In 1978, an Exxon scientist stood in front of company management with a list of research questions. One was written in capital letters: were shallow water carbonates dissolving? In plain language, one of the biggest oil companies on Earth was asking…
The Question Nobody Was Answering When you hear "marine protected area," you probably picture a line on a map. A stretch of coast where the rules are different, where fishing might be limited or banned outright. But a line on a map does not protect…
Somewhere in the open ocean right now, there's a raft about the size of a small table, drifting on the current. It has a GPS beacon on top and a long tail of netting hanging underneath. Nobody is steering it. And there's a decent chance it's driftin…
Most people think of sea sponges as simple animals that quietly sit on the ocean floor filtering seawater. They don’t move, they don’t hunt, and they rarely get much attention compared to colorful corals or charismatic sea turtles. But a new discove…
Most people picture sea level rise as flooded streets, disappearing beaches, or homes being washed away during storms. Those images are real, but they often hide another problem that begins much earlier. In many coastal communities, the first sign o…
Every year, governments, businesses, nonprofits, and researchers gather to announce new commitments to protect our ocean. The headlines are often impressive, with billions of dollars pledged and ambitious plans unveiled. This year was no exception, …
Thousands of starving seabirds are washing ashore along California’s coastline. At first glance, it looks like a tragic wildlife story. But scientists say these birds are actually warning us about something much bigger happening beneath the surface …
Climate targets often sound like simple promises made by governments, but the reality is much more complicated. Behind every emissions target is a web of economic pressures, international trade, political priorities, and public expectations. Canada’…
The deep ocean covers more than half of our planet, yet it remains one of the least explored places on Earth. While many of us picture coral reefs, whales, and dolphins when we think about the ocean, an entirely different world exists thousands of m…
When people think about ocean exploration, they often imagine scientists discovering strange creatures thousands of meters below the surface. While those discoveries are fascinating, they are only a small part of why exploration matters. The real va…
More than 80% of our ocean remains unmapped and largely unexplored. Yet scientists continue to make incredible discoveries thousands of meters below the surface, in places where no human could survive for more than a few moments. The obvious questio…
When most people picture the deep sea, they imagine an endless, dark desert with very little life. It’s an understandable assumption because sunlight never reaches these depths, temperatures hover just above freezing, and the pressure is crushing. B…
Most people assume we’ve explored our own planet more thoroughly than space. After all, the ocean is right here on Earth. But the reality is much more surprising. Scientists have mapped and studied distant planets and the Moon in greater detail than…
When most people think about ocean conservation, they imagine marine protected areas, scientific expeditions, or researchers tagging sharks and whales. They rarely think about scientists trying to continue their work while living through war. Yet th…
For decades, mangrove forests have been one of the most cited examples of environmental decline. Coastal development, shrimp farming, and agriculture have destroyed large areas of these unique ecosystems around the world. Many scientists believed th…
A potential super El Niño is one of the biggest ocean stories to watch this year. It starts with unusually warm water in the tropical Pacific, but the impacts can travel far beyond one region. When the Pacific warms enough, it can shift weather pat…
Eleven years ago, I published the first episode of what eventually became How to Protect the Ocean. At the time, it was not a big media project, a business plan, or a polished career move. It started as a way to talk about the ocean, share stories, …
One of the most important ocean monitoring systems in the world was nearly dismantled. The Ocean Observatories Initiative, or OOI, is a network of scientific instruments that continuously collects data from the ocean. These instruments measure ocea…
If you only read the headlines, it can feel like ocean protection is failing. Coral reefs are bleaching, marine heatwaves are increasing, fish populations are under pressure, and sea levels keep rising. That reality is serious, and we should not ign…
For decades, Indigenous communities were often brought into major project conversations after the biggest decisions had already been made. A company would design a project, governments would get involved, and Indigenous nations would be asked for fe…
Imagine trying to talk to your family while standing beside a jet engine. Now imagine that noise never really stops. That is the kind of challenge some pilot whales may be facing in one of the busiest shipping corridors in the world. A recent story…
When politicians say they are helping fishers by opening protected ocean areas, the first question we should ask is simple: which fishers are they helping? That question sits at the center of this episode of How to Protect the Ocean. The Trump admin…
A recent underwater video of a great white shark in the Mediterranean Sea went viral, and it is easy to understand why. Seeing a great white shark glide through clear blue water is always powerful. But the real story is not that a great white shark …
Ocean conservation often feels overwhelming. News headlines are filled with stories about overfishing, habitat destruction, pollution, climate change, and declining wildlife populations. It can leave people wondering whether protecting the ocean is …