Credit, Charos Pix, Flickr.

Many people have heard of the Great Pacific garbage patch, the amorphous mass of plastic waste that according to conservative estimates, is the size of Texas, and floats within a system of circular currents within the northern Pacific Ocean.

According to new research, however, by the year 2050 the amount of garbage polluting our oceans could get even worse. Continue reading →

 
If you scroll through Twitter or scan YouTube in any West African country, chances are you’ll find many recreational fishers shooting video or snapping images of their latest slippery, gilled prize.

In a recent paper published in Palgrave Communications, Dr. Dyhia Belhabib and other collaborators looked to better understand the amount of fish being pulled out of West African waters by recreational fishers. Continue reading →

Water holds about 30 times less oxygen than air—and water that’s being warmed holds even less for fish to breathe.

In the video above — produced by Oceana — hear Daniel Pauly describe how warming waters worldwide are driving fish toward more oxygen-rich waters near poles.

“A changing planet affects all of us,” he says, “including the fish who are finding it harder and harder to take a breath.”

Silverside puffer fish (photo: FishBase)

The recent expansion of the Suez Canal in August 2015 doubled its shipping capacity, yet many scientists are worried that an increased flood of invasive species will enter the Mediterranean along with the increased marine traffic.

A recent New York Times op-ed, written by Rachael Bishop, included two Sea Around Us collaborators who study the devastating effects of invasive fish in Mediterranean waters. Continue reading →

The Sea Around Us provides interactive graphs that display a wide variety of catch information.

Users are able to view, analyze and download data and references across multiple regions, including Exclusive Economic Zones, Regional Fisheries Management Operations, Fishing Country, FAO areas and Large Marine Ecosystems.

Users can also view trends across time — from 1950-2010 — within each area, as they relate to taxon, commercial group, and functional group, among many others.

All allocated catch data are available for download via CSV file. For further information on how to use the graphs, click here.

And to sign up for our email News Alert for more Sea Around Us information, click here!