Environment

Nations that are members of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) will soon vote whether to add silky sharks, three species of thresher sharks, and nine species of mobula ray to what is known as CITES Appendix II. Such listings would limit trade in these sharks and rays because governments would have to prove that continued international trade... Read More

September is a time for back to school, the start of fall weather—and international environmental conferences. Major world leaders gathered throughout the month to focus on protecting our lands and oceans. Read More

Bipartisan legislation introduced today by Representatives Ed Royce (R-CA) and Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), the Repeatedly Flooded Communities Preparation Act (H.R. 6196), takes an important step to address a long-standing serious issue involving properties that are continuously rebuilt after flooding. The bill would require communities participating in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) that... Read More

After Typhoon Haiyan brought destruction to Malapascua Island in the Philippines in 2013, the opportunity for divers to glimpse thresher sharks in the surrounding waters allowed the island to prosper again. Divers from all over the world came just to see the sharks. Today, Malapascua is the only place where threshers can be seen almost every day. Read More

At its September meeting, the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission adopted a Forage Fish Management Plan to protect six broad groups of forage fish species in state-managed marine waters, from the coast to 3 miles into the Pacific Ocean. Commercial fishing of lanternfish, sand lance, saury, silverside, smelt, and several types of squid will be prohibited unless and until science clearly shows that... Read More

Nations that are members of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) will soon vote whether to add silky sharks, three species of thresher sharks, and nine species of mobula ray to what is known as CITES Appendix II. Such listings would limit trade in these sharks and rays because governments would have to prove that continued international trade... Read More

September is a time for back to school, the start of fall weather—and international environmental conferences. Major world leaders gathered throughout the month to focus on protecting our lands and oceans. Read More

Bipartisan legislation introduced today by Representatives Ed Royce (R-CA) and Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), the Repeatedly Flooded Communities Preparation Act (H.R. 6196), takes an important step to address a long-standing serious issue involving properties that are continuously rebuilt after flooding. The bill would require communities participating in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) that... Read More

After Typhoon Haiyan brought destruction to Malapascua Island in the Philippines in 2013, the opportunity for divers to glimpse thresher sharks in the surrounding waters allowed the island to prosper again. Divers from all over the world came just to see the sharks. Today, Malapascua is the only place where threshers can be seen almost every day. Read More

At its September meeting, the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission adopted a Forage Fish Management Plan to protect six broad groups of forage fish species in state-managed marine waters, from the coast to 3 miles into the Pacific Ocean. Commercial fishing of lanternfish, sand lance, saury, silverside, smelt, and several types of squid will be prohibited unless and until science clearly shows that... Read More

WASHINGTON—President Barack Obama announced today the designation of the first marine national monument in the U.S. Atlantic Ocean—the 4,913-square-mile (12,696-square-kilometer) Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument. The monument, which begins about 150 miles off the New England coastline, is an unusually diverse and productive environment. It contains three... Read More

LONDON—The Pew Charitable Trusts joins the Pitcairn Island Council in praising Her Majesty’s government for today’s designation of 320,465 square miles (approximately 830,000 square kilometres) as a marine reserve in the remote waters surrounding the Pitcairn Islands in the South Pacific Ocean. Read More

President Barack Obama is expected today to establish the first U.S. marine national monument in the Atlantic Ocean, protecting an ocean area that harbors whales, puffins, 1,000-year-old corals, undersea mountains, and chasms deeper than the Grand Canyon. Read More

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) today released its final Record of Decision on the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan (DRECP), which will permanently protect significant areas of public lands in the California desert—including the Silurian Valley, Mayan Peak, and Chuckwalla Bench. The plan also identifies certain areas of public lands in the desert that will be available for... Read More

Apprehending criminal fishers often requires identifying where they are, where they have been, and where they are going. The challenge is seemingly insurmountable given the sheer size of seas. The good news is that technological advancements are shifting the balance toward those fighting to end illegal fishing. Read More

Since 2006, The Pew Charitable Trusts Global Ocean Legacy project has worked with indigenous groups, community leaders, government officials, scientists and other organizations to help protect the ocean; a part of the planet that is key to some island cultures and marine life. The Global Ocean Legacy campaign has aided in the creation of nine major marine reserves: Palau, Chagos, Coral Sea,... Read More

Traditional and cultural non-commercial fishing by the Pitcairn Islanders and their visitors is permitted in the territorial seas of all the islands, which extend out 12 nautical miles from each. Such fishing is also allowed within 2 nautical miles of the summit of 40 Mile Reef and in the transit zone between Pitcairn and 40 Mile Reef. Read More

The United Kingdom announced the designation of Pitcairn Islands Marine Reserve in the South Pacific Ocean on September 15, 2016. The Pitcairn reserve is now the world’s second largest marine protected area—measuring a total of 320,465 square miles (830,000 square kilometers). Read More

The designation of the first marine national monument in the Atlantic Ocean is something to celebrate. As the latest addition to a movement to protect special ocean areas in U.S. waters and around the world, the new Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument is located 150 miles from the bustling New England coastline, where more than 25 million Americans live. This important... Read More

The U.S. Bureau of Land Management has issued an historic and far-reaching decision balancing conservation with renewable energy development across a vast swath of the California desert. It's called the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan, or DRECP, and will permanently protect significant areas of public lands in the California desert—including the Silurian Valley, Mayan Peak, and... Read More