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Beyond Seaspiracy: here’s what we know about fishing and what you can do about it

https://marine-conservation.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Bottom-Trawling-Blog.mp3 From pink nigiri pressed softly atop rice, to buttery seared salmon that melts in the mouth, seafood has long been a culinary pleasure, a lauded source of protein and Omega-3 fatty acids . . . and a problematic indulgence in a world imbalanced by destructive fishing practices, biodiversity loss, and climate change. Fish farms…

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A (Marine) Conservation Carol: A Visit from the Ghost of Conservation Past

https://marine-conservation.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/MPAtlas-Past-Blog-.mp3 A Decade (2011 – 2020) of Marine Conservation in Review Declared the UN Decade of Biodiversity, the past ten years brought about a lot of change in the field of marine conservation. At the beginning of the decade, the conservation of our oceans lagged behind the efforts to protect land with only about 2%…

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Puffins and Pufflings, and how the New England Seamounts Could Save Them

Featured Image: An Atlantic puffin (Fratercula arctica) displays its colorful beak and feet. Courtesy of Ray Hennessy. By Samuel Georgian, Marine Biogeographer at Marine Conservation Institute The Atlantic puffin (Fratercula arctica) is a striking bird, at times referred to as the clown of the sea due to its unusual facial appearance. These seabird’s boldly-colored beaks serve…

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The Role of Marine Protected Areas in the Fight Against Climate Change

Recently, Amazon CEO and the world’s wealthiest person, Jeff Bezos, pledged $10 billion to fight climate change, which he referred to as “the biggest threat to our planet,” via the creation of the Bezos Earth Fund. The vast opportunities created by such large philanthropic initiatives prompt thoughtful deliberation about the necessary actions to minimize and…

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Frontrunners in Global Marine Protection

Marine protected areas (MPAs) are a vital tool for conserving marine biodiversity and ocean health in the face of human-caused threats, such as habitat destruction, overfishing, and climate change. They provide a wide range of benefits, such as increasing biodiversity and biomass, protecting endangered species, recovering overfished populations and sequestering carbon, justifying their inclusion as…

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Steve McQueen, The Blob, Ocean Protection and Climate Action

Featured Pic: Solomon Islands, The Pacific. Photo courtesy of Tracey Jennings/ Coral Reef Image Bank  By Lance Morgan, President of Marine Conservation Institute “Yeah, as long as the Arctic stays cold,” – so ends the 1958 horror film The Blob (https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x796ljc). Steve McQueen’s character is expressing his dissatisfaction that the now frozen Blob is once and…

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How Marine Protected Areas are Safeguarding Our Ocean’s Vulnerable Top Predators

By GLORES Science Intern, Abbie Dosell Sharks are an essential part of marine ecosystems, asserting top-down control that maintains ecosystem balance. However, these beloved predators are consistently threatened by fisheries bycatch, pollution, habitat loss and shark finning. Shark finning alone is estimated to be responsible for the deaths of 73 million sharks annually. Sharks and…

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Global Biodiversity Protection

  By Abbie Dosell,  Marine Conservation Institute GLORES Science Intern   Some of the world’s most biodiverse and ecologically valuable marine ecosystems are sporadically distributed among different regions and cultures globally. Due to this diversity, a one-size-fits-all marine protected area (MPA) framework is not sufficient to protect biodiversity. Locally Managed Marine Areas, or LMMAs, offer…

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GLORES Partner Spotlight: Global Ocean Trust

We are thrilled to shine this week’s Global Ocean Refuge System (GLORES) Partner Spotlight on Global Ocean Trust! Global Ocean Trust (GOT) focuses on finding innovative finance mechanisms for better ocean governance and promotes science-based solutions to ocean issues. GOT works through international partnerships to establish marine protected areas representing diverse ecosystems around the globe. GOT helps…

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