Public and political conversations about environmental management often reduce complex issues to binary opposing opinions.
A photo of Robertson Trading in northern Saskatchewan in 2023. The store served as a hub for local communities, showcasing a variety of Indigenous crafts and artworks. It burned down in a wildfire in June 2025.
(Martin Weinhold)
Satellite technology that can track ships even when they ‘go dark’ finds that those protected areas that fully ban industrial fishing are succeeding, even if others aren’t.
Preliminary results from computer modelling suggests the harmful algal bloom that has been killing marine life will return with a vengeance after winter and spread.
Pastoralsim: herding cattle in south-west Nigeria.
Photo by Leanne Phelps
Blending livelihood strategies based on what works at different times in specific environments has been key to human survival for thousands of years.
Filming ‘The Perfect Storm’ in Gloucester Harbor, Mass.
The Salem News Historic Photograph Collection, Salem State University Archives and Special Collections
Fishing was once more open to all off New England. After devastating fishery collapses, stricter rules helped fish stocks recover, but they also changed the face of fishing and the lives of fishermen.
Instead of a winner takes all approach, Africa’s coastal countries should share contested resources.
The coral reefs of Palmyra Atoll, part of Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument, provide nurseries for many fish species.
Andrew S. Wright/U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service via Flickr
America’s marine protected areas help fish populations thrive. Trump’s plan to open them to industrial fishing may ultimately harm the fishing industry itself.
Rainbow and midnight parrotfish feed at Alacranes Reef in the Gulf of Mexico.
Lorenzo Alvarez-Filip
A widely held view in ocean conservation asserts that parrotfish are key to healthy coral reefs. But evidence suggests that the relationship is more complicated.
An unidentified young man standing near a pit at a cobalt mine in Ruashi mine about 20 kilometers outside Lubumbashi, Congo, DRC.
Per-Anders Pettersson/Getty Images
Fisheries scientist Tyler Eddy explains the history of the North Atlantic cod moratorium, and why it was lifted in 2024. Listen to The Conversation Weekly podcast.
Drake’s Island in Plymouth Sound, Devon, is part of the UK’s first national marine park.
Artur Niedzwiedz/Shutterstock
What have global efforts to protect oceans actually achieved? Our study of nearly 2,600 tropical coral reefs around the world is the first to answer that question.