After hundreds of years, study confirms Bermuda now home to cownose rays

Using citizen science, photographs, on-water observations and the combination of morphological and genetic data, researchers from Florida Atlantic University’s Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute and collaborators are the first to provide evidence that the Atlantic cownose ray (Rhinoptera bonasus) has recently made a new home in Bermuda. Read more here.

122 important shark and ray areas identified in Asia

The Important Shark and Ray Areas (ISRA) project, an initiative led by the IUCN SSC Shark Specialist Group, has released a compendium of Important Shark and Ray Areas identified in the waters of Asia. Read more here.

Reef sharks doubled where MPA bans enforced

A new study by more than 100 ocean scientists has concluded that Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) that impose and fully enforce bans on fishing and other damaging human activities host nearly twice as may reef-dwelling sharks as those that allow fishing. Read more here.

‘The High Seas’ tells of the many ways humans are laying claim to the ocean

The book begins by churning rapidly through the waves of history that brought us to today, including how we even define the high seas: all ocean waters more than 200 nautical miles from any country’s coastline. Read more here.

Unified coastal ecosystem for water conservation: Minister

Indonesia’s Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Sakti Wahyu Trenggono explained the conservation effort of marine areas using the approach of unifying coastal ecosystems. Read more here.