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The Ocean Digest

The Ocean Digest curates the news of the sea to bring you important stories and compelling features on our oceans and coasts.

The Ocean Digest brings you the latest news and compelling features on our oceans and coasts. We hand pick these stories from reputable sources around the globe, with issues that matter to our readers in mind — things like sea life, climate change, fisheries, pollution, and innovation.

24/01/2024

A years-long mapping project has defined the largest deep-sea coral reef habitat in the world—and it's right off the Atlantic coast of the southeastern United States.

Reef, which extends for 310 miles from Florida to South Carolina and at some points is 68 miles wide, called ‘breathtaking in scale’

05/03/2023

More than 190 nations have reached agreement on a high seas treaty for establishing new protected areas in international waters. Talks have been ongoing (and stalling) for years so this is a big step!

Countries have reached a landmark agreement to put 30% of the world's oceans into protection.

09/02/2022

When it meets later this month in Nairobi, the U.N. Environment Assembly plans to work on a deal to reduce global plastic pollution. At this time the discussions have the cooperation of the United States, the world's biggest producer of plastic waste per person (287 pounds per person per year).

The U.N. effort seeks to fight plastics pollution — and maybe even cap their manufacture.

30/11/2021

It took a 2.5 mile hike, private charter plane, and an animal ambulance to bring an injured green sea turtle from Washington's remote coast to the Seattle Aquarium for rehabilitation. Blown off course from its warmer habitat, the turtle is under round-the-clock care by scientists and veterinarians who hope to eventually release it back into the wild.

Blown off course by violent storms, a sea turtle usually at home in warm seas off the coast of Mexico was found stranded and barely moving. After round-the-clock care and help from many humans, the turtle has begun to make...

01/11/2021

The Puget Sound is losing kelp, a key indicator of ecosystem health. The Seattle Times has an in-depth feature (with beautiful graphics) on the work researchers, citizen scientists, tribes, environmental groups, and government agencies are doing to restore it.

An ambitious new initiative aims to figure out why kelp is vanishing throughout much of Puget Sound, and to reverse the trend. The effort is bringing together tribes, citizen scientists, environmental agencies, university researchers and advocates.

05/10/2021

Officials are calling an oil spill in southern California an "environmental catastrophe" as crews race to contain the spread of over 125,000 gallons of oil from a pipeline running from the Port of Long Beach to an offshore platform.

The oil likely will continue to encroach on Orange County beaches for the next few days, officials said.

13/08/2021

Looking for a good summary on the UN International Panel on Climate Change's highly anticipated report? Here you go:

The latest UN report is clear: Climate change is here, it’s a crisis, and it’s caused by fossil fuels.

23/07/2021

Summer is usually peak season for sighting the iconic southern resident orcas in Puget Sound, but they have been largely absent this year. Scientists blame declining numbers of chinook salmon, the favorite prey of these endangered whales.

This is the longest absence of a "resident" pod from the Salish Sea since the Orca Survey began in 1976.

13/07/2021

The mayor of St. George, Alaska is lobbying the federal government to make its surrounding waters the state's first marine sanctuary in an effort to protect fur seals and promote a conservation economy on the tiny island known as "the Galapagos of the north."

Fifty years ago, Patrick Pletnikoff spent his summers stripping blubber from the carcasses of seals clubbed to death in Alaska's annual harvest, competing with other young men to show who wielded the fastest blade.

22/06/2021

A die-off of seagrasses in a large estuary has led to the death of over 10% of Florida's manatee population this year.

The mammals were removed from the endangered species list in 2017, but algae blooms and overdevelopment have killed 46,000 acres of seagrass, leaving manatees without enough to eat.

14/06/2021

Ahead of the release of two new books by female marine biologists, "The New Yorker" takes a look at the wonders of the deep ocean and a mining industry looking to capitalize on them.

We’ve barely explored the darkest realm of the ocean. With rare-metal mining on the rise, we’re already destroying it.

09/06/2021

Happy World Ocean Day! This day used to be called World Oceans Day, but the name was changed to the singular to reflect the interconnectivity of the world's oceans. You may have learned that there are four oceans: the Pacific, Atlantic, Arctic and Indian. But today, the Southern Ocean was officially recognized by National Geographic's mapmakers.

On World Ocean Day, the Southern Ocean was officially recognized by National Geographic's mapmakers.

24/05/2021

Scientists working with the Allen Coral Atlas have launched the first global, satellite-based reef surveillance tool. The research partnership includes U.S. imaging company Planet, as well as Vulcan, National Geographic, Arizona State University and the University of Queensland .

While coral reefs throughout the Indo-Pacific region have been bleaching in response to rising sea temperatures, the reefs around Marovo Lagoon in the Solomon Islands have mostly kept their color. But in March 2021, that all changed: the lagoon’s once-healthy reefs turned ghostly white as the wate...

12/05/2021

Lots of interesting background information, context, and history in this article on our "plastic planet."

