A panel of leading experts in fishes has gathered in the IUCN World Conservation Congress Species Pavilion to discuss the surge of interest in ocean health, and the effect of this surge on conservation successes and challenges. Organized by the IUCN Species Survival Commission Shark Specialist Group, panelists discussed the growing number of marine species assessed under the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, and how to ensure that threatened species assessments prompt effective conservation action.

A unique study by scientists at the National Oceanography Centre (NOC) will provide valuable new insights into the concentrations of microplastics in the open ocean from surface to the sea bed.

Surfers, kayakers, fishers, boaties, swimmers and beach walkers are all passionate about the marine environment but divers are most likely to contribute to marine citizen science projects, according to a national survey by a Southern Cross University researcher.

Consumers of Asian alternative medicine derived from Australian marine life may be inadvertently consuming toxins, according to research by The University of Queensland.
Dr Kathy Townsend of the School of Biomedical Sciences and UQ's Moreton Bay Research Station said the studies identified the presence of toxic substances in devil and manta rays and traced the trade of the animals across Asia.

New IUCN Red List assessments reveal that growing human pressures on whale sharks, winghead sharks and Bornean orangutans are putting these species at an increasing risk of extinction. Whale sharks and winghead sharks are now listed as Endangered and Bornean orangutans as Critically Endangered – only one step from going extinct.

The world needs “to act now to avoid living in a sea of plastic by mid-century,” stresses a publication by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and GRID-Arendal. The report, ‘Marine Litter Vital Graphics,' which summarizes current knowledge on plastic litter in the oceans and highlights areas where more research is needed, predicts 33 billion tonnes of plastic will accumulate around the planet by 2050 if current trends continue.

E' una delle meraviglie naturalistiche del Lazio, con la sua perfetta forma circolare, che testimonia in maniera incontrovertibile la sua origine vulcanica, e con le sue acque cristalline, che non a caso costituiscono la riserva idrica di emergenza che può essere utilizzata per integrare il fabbisogno della città di Roma. E' il lago di Bracciano, una risorsa da proteggere e da mantenere pulita.

It’s been a very tempestuous week of political fallout since the UK voted by 52% to leave the European Union in a public vote. Seas At Risk* is determined to continue working with its members inside and outside the UK for a healthy marine environment.

The Annual Meeting of the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC) ended on 1st July in La Jolla, California. While no measures were adopted for the management of Tropical Tuna and for the conservation of Bluefin Tuna, good progress was made on shark conservation and on Fishing Aggregating Devices (FADs) management.

In cooperation with the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and with the support of the European Union, the Government of Japan and the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) of the United States of America, FAO has developed a database to document international, regional and national shark measures.