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    News

    Curated stories and analysis from islands and sustainability leaders worldwide.

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    Showing 9 of 243 news items in Ocean & Biodiversity
    Scientists discover incredible 'window into the past' at remote islands: 'We only have five years left'
    Ocean & BiodiversityJanuary 16, 2026

    Scientists discover incredible 'window into the past' at remote islands: 'We only have five years left'

    Excerpt and Photo Credit: thecooldown.com An incredible new study examining shark and predatory fish populations in the Eastern Tropical Pacific shines a light on what the ocean ought to look like at its healthiest, according to an article by the National Geographic Society that was shared by Phys.org. The study surveyed remote marine protected areas such as the Galápagos, Malpelo, Clipperton, and Revillagigedo islands. It also looked at islands that were closer to coasts. It found that shark populations were much higher in the most remote and well-protected areas. Meanwhile, the more accessible and coastal marine protected areas, which allow fishing, showed signs of depletion. "The oceanic islands of the Eastern Tropical Pacific represent a window into the past, where sharks and large predatory fishes are the norm and not the exception," said senior author Dr. Pelayo Salinas-de-León, the principal investigator at the Charles Darwin Foundation. "These areas provide a glimpse of what a healthy ocean looks like."

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    Could freezing coral larvae protect reefs from ocean warming?
    Ocean & BiodiversityJanuary 16, 2026

    Could freezing coral larvae protect reefs from ocean warming?

    Image: UNEP, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Flickr. Excerpt from eco-business.com The Coral Triangle, one of the planet’s most diverse reef regions, is under siege. The area, spanning the waters of Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, the Solomon Islands and Timor-Leste, is home to 75 per cent of the world’s known coral species. It sustains 3,000 species of reef fish and the livelihoods of over 120 million people. But over 85 per cent of its reefs are threatened by rising temperatures, ocean acidification, pollution and unsustainable fishing, according to the World Resources Institute.

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    Tiny Caribbean island brings hope for critically endangered iguana
    Ocean & BiodiversityJanuary 15, 2026

    Tiny Caribbean island brings hope for critically endangered iguana

    Excerpt from news.mongabay.com Over the past decade, Prickly Pear East, a small, privately owned island in the Caribbean, has become a beacon of hope for a critically endangered lizard. The islet, near the main island of Anguilla, a British territory, is one of just five locations where the lesser Antillean iguana (Iguana delicatissima) is breeding and thriving, protected from invasive iguanas and human disturbances, conservationists say. The latest surveys, from July, show the species’ population on Prickly Pear East has grown to more than 300 adults and adolescents — up from just 23 individuals that were moved there from Anguilla starting in 2016.

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    Coral reefs in Mauritius are turning ghostly white. Can nurseries rescue them from climate change?
    Ocean & BiodiversityMay 12, 2026

    Coral reefs in Mauritius are turning ghostly white. Can nurseries rescue them from climate change?

    Excerpt from cbc.ca For Nadeem Nazurally, snorkelling off the coast of Mauritius lately has become disheartening.  The coral reefs that once glowed in vivid greens, blues and pinks now stretch out below him, faded and ghostly. “When I see … all white, it means there is a big problem,” Nazurally, an associate professor at the University of Mauritius’ faculty of agriculture, told What on Earth’s Laura Lynch. “We are losing all these colours, we are losing life, we are losing those important corals,” which not only act as natural buffers against the island’s frequent cyclones, but are also vital to tourism, fisheries and support a wide range of marine life. In Mauritius, home to nearly 250 species of coral and 150 kilometres of reef, the decline has been stark. The island nation off Africa’s southeast coast has lost roughly half of its coral cover since the 1970s, according to the International Union from the Conservation of Nature, enduring multiple bleaching events and a devastating oil spill in 2020. Across the western Indian Ocean, rising ocean temperatures driven by climate change are triggering mass coral bleaching events on an unprecedented scale. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) warns the world's coral reefs would virtually vanish if global warming exceeds 2C above pre-industrial levels.

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    Indonesia’s crocodile attacks rise as wetlands are cleared for mining, oil palm
    Ocean & BiodiversityMay 12, 2026

    Indonesia’s crocodile attacks rise as wetlands are cleared for mining, oil palm

    Excerpt and Photo credit from eco-business.com Residents of a centuries-old coastal settlement in the world’s largest tin-mining outpost — Bangka Island — fear that the environmental damage over just a few decades is behind a frightening rise in reports of violent deaths. In February, local fisher Jauhari became the latest person here on Bangka’s west coast to be killed by an estuarine crocodile (Crocodylus porosus). The 40-year-old was likely the 21st victim in the last five years, according to local wildlife charity Alobi Foundation. The saltwater crocodile — the world’s largest reptile — can exceed 6 meters (20 feet) in length, weighing up to 2 tons (4,400 pounds) and live more than 70 years. On Bangka Island, it ordinarily lurks quietly beneath the surface of estuaries and lagoons. “This has happened because many swamps and tributaries that are the habitat of estuarine crocodiles have been damaged by illegal tin mining, and then turned into oil palm plantations,” Suhadi, who lives in western Bangka’s Menduk village, told Mongabay Indonesia in late March.

