Community coral planting restores Belize’s expansive reefs
So far, 85,000 corals have been planted in the area and the coral cover of the seafloor in the park increased from 6% to 50% between 2010 to 2017.
Marine conservation
New Australian marine parks protect area twice Great Barrier Reef’s size
The two parks will be established around Christmas Island and the Cocos (Keeling) Islands in the Indian Ocean to the northwest of continental Australia. The new parks cover 740,000 square kilometers (286,000 square miles) of ocean.
Australia announces $100 million initiative to protect our oceans
Much of the funding will go towards ecosystems that involve seagrass and mangroves, which play a key role in drawing carbon out of the atmosphere.
U.K. launches world’s largest ocean monitoring system
The U.K. government, under the Blue Belt program, has announced its plan to install underwater camera rigs for monitoring ocean wildlife across over 4 million square kilometers of ocean space.
India fishermen divert their catch of ocean plastic so it can be used to rebuild roads
The Kerala fishermen’s work has so far amassed 176,000 pounds (80,000 kilograms) of plastic, of which more than half has gone towards creating 84 miles (135km) of road.
Canada launches satellite technology that identifies vessels illegally catching fish
It is estimated that illegal fishing accounts for about 30% of all fishing worldwide, representing up to 26 million tons of fish caught annually at a cost to the global economy of more than $23 billion a year.
Sanctuary containing ‘healthiest coral reefs in the world’ just tripled in size
The Gulf of Mexico’s largest coral sanctuary just got 200 percent bigger, now that the U.S. government formally approved the expansion of the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary.
Ivory Coast designates first-ever marine sanctuary
The 1,000 square mile area is the first of five that the Ivory Coast government has designated for protection.
Tristan da Cunha establishes a massive marine protected area
The government of Tristan da Cunha, a four-island archipelago of about 250 people, has announced that it will be protecting approximately 700,000 square kilometers of its waters, creating the world’s fourth-largest Marine Protected Area.
World’s largest seagrass restoration project grows from 600 to 9,000 acres off coast of Virginia
Marine scientists and volunteers spread more than 70 million eelgrass seeds off Virginia’s shores. Led by the Virginia Institute of Marine Science and with help from The Nature Conservancy, the project has grown to over 8,896 acres.