Manatee relative, 700 new species now facing extinction
December 10, 2022 GMTPopulations of a vulnerable species of marine mammal, numerous species of abalone and a type of Caribbean coral are now threatened with extinction, an international conservation organization said Friday.
Australia argues against ‘endangered’ Barrier Reef status
November 29, 2022 GMTCANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Australia’s environment minister said Tuesday her government will lobby against UNESCO adding the Great Barrier Reef to a list of endangered World Heritage sites, arguing that criticisms of government inaction on climate change were outdated.
Scientists seek to develop hybrid coral reef off of Miami
August 17, 2022 GMTMIAMI (AP) — Scientists and students from the University of Miami dove into the dark waters a few miles off the shores of Miami this week as part of an effort to develop hybrid reefs.
The team from the Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science was on a mission to collect eggs and sperm from spawning staghorn coral, which they hope to use to fertilize other strains of staghorn corals in a lab.
‘Earliest animal predator’ named after David Attenborough
July 25, 2022 GMTLONDON (AP) — A fossil of a 560-million-year-old creature, which researchers believe to be the first animal predator, has been named after the British naturalist and broadcaster David Attenborough.
Diving into some tunes at Florida underwater music festival
July 9, 2022 GMTBIG PINE KEY, Fla. (AP) — They weren't in a “Yellow Submarine,” but hundreds of people spent time below the waves Saturday for a music festival off the Florida Keys.
The Beatle's hit and other ocean-themed songs like the theme to “The Little Mermaid” were part of the entertainment during the Lower Keys Underwater Music Festival.
Most Great Barrier Reef coral studied this year was bleached
May 11, 2022 GMTCANBERRA, Australia (AP) — More than 90% of Great Barrier Reef coral surveyed this year was bleached in the fourth such mass event in seven years in the world’s largest coral reef ecosystem, Australian government scientists said.
Coral reefs provide stunning images of a world under assault
May 9, 2022 GMTMIAMI (AP) — Humans don't know what they're missing under the surface of a busy shipping channel in the “cruise capital of the world.” Just below the keels of massive ships, an underwater camera provides a live feed from another world, showing marine life that's trying its best to resist global warming.
Concerned scientists probe sea urchin deaths in Caribbean
April 14, 2022 GMTSAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Sea urchins are dying across the Caribbean at a pace scientists say could rival a mass die-off that last occurred in 1983, alarming many who warn the trend could further decimate already frail coral reefs in the region.
Great Barrier Reef suffers widespread coral bleaching
March 18, 2022 GMTCANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Australia’s Great Barrier Reef is suffering widespread and severe coral bleaching due to high ocean temperatures two years after a mass bleaching event, a government agency said on Friday.
‘Crisis’: Climate panel flags Great Barrier Reef devastation
March 1, 2022 GMTSYDNEY (AP) — It was the silence of the sea that first rattled the teenage snorkeler, followed by a sense of horror as she saw the coral below had been drained of its kaleidoscopic color. This once-vibrant site on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef — a site she’d previously likened to a busy capital city — had become a ghost town, the victim of yet another mass bleaching event.
Thailand oil slick expected to hit coast, national park
January 28, 2022 GMTBANGKOK (AP) — An oil slick off the coast of Thailand continued to expand Friday and was approaching beaches on the east coast, home to fragile coral and seagrass, officials said.
Australia pledges $704 million to save Great Barrier Reef
January 28, 2022 GMTCANBERRA, Australia (AP) — The Australian government on Friday pledged to spend another 1 billion Australian dollars ($704 million) over nine years on improving the health of the Great Barrier Reef after stalling a UNESCO decision on downgrading the natural wonder’s World Heritage status.
Rare, pristine coral reef found off Tahiti coast
January 20, 2022 GMTDeep in the South Pacific, scientists have explored a rare stretch of pristine corals shaped like roses off the coast of Tahiti. The reef is thought to be one of the largest found at such depths and seems untouched by climate change or human activities.
Darwin in a lab: Coral evolution tweaked for global warming
December 10, 2021 GMTCOCONUT ISLAND, Hawaii (AP) — On a moonless summer night in Hawaii, krill, fish and crabs swirl through a beam of light as two researchers peer into the water above a vibrant reef.
Minutes later, like clockwork, they see eggs and sperm from spawning coral drifting past their boat.