The plastic crisis is tied not only to ecological destruction, but also drives systemic injustice. With plastic’s fall, will we rise?

10/05/2021

Some good news about some of the orcas in Puget Sound. While scientists still call the population fragile, a recent drone survey found "that in general over the last several years J pod is in better condition than in much of the last decade."

The three J pod calves are doing well. In fact, the whole southern resident pod is looking better than in a decade, according to researchers out with the orcas. “We hope it continues and these calves can thrive," researcher John...

01/04/2021

Check out these otherworldly photos of fish plankton in the dark ocean. They've even shocked scientists, who are now looking to partner with the underwater photographers for their research.

Divers practicing blackwater photography are helping marine scientists gain new insights into fish larvae.

17/03/2021

A new study, published today in Nature, offers strategic ways to confront both climate change and loss of marine life by protecting zones of the ocean from fishing, mining, and drilling.

Among the surprising findings in a new paper on marine ecosystems: Trawling releases as much planet-warming carbon each year as global aviation.

03/03/2021

The NY Times has an excellent interactive piece on reports that the northern portion of the Gulf Stream may be slowing. Scientists worry the consequences of this could be faster sea level rise and stronger hurricanes in the United States and reduced rainfall in parts of Africa.

A warming atmosphere is causing a branch of the ocean’s powerful Gulf Stream to weaken, some scientists fear.

18/02/2021

Another baby born to the southern resident orcas! This iconic population of the Puget Sound now numbers 75.

Good news for the L pod, with a new baby in the family, scientists report. The southern resident killer whales are endangered and every baby counts.

05/02/2021

A collaboration of scientists from around the globe studied how noise from humans is affecting ocean life — not just whales, but even plankton and jellyfish.

A new review of the scientific literature confirms that anthropogenic noise is becoming unbearable for undersea life.

04/02/2021

Outside Magazine tells a sobering story of the struggling, beloved orcas of the Pacific Northwest and the iconic researcher who has dedicated his life to them. Center for Whale Research

Researcher Ken Balcomb has spent more than half his life studying the iconic killer whales of Washington’s San Juan Islands and raising awareness about their struggle for survival. Now he may have run out of time.

03/02/2021

A must-watch, powerful video and story on the human face to climate change.
After hurricanes destroyed their homes, a community of people in Nicaragua are facing the challenge of uprooting their way of life and moving inland.
"Climate change effects everyone, but it doesn't hit us all the same." The New York Times

A wedge of ocean the width of a football field now cuts through the middle of their town, leaving villagers with an anguishing question.

31/01/2021

The Washington Post published a nice roundup of ocean documentaries you can work your way through on these winter days.

Take a deep dive into the world’s oceans as a way of better understanding their complexities and vulnerabilities.

29/01/2021

Hakai Magazine often profiles interesting ocean-related jobs. Check out this moving story of Sudarsan Pattnaik, a sand artist based in India.

How this professional sand artist built a career on the beach.

27/01/2021

A global assessment published today in the journal Nature reports that sharks and rays have declined by 71% since 1970. According to the study's authors, “Action is needed immediately.”

Oceanic sharks and rays have declined more than 70 percent since 1970, mainly because of overfishing, according to a new study.

19/01/2021

Author Dr. Elin Kelsey highlights environmental success stories to "challenge the tired narrative of environmental doom and gloom that reproduces a hopeless status quo."

When it comes to conservation, hope is much more useful than gloom.

17/01/2021

Founded by wildlife photographers, SeaLegacy seeks to use art to inspire people to protect the oceans. Check out this interview with one of its founders, Shawn Heinrichs, and stunning photography of the Galapagos Islands.

"When someone looks at my images, the greatest compliment is that they can express to me a very powerful feeling. From that feeling, they now then seek ways to which they can learn more and engage more."

12/01/2021

After a sighting of a Florida manatee with the word "Trump" scraped onto the algae on its back, The Center for Biological Diversity is offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to a conviction. Manatees are federally protected under the Endangered Species Act making it unlawful to "annoy, mo**st, harass, or disturb" them.

Wildlife authorities are investigating and said that the harassment of the manatee is illegal under state and federal laws.

06/01/2021

For decades, Dr. Linda Zall led a secretive program inside the CIA that used spy surveillance to assess and map the environment.

Linda Zall is disclosing how she toiled anonymously within the intelligence agency to help scientists intensify their studies of a changing planet.

04/01/2021

Ever wonder why lightning looks especially bright over the ocean? A study by scientists in Israel shows that the saltier the water beneath, the brighter the spark.

Salt seems to be the reason why bolts are brighter over the ocean than over land.

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The Ocean Digest www.theoceandigest.com

The Ocean Digest brings you the latest news and compelling features on our oceans and coasts.

We hand pick these stories from reputable sources around the globe, with issues that matter to our readers in mind — things like sea life, climate change, fisheries, pollution, and innovation.