Oceans

We have only mapped a small portion of the ocean, which means we still know little about this ecosystem.

This week saw international delegates debate an extremely restrictive Global Plastics Treaty text that failed to set out legally binding targets and timeframes on plastic production and reduction.

Damage caused by deep-seabed mining would be extensive and irreversible, says new report.

Incorporating the ocean into visions of an environmentally stable future would first require a change in our ocean imaginary.

Seaspiracy, the latest Netflix documentary exposing the impact of our food systems, is making a splash.

It’s time for the ocean to to lead the way in the fight against climate change.

Washing and drying clothes releases thousands of microplastic particles into the environment.

Campaigners are concerned that the UK government is not prioritising sustainability in post-Brexit fisheries legislation.

'Window into the past provides context for the ongoing anthropogenic change and how exceptional it is.'

The supply of waste plastics to the ocean has been substantially underestimated, researchers say.

The distance sea turtles, whales and other wildlife might have to move to find more suitable sea temperatures can range from tens to thousands of kilometres.

Bottles and carrier bags to be spotted and identified from space increasing potential for clean-up.

Consumers are concerned about the environmental impact of meat - but reaching for fish as a 'lower emissions' alternative is an environmental catastrophe.

The Ocean Conservation Trust is constructing a seagrass cultivation laboratory at the National Marine Aquarium.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) warns climate breakdown is having a significant impact on the oceans.

Ocean protectors will hatch plans to protect the South Atlantic from threats like Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing.

Chile plans to use this year’s UN climate talks to focus attention on the world’s most important carbon sponge – the oceans.

A voyage around the South Pacific is on a mission to change how we think about plastics.

The oceans can generate more abundant fish populations, food for human consumption and profits for fisheries. But nations must act now to adopt fisheries management reforms that take a changing climate into account, argues KRISTIN KLEISNER

Lewis Pugh, the UN Patron of the Oceans, has swum 530 kilometres having set out from Land's End on 12 July. Pugh calls on the UK government to urgently strengthen Marine Protected Areas around the UK and Overseas Territories. MARIANNE BROOKER reports

The fight against climate change was delayed for decades as international law and national policies adapted to the new challenge. In the campaign to rid the world of ocean plastics - however - the laws are already in place. But we have to make sure they are enforced. OLIVER TICKELL, the veteran environmental journalist, investigates

With the UN Ocean Conference beginning in New York next week, Elizabeth A Kirk asks: can we devise a legal system that promotes the ecological resilience of the oceans? To do so will mean placing ecosystems at the heart of decision making, over and above countries' selfish 'national interests'. It will be tough, but if we fail it's hard to see how the gamut of problems - from ocean acidification to plastic pollution and overfishing - can ever be solved.

Alanna Smith aka the UK blogger Ecowildchild will be going plastic-free from 1st June as part of the annual Marine Conservation Society (MSC) campaign to raise awareness of the devastating impact single-use plastics are having on the environment. This is her invitiation to YOU to join her in this endeavour...

A 'Friend of the Sea' Dutch-owned trawler certified to supply 'sustainably caught' shrimp to the US and EU was arrested in Liberia after operating in an an area reserved for artisanal fishers, writes Peter Hammarstedt. The vessel, which had no licence and lacked the turtle excluders required by law, was discovered by the crew of Sea Shepherd's 'Bob Barker' in a joint mission with the Liberian Coast Guard to clamp down on rampant illegal fishing.