Australia’s Barrier Reef erupts in color as corals spawn
November 24, 2021 GMTCANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Australia’s Great Barrier Reef is spawning in an explosion of color as the World Heritage-listed natural wonder recovers from life-threatening coral bleaching episodes.
Scientists on Tuesday night recorded the corals fertilizing billions of offspring by casting sperm and eggs into the Pacific Ocean off the Queensland state coastal city of Cairns.
Researchers complete first-ever detailed map of global coral
September 8, 2021 GMTHONOLULU (AP) — Researchers have completed a comprehensive online map of the world’s coral reefs by using more than 2 million satellite images from across the globe.
The Allen Coral Atlas, named after late Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, will act as a reference for reef conservation, marine planning and coral science as researchers try to save these fragile ecosystems that are being lost to climate change.
Secretive Israel-UAE oil deal endangers prized Eilat corals
August 14, 2021 GMTEILAT, Israel (AP) — The Red Sea reefs off the Israeli resort of Eilat host some of the greatest coral diversity on the planet.
A symphony in splendid technicolor, the reefs are among the world’s most resilient coral colonies against warming seas.
New coral protections off New England take effect this month
July 18, 2021 GMTPORTLAND, Maine (AP) — New coral protections are scheduled to take effect in the waters off New England later this month.
The National Marine Fisheries Service has published new rules designed to protect corals on Georges Bank and in the Gulf of Maine.
New coral protections coming to areas off New England
June 22, 2021 GMTBOSTON (AP) — Federal regulators have signed off on new protections for thousands of square miles of deep-sea corals off New England.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said Monday it has approved a final rule that designates the coral protection areas on Georges Bank and in the Gulf of Maine.
Australia fights UN downgrade of Great Barrier Reef health
June 22, 2021 GMTCANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Australia said Tuesday it will fight against plans to downgrade the Great Barrier Reef’s World Heritage status due to climate change, while environmentalists have applauded the U.N.
Opposition grows to 4th cruise ship dock in Mexico’s Cozumel
May 7, 2021 GMTMEXICO CITY (AP) — With tourism shattered by the pandemic, critics say yet another cruise ship dock is the last thing that Mexico’s Caribbean island of Cozumel needs.
Cozumel already has three such docks, and before the pandemic it ranked as the world’s busiest port of call for cruise ships...
Groups plant coral fragments at reefs off Florida Keys
April 20, 2021 GMTKEY WEST, Fla. (AP) — Federal officials and environmental groups have begun to plant more than 60,000 fragments of nursery-raised coral at reefs located off the Florida Keys...
Global warming’s extreme rains threaten Hawaii’s coral reefs
April 15, 2021 GMTHONOLULU (AP) — As muddy rainwater surged from Hawaii's steep seaside mountains and inundated residential communities last month, the damage caused by flooding was obvious — houses were destroyed and businesses swamped, landslides covered highways and raging rivers and streams were clogged with debris...
Rhode Island to consider naming an official state coral
April 4, 2021 GMTPROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Rhode Island is considering a state coral to join the official state bird, state fish and state insect...
Report sounds an alarm on ongoing decline of US coral reefs
November 10, 2020 GMTTALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — A first of its kind assessment of coral reefs in U.S. waters is again sounding the alarm over the continued decline of these sensitive underwater ecosystems, which scientists deem essential to the health of the world's oceans amid the environmental effects posed by human activity and climate change...
Officials: Man cited for taking federally protected coral
July 31, 2020 GMTKEY LARGO, la. (AP) 1 ; A North Carolina man visiting the lorida Keys stole large pieces of federally protected coral, a thorities said...
French refinery leaks toxic chemical into marine life area
July 24, 2020 GMTPARIS (AP) — An orange-brown chemical sheet spread over 15 acres (6 hectares) of a nationally recognized marine life area in the French Mediterranean following a leak at a petrochemical plant in southern France, the local fire service said Friday...
Aggressive seaweed smothers one of world’s most remote reefs
July 7, 2020 GMTHONOLULU (AP) — Researchers say a recently discovered species of seaweed is killing large patches of coral on once-pristine reefs and is rapidly spreading across one of the most remote and protected ocean environments on earth...
Bleaching on Great Barrier Reef more widespread than ever
April 8, 2020 GMTBRISBANE, Australia (AP) — An aerial survey of the Great Barrier Reef shows coral bleaching is sweeping across the area off the east of Australia for the third time in five years...
