ReefCI’s Marine Conservation Blog

3 Types of Coral Reefs you Should Know About

3 Types of Coral Reefs you Should Know About

Scientists generally divide coral reefs into three classes: barrier reefs, atolls, and fringing reefs. Barrier reefs are extensive linear reef complexes that parallel a shore, and are separated from it by lagoon.  At their shallowest point, they can reach the water’s...
Species Spotlight: Nurse Sharks

Species Spotlight: Nurse Sharks

The nurse shark gets its name from the sucking sound they make when hunting for prey in the sand, which vaguely resembles that of a nursing baby. Nurse sharks are slow-moving bottom-dwellers and are, for the most part, harmless to humans. However, they can be huge—up...
Hawksbill Sea Turtle Nests on our Island!

Hawksbill Sea Turtle Nests on our Island!

Reef Conservation International (ReefCI) had a recent visitor to our island – a critically endangered Hawksbill sea turtle. Like other sea turtles, Hawksbills are threatened by the loss of nesting and feeding habitats, excessive egg collection, fishery-related...
Hope in a Sea of Plastic!

Hope in a Sea of Plastic!

What can be done about all this plastic in our oceans?  Is there a way to cleanup the Great Pacific Garbage Patch?  There is hope!  The world’s largest ocean cleanup is now underway in the Pacific Ocean, aiming to collect up to 150,000 pounds of trash in its...
What is the Great Pacific Garbage Patch?

What is the Great Pacific Garbage Patch?

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch stretches across a swath of the North Pacific Ocean, forming a nebulous, floating junk yard on the high seas. It’s the poster child for a worldwide problem: plastic that begins in human hands yet ends up in the ocean, often inside...
Plastic is Killing our Marine Life

Plastic is Killing our Marine Life

Plastic is very simply, unsustainable and dangerous. The far-reaching consequences of plastic pollution and how it affects all living things is a reality that must be addressed.  According to a study from Plymouth University, plastic pollution affects at least 700...
An Ocean Drowning In Plastic

An Ocean Drowning In Plastic

Imagine an area 34 times the size of New York. Now imagine this area covered ankle-deep in plastic waste — piles of plastic bottles and plastic bags, plastic containers of all sorts for miles and miles, as far as the eye can see.  That’s how much plastic waste ends up...
How You Can Combat Overfishing

How You Can Combat Overfishing

Overfishing is a huge problem, but you have the power to stop it!  This doesn’t mean you have to stop eating seafood either; it merely means to be an informed consumer of seafood.  These labels in the infographic above will help you buy sustainably harvested...
Earth Day April 22nd 2018!

Earth Day April 22nd 2018!

Earth Day is an annual event celebrated on April 22. Worldwide, various events are held to demonstrate support for environmental protection. First celebrated in 1970, Earth Day events in more than 193 countries are now coordinated globally. How can I celebrate Earth...
Aquaculture: A Solution to Overfishing?

Aquaculture: A Solution to Overfishing?

As the demand for seafood has increased, technology has made it possible to grow food in coastal marine waters and the open ocean. Aquaculture is a method used to produce food and other commercial products, restore habitat and replenish wild stocks, and rebuild...
Overfishing: What is Bycatch?

Overfishing: What is Bycatch?

Bycatch is the capture of non-target species such as dolphins, whales, marine turtles, fish, and seabirds by commercial fishing. Thousands of miles of nets and lines are set in the world’s oceans each day. Modern fishing gear, often undetectable by sight and...
Overfishing and Coral Reefs

Overfishing and Coral Reefs

Coral reef ecosystems support important commercial, recreational, and subsistence fishery resources around the world.  Fishing also plays a central social and cultural role in many island and coastal communities, where it is often a critical source of food and income....