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    Eco-tourism operator in Okinawa bets on corals as carbon absorber
    Ocean & BiodiversityMay 7, 2026

    Eco-tourism operator in Okinawa bets on corals as carbon absorber

    Excerpt and Photo credit from japantimes.co.jp About 10 minutes after departing Naha Port on a clear day, the seascape below a boat reveals a vivid spread of soft corals and schools of tropical fish gliding through the water. Before departure, the concentration of carbon dioxide in the water measured 407.3 parts per million, but at a site where soft corals carpet the seabed, the CO2 level dropped into the 360-ppm range. Marine Tourism Development, an eco-tourism operator based in Naha, has launched a new kind of tour that measures underwater CO2 concentrations in real time while passengers observe the seafloor through a glass-bottomed boat. By “visualizing” otherwise invisible data, the company hopes to encourage visitors to think of climate change mitigation as a personal issue. The initiative — combining sightseeing, environmental conservation and CO2 reduction — is drawing attention as a model of what's known as blue tourism.

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    Seychelles’ Blue Bond: Turning Ocean Vision into Action
    Ocean & BiodiversityMay 7, 2026

    Seychelles’ Blue Bond: Turning Ocean Vision into Action

    Excerpt from globalissues.org Photo credit: Michaela Rimakova / Unsplash via GlobalIssues.org As the world prepares for the Global Environment Facility (GEF) meeting in Samarkand next month, Seychelles’ pioneering blue bond offers a compelling lesson in practical ocean finance. For small island states, the ocean is not merely a natural resource; it is the foundation of national life, economic opportunity, and long-term resilience against climate threats. As President of Seychelles, I introduced the blue economy as a national vision as early as 2008. I did so because I believed then—as I do now—that for an island nation spanning 1.4 million square kilometers of ocean, sustainable development must begin with responsible stewardship of our marine resources. Our future depended on learning how to protect biodiversity, manage fisheries sustainably, and build economic models that serve both present needs and future generations. This vision positioned Seychelles as an early advocate for integrating ocean health with national prosperity. That vision was not developed in isolation. It was strengthened through deliberate steps and high-level conversations that bridged policy ambition with financial innovation. A key milestone came with the debt-for-nature swap, finalized with the Paris Club creditors and The Nature Conservancy in 2014. This landmark agreement restructured approximately US$21.6 million in debt, freeing resources for marine conservation and climate adaptation. It directly led to the creation of SeyCCAT, the Seychelles Conservation and Climate Adaptation Trust, which has since become a vital mechanism for channeling funds into ocean protection, sustainable fisheries, and resilience projects.

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    Reef islands closure for nesting birds
    Ocean & BiodiversityDecember 15, 2025

    Reef islands closure for nesting birds

    Excerpt from detsi.qld.gov.au Four islands in the northern Great Barrier Reef Coast Marine Park are now closed to campers and day-trippers as part of an annual push to ensure migratory birds can nest and raise their chicks without being disturbed. Woody Island, Sisters Island and Taylor Cay will remain closed until 1 March 2026, while Eagle Island will be closed until 1 April 2026. The Department of the Environment, Tourism, Science and Innovation has asked boaties and campers to respect the annual breeding season closures.

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    Storms in the Southern Ocean are producing more rain – and the consequences could be global
    Ocean & BiodiversityDecember 15, 2025

    Storms in the Southern Ocean are producing more rain – and the consequences could be global

    Excerpt from theconversation.com If you ever find yourself on Macquarie Island – a narrow, wind-lashed ridge halfway between Tasmania and Antarctica – the first thing you’ll notice is the wildlife. Elephant seals sprawl across dark beaches. King penguins march up mossy slopes. Albatrosses circle over vast, treeless uplands. But look more closely and the island is changing. Slopes are becoming boggier. Iconic megaherbs such as Pleurophyllum and Stilbocarpa are retreating. For years, scientists suspected the culprit was increasing rainfall. Our new research, published in Weather and Climate Dynamics, confirms this – and shows the story goes far beyond one remote UNESCO World Heritage site.

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