The first quarter of 2023 has seen two major events in the marine conservation calendar come to fruition – both long overdue. The 5th International Marine Protected Areas Conference (IMPAC5) in Vancouver in early February 2023 was a chance for the marine protected area community to come together, take stock and plan new initiatives. GOBIContinue Reading Up and running (…or should that be swimming?)

“Look! More humpback dolphins!” In flat calm waters at the mouth of the Indus Estuary we were watching Indian Ocean humpback dolphins, Sousa plumbea, lift their pale grey platform dorsal fins high in the air before diving for small fish and shrimps. After a few splashes they were gone – off to find more food.Continue Reading IMMA Secretariat travels to Karachi to help implement IMMAs in the coastal waters of the Arabian Sea

The Important Shark and Ray Areas (ISRA) project has released the first electronic atlas of priority areas for sharks, rays, and chimaeras (also known as ‘ghost sharks’). Sharks and rays are some of the most threatened vertebrates on Earth, and are in desperate need of new and improved management. The ISRA project uses the bestContinue Reading First map of Important Shark and Ray Areas released

Amidst the furore of finalising the CBD’s post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) – now know as the Kunming-Montreal GBF – the results of the most recent Regional Workshop to describe Ecologically or Biologically Significant Marine Areas (the North-East Atlantic Workshop held in 2019) were accepted by the 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP15)Continue Reading EBSAs in the North-East Atlantic Ocean added to the CBD Repository