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...
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...
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 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...
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...
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 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...
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...
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...
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....
Billions of people rely on fish for protein, and fishing is the principal livelihood for millions of people around the world. For centuries, our seas and oceans have been considered a limitless bounty of food. However, increasing fishing efforts over the last 50 years...
Many serious coral reef ecosystem stressors originate from land-based sources, most notably toxins, sediments, and nutrients. These pollutants drain from our streams and rivers and eventually drain to our oceans. The source of these pollutants often comes from...
When corals are stressed by changes in conditions such as temperature, light, or nutrients, they expel the symbiotic algae living in their tissues, causing them to turn completely white. How can I help fight coral bleaching? Help reduce pollution: Fossil fuel...
Known as “rainforests of the sea,” coral reefs cover less than 1% of the ocean but are home to almost 25% of all known marine species! Corals are in fact animals, not plants. Coral reefs are the largest structures on earth of biological origin. Coral reefs...
Marine protected areas (MPAs) are marine waters set aside to protect or conserve marine life, and its associated habitat. MPAs have varying levels of protections and allowed uses, from “no-take” zones to those that allow some forms of fishing. Just as...
Thirty years after their accidental introduction, the venomous lionfish has conquered the Atlantic, the Caribbean, and the Gulf of Mexico wreaking havoc on ecosystems up and down the coast. Unlike in its native Pacific habitats, there are few natural predators here to...
Belize Barrier Reef, Tom Owens Island, Placencia, Belize
(+1) 513-334-9393
anthony@reefci.com
