On November 1, 2024, the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) of the Hong Kong SAR Government announced the establishment of the North Lantau Marine Park (NLMP), the eighth and largest marine park in Hong Kong, to enhance the conservation of the Chinese White Dolphins (CWD) and the marine environment and ecosystem in North Lantau…

In the waters off Cape Fayes on the east coast of Mauritius, Chinese enterprises and Mauritian environmental protection organizations have jointly created a coral nursery. In the past decades, affected by global warming, marine pollution, overfishing and other factors, coral reefs around the world have experienced widespread bleaching and even death, and Mauritius coral reefs…

The 2024 East Asian Seas Conference and Xiamen International Ocean Week was held in Xiamen, China, from November 6 to 12, with the theme “Blue Collaboration for the Future: A Sustainable and Resilient Ocean”. Dasrul, Director of Coastal and Marine Pollution and Degradation Control of the Ministry of Environment and Forestry of Indonesia, participated in…

 The fifth session of the United Nations Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee to develop a legally binding international instrument on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment (inc-5), will be held from November 25 to December 1, 2024 in Busan, South Korea. This demonstrates the importance that the international community attaches to the issue of plastic pollution…

On November 4, the forum was co-sponsored by the Center for Island Studies of the Ministry of Natural Resources, the China Ocean Development Foundation, and the Pacific Islands Development Forum. Under the theme of “Building Blue Dreams and Promoting Prosperity of Islands”, the forum set five topics, namely, marine disaster prevention and mitigation, ecological protection…

Global coral reefs are undergoing a fourth bleaching: the world is experiencing the fourth global coral reef bleaching event on record, and the second in a decade, due to the impacts of climate change. Since the beginning of 2023, coral reef bleaching has been documented in more than 53 countries and territories, including Australia’s Great…

According to a study published in 2024 by the University of Exeter, UK, 492 pieces of plastic were found in 135 dead red sea turtles examined that had washed ashore or been caught in fishing nets, about 40% of which were large pieces of plastic larger than 5mm in diameter.

Philippine warships have been illegally “beaching” on Ren’ai Reef in China’s Nansha Islands for a long time, causing serious damage to the marine ecosystem and the marine environment. The discharge of domestic garbage and sewage from the personnel on board Philippine warships and the precipitation of heavy metals caused by the rusting and breaking of…

Since October 15, 2024, thousands of unidentified black spheres have been appearing off the coast of Sydney, Australia, with the government urgently closing seven beaches and warning the public not to touch or approach them. After preliminary investigation, these black balls are “tar balls”, usually caused by oil spills, but it is not yet clear…

October 23, 2024 – Portugal’s Autonomous Region of the Azores has passed groundbreaking legislation designating the largest network of marine protected areas in the North Atlantic. The network protects 30 percent of the sea around the Azores, covering 287,000 square kilometers, half of which are fully protected from natural resource exploitation and the other half…