The federal government today listed four key populations of scalloped hammerhead sharks under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).

The health of the global ocean is in decline and a five-year integrated rescue package is what’s needed to bring it back to life, according to a new report by the Global Ocean Commission.
The Commission has spent 18 months looking in to the decline of the ocean and has come up with a rescue package of eight proposals to restore and protect its natural capital and services. Its findings identified a lack of adequate governance on the high seas as the key issue.

Concern is growing over the threat that widespread plastic waste poses to marine life, with conservative estimates of the overall financial damage of plastics to marine ecosystems standing at US$13 billion each year, according to two reports released on the opening day of the first United Nations Environment Assembly.

Both President Obama and actor Leonardo DiCaprio pledged Tuesday to help protect the ocean and challenged other nations to undertake bold initiatives of their own before it's too late.

Shark Advocates International is welcoming an unprecedented suite of proposals from Parties to the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) to list 21 species of rays and sharks on the CMS Appendices. Two species of hammerheads, all three threshers, and the silky shark have been proposed for CMS Appendix II, which would encourage regional cooperation to conserve shared populations. All five sawfishes, nine devil rays, and the reef manta are proposed for Appendix I & II; Appendix I listing would bring obligations for strict protection.

Shark Specialists Prioritize Recovery of World’s Largest, Most Threatened Rays Durban, South Africa. June 5, 2014.

Humans produced nearly 300 million tons of plastic in 2012, but where does it end up? A new study has found plastic debris in a surprising location: trapped in Arctic sea ice. As the ice melts, it could release a flood of floating plastic onto the world.

The Government is proposing to bring forward a total ban on the finning of dead sharks by two years in response to widespread public concern about the gruesome practice.
Conservation Minister Nick Smith originally planned to ban finning of all shark species, except blue sharks, by October 2015.
The ban on removing blue sharks' fins would have begun in October 2016.
This led to an outcry by conservation groups because blue shark was the species most affected by the finning practice.

Every year, millions of tonnes of litter end up in Europe's streets, oceans, beaches, forests and natural areas. And every year millions of Europeans get out in their neighborhoods to clean up in voluntary actions. "Let's Clean up Europe" is an initiative that aims to encourage more such actions, to raise awareness about the scale of the litter and waste problems, and to encourage changes in behaviour. The event is being coordinated by the European Week for Waste Reduction (EWWR).

Urgent, coordinated action is needed to restore productive, resilient oceans, ensure food security and support human livelihoods, according to participants at the Global Oceans Action Summit for Food Security and Blue Growth. The Summit also called for oceans to be embedded in the post-2015 development agenda, preferably in a stand-alone sustainable development goal (SDG) on oceans.