Oceans Stories

The problem of plastic in nature, particularly in our oceans, is a global crisis. Learn what WWF is doing to stop plastics from leaking into our oceans.

The network of cameras on purse-seine tuna vessels, combined with the enhanced monitoring system, prevents illegal, unreported, and unregulated catches from entering the marketplace.

Lauren Spurrier, vice president for oceans conservation, describes how our seas are transforming in unprecedented, life-altering ways—and lays out how WWF is working to save them for us all.

Microplastics have accumulated abundantly in the Mediterranean. WWF is analyzing traces of plastic we find in whales to understand the strain that rising pollution puts on our oceans and marine life.

Ghost nets don’t only catch fish; they also entangle sea turtles, dolphins and porpoises, birds, sharks, seals, and more. Since hundreds of animals can be caught in a single net, you can see just how monumental this threat is.

In fishing, money is a strong motivator that can incentivize people to improve practices and fund the management necessary to reduce fishing’s footprint on the natural world. But spending money in the wrong ways can also exacerbate the consequences of overfishing.

Using new technology, like drones and digital tags, researchers have found that nearly every part of the Antarctica peninsula is important for whales’ feeding and resting. But it is also a hotspot for global climate change. WWF is calling for the protection of this remote wilderness in or effort to preserve 30% of the oceans by 2030.

Though the US government is meeting some of its commitments in the Arctic, not enough is being done and, in many instances, the government is backsliding, according to a new analysis.

Focusing on shrimp and salmon, WWF is working to improve aquaculture practices through tech innovations like forensic analysis of farmed products and traceability software.

A multipronged ocean conservation strategy that WWF-Pakistan began in 2012 is now saving tens of thousands of dolphins, sea turtles, and other vulnerable marine species every year.

Waters between the Galápagos Islands and Ecuador attract migratory sea life, gather one of the world’s largest known populations of giant manta rays, and act serve as a whale shark breeding ground.

How policy, enforcement, and earning the trust of local fishers protected one of the most diverse coastlines in the world.

Tourist boats used to flock to Floreana Island for day tours without previously booking, leaving the community unprepared. With WWF's help, residents redesigned their tourism model for the long term.

Some bizarre crustaceans have made a big splash in the scientific world. They're blind. They live in extreme deep-sea environments. And they're so hairy that they've become known as "yeti crabs."

Day octopuses live in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. While they aren’t endangered, these masters of disguise are often found in coral reefs—and those reefs face steep challenges.

In some areas of the Arctic, female polar bears are more frequently choosing to build their maternity dens on land, rather than sea ice. The land provides the stability and security that sea ice no longer can—at least until human activity comes into the picture.

Nearly 124,000 WWF activists from 49 states reached out to their member of Congress to support a bipartisan bill to take a stand on ocean plastic, and their impressive efforts paid off.

Mangroves provide valuable services for people and the planet but they’re disappearing at an alarming rate and human activity is mostly to blame. Explore these forests in this photo essay and learn what WWF is doing to bring back 20% of the mangroves we’ve lost by 2030.

Thanks to a series of conservation measures enacted by Belize’s government, the Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System has been removed from the UNESCO List of World Heritage in Danger sites. 

Covering more than 70% of our planet’s surface, the ocean contains the largest diversity of life on Earth and affects everything from global weather patterns to food systems. Learn what steps you can take help protect the ocean. 

Bristol Bay, Alaska is one of the most productive marine ecosystems in the world and the source of the world's largest wild salmon fishery. Yet its future is in jeopardy from the proposal for Pebble Mine. Now the US Army Corps of Engineers is attempting to fast track the mine's permit application and we must take action now.

As president of the Bahamas Marine Exporters Association and managing director of Heritage Seafood, a leading lobster processor, Mia is working with her fellow exporters, fishermen, the Bahamian government, and international NGOs like WWF and The Nature Conservancy to ensure lobsters are fished sustainably. 

January 2018 brought record-low sea ice cover to the Arctic, according to new data released by the US government. That’s bad news for the ocean, wildlife, and local communities that rely on both for survival.