Biden administration withdraws proposal that aimed to save whales off East Coast by slowing ship speeds

The federal government is withdrawing a proposal that would require more ships to slow down in East Coast waters to try to save a vanishing species of whale, officials said Wednesday. Read more here.

Smallest island in the world’s plan to save the waters around it

Niue is known as the Rock of Polynesia. It takes about two hours to drive around it, and the island offers views of rugged cliffs and sandy coves. Read more here.

EU fishers clock 3,500 hours of bottom trawling in protected waters

It’s been almost ten years since the EU first moved to ban all bottom-trawling activity below 800 metres in waters across the Northeast Atlantic; and while it’s a ban that has led to a hefty reduction in such bottom contact fishing within the region, the problem still persists. Read more here.

$US 35 million US and Indonesia debt for nature swap finalized

This effort will also benefit the Indigenous Peoples and local communities that rely on healthy coral reef ecosystems for sustenance and livelihoods. Read more here.

Tunisian rehab barge offers hope for vulnerable sea turtles

On a barge hundreds of metres off the Kerkennah Islands in southern Tunisia, a group of students watches intently as Besma, a recovering sea turtle, shuffles towards the water and dives in. Read more here.