Rewilding Coral Reefs
Rewilding is a popular term in conservation circles, but what does it mean, and is it appropriate for coral reefs? Should divers be clamoring for reef rewilding? Does it represent […]
Status Penelitian Water Planet
Close Encounters of the Considerate Kind
Many divers top off a trip to the Southern Red Sea by watching a rotund dugong snuffle through seagrass meadows in about 25 feet (7.6 meters) of water.
The Case of Catastrophic Kelp Loss
For more than five years, divers and scientists along the U.S. West Coast have watched a disaster play out before their eyes. Sunflower sea stars fell victim to a wasting disease, which wiped out roughly 90 percent of the global population in 2013. Seven years later, scientists see no signs of recovery. Without the sea stars, the population of purple urchins that sea stars eat has exploded and mowed down entire forests of bull kelp. The West Coast experienced intense ocean warming from 2014 to 2017, and by 2015 divers began seeing urchin barrens — vast swaths covered in piles of spiny creatures and little else.
Cruise Ships Are Stirring Things Up
Coral reefs are facing many environmental challenges, and cruise ships are a major contributor. One of these ships’ greatest impacts is starting to muddy the water.
Celebrating Seagrass
The benefits of protecting seagrass cannot be overstated. Seagrass purifies the water, helps protect against coastal erosion, helps sustain small-scale fisheries that support communities, and increases fish populations and biodiversity. It sequesters much more carbon per area than terrestrial forests and reduces ocean acidification. Healthy seagrass means a healthier ocean.
The Business of Protecting Paradise
Our oceans are under siege. Destructive industrial-scale fishing is causing widespread species decline. Ocean warming due to human-induced climate change is triggering episodes of mass coral bleaching with increased vigor and frequency.
Chasing Weeds
How many times have you noticed the line of weeds out of the corner of your eye and driven past, around, or through it without a second glance on your way to a dive? In our case, most of the time. On a calm day off Jupiter, Florida, a wide weed line at the edge […]
Lost at Sea
The eight species highlighted here are recognized as at risk by the IUCN, the U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA), or the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), which regulates trade.
Bonaire Inspires Hope for the Future of Coral
DESCENDING THE LIMESTONE STAIRS OF BONAIRE’S famous 1,000 Steps dive site in full scuba gear is challenging. It’s just 64 steps down, but it feels like many more. Once you make it down, you’re rewarded with a Caribbean reef teeming with life …