Artificial intelligence system aimed at preventing drownings
March 18, 2020 GMTEASTON, Pa. (AP) — The device resembles a stingray, except it doesn’t patrol the water in search of prey...
People over coral?: Florida could ban sunscreen bans
March 10, 2020 GMTTALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Key West wants to protect the coral reefs that are vital to the southernmost city's economy...
AP Photos: Saving Jamaica’s coral, an undersea labor of love
December 3, 2019 GMTOCHO RIOS, Jamaica (AP) — The tropical turquoise waters near the coast of Jamaica are beautiful and inviting, but they disguise the devastation that lurks beneath...
AP Photos: Night fishing in moonlit sea in eerie silence
December 3, 2019 GMTSTEWART TOWN, Jamaica (AP) — The warm tropical air gently pushes waves against the concrete steps leading down a cliff and into the ocean — the jumping-off point tonight for night spearfishermen in the small village of Stewart Town on Jamaica's north shore...
Coral gardeners bring back Jamaica’s reefs, piece by piece
December 3, 2019 GMTOCHO RIOS, Jamaica (AP) — Everton Simpson squints at the Caribbean from his motorboat, scanning the dazzling bands of color for hints of what lies beneath...
Plan would protect 21 coral hot spots in Gulf of Mexico
November 14, 2019 GMTA plan to protect corals in the Gulf of Mexico is close to becoming a law, drawing cheers from environmental groups who believe leaving the corals alone would help vulnerable ocean ecosystems to grow...
Sunshine State considers banning sunscreen bans
November 5, 2019 GMTTALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Florida tourist haven Key West wants to protect coral reefs that attract divers, so it's banning sunscreens that contain chemicals that could harm them...
Brazil fears oil spill could reach coral reef, readies ships
October 30, 2019 GMTRIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Brazil's Navy said Tuesday it is preparing for the possibility that an oil spill reaches one of the country's largest coral reef systems, amid public outcry regarding the government's early response to the spill...
Guam avoids severe coral bleaching predicted for this year
October 14, 2019 GMTHAGATNA, Guam (AP) — Vulnerable coral reefs on Guam have not experienced severe bleaching that was predicted for this year, in part because of stormy weather that reduced water temperatures, officials said...
Brazil: No bids received for oil fields near coral reef
October 10, 2019 GMTRIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — The Brazilian government has failed to auction four oil fields located near one of the nation's biggest coral reef systems...
Coral die-off predicted as marine heat wave engulfs Hawaii
September 24, 2019 GMTCAPTAIN COOK, Hawaii (AP) — At the edge of an ancient lava flow where jagged black rocks meet the Pacific, small off-the-grid homes overlook the calm blue waters of Papa Bay on Hawaii's Big Island — no tourists or hotels in sight...
Surprise rescue of Jamaica coral reefs shows nature can heal
September 17, 2019 GMTOCHO RIOS, Jamaica (AP) — Everton Simpson squints at the Caribbean from his motorboat, scanning the dazzling bands of color for hints of what lies beneath...
Surprise rescue of Jamaica coral reefs shows nature can heal
September 12, 2019 GMTOCHO RIOS, Jamaica (AP) — Everton Simpson squints at the Caribbean from his motorboat, scanning the dazzling bands of color for hints of what lies beneath. Emerald green indicates sandy bottoms. Sapphire blue lies above seagrass meadows.
Surprise rescue of Jamaica coral reefs shows nature can heal
September 12, 2019 GMTOCHO RIOS, Jamaica (AP) — Everton Simpson squints at the Caribbean from his motorboat, scanning the dazzling bands of color for hints of what lies beneath. Emerald green indicates sandy bottoms. Sapphire blue lies above seagrass meadows.
Australia lowers Great Barrier Reef outlook to ‘very poor’
August 30, 2019 GMTCANBERRA, Australia (AP) — The government agency that manages Australia's Great Barrier Reef has downgraded its outlook for the corals' condition from "poor" to "very poor" due to warming oceans...
Hawaii scientists prepare for significant coral bleaching
August 24, 2019 GMTHONOLULU (AP) — Hawaii scientists have started to prepare for a major coral reef bleaching event due to warmer-than-average ocean temperatures, officials said...