. Now, the first-ever comprehensive international assessment of their conservation status reveals that the fate of coral is worse even than scientists previously believed.

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READ MORE ABOUT > climate change, coral, environment, global warming, jaya Jiwatram, marine life, reefs