Environmental Issues: Oceans

Oceans Main Page

All Documents in Oceans Tagged species protection

Reviving Our Oceans
Changing the way we think about and manage our oceans can help avert a crisis.
Overview

Changing the way we think about and manage our oceans can help avert a crisis.

End Commercial Whaling
Renegade whale hunting threatens the survival of endangered species around the world
Overview

Whales are still being killed across the world's oceans -- despite an international ban on commercial whaling -- by countries that exploit loopholes and label their hunts as "scientific research."

Underwater Parks
Protected areas in the oceans are as spectacular -- and important -- as national parks on land
Overview

For more than a century, America has been protecting its most vital and beloved landscapes as national parks. But the fish, coral reefs and kelp forests of our oceans receive almost none of these protections, despite growing threats to marine life.

Give Swordfish a Break
Conservation campaign helped restore North Atlantic swordfish and provided an example for future efforts.
News

After a two-and-a-half-year campaign led by NRDC and SeaWeb to restore swordfish populations in the north Atlantic, the federal government in August 2000 announced measures to protect juvenile north Atlantic swordfish from fishing.

Porpoise in Peril
Help protect the most endangered small marine mammal in the world
Fact Sheet

NRDC is working to prevent the extinction of the vaquita marina (Phocoena sinus), the world’s smallest porpoise and now its most endangered small marine mammal. The main threat to vaquitas is the accidental entanglement in nets set for fish and shrimp that is exported from Mexico to U.S. consumers. Immediate action must be taken to protect this critically endangered porpoise. Get document in pdf.

Florida’s Coastal and Ocean Future
A Blueprint for Economic and Environmental Leadership
Issue Paper

With tourism, fishing, and recreational sport bringing billions of dollars into Florida each year, the coast is Florida's economic engine. This issue paper provides a blueprint for how local leaders and decision makers can -- and must -- take action to protect Florida’s marine and coastal ecosystems.

Medicines from the Deep
The Importance of Protecting the High Seas from Bottom Trawling
Issue Paper

Medical research suggests that novel compounds from the deep sea hold tremendous promise for treating human disease, highlighting the need to protect the fragile deep ocean bottom from destructive fishing practices like bottom trawling.

Ocean Protection Case Studies
Marine ecosystems and fish populations are in trouble, but proven solutions exist to restore the health of the oceans.
Overview

Marine ecosystems and fish populations are in trouble, but proven solutions exist to restore the health of the oceans. These brief case studies illustrate a few and the results they can achieve.

Keeping Oceans Wild
How Marine Reserves Protect Our Living Seas
Report

Marine reserves are like national parks, and they are critical to keeping the world's oceans healthy and productive. This NRDC report demonstrates how placing important ocean areas off-limits is already reaping tremendous benefits, and shows how each of us can participate in protecting marine life and habitat for the future.

Priority Ocean Areas for Protection in the Mid-Atlantic: Findings of NRDC's Marine Habitat Workshop
Report

In September 2000, NRDC organized a workshop that brought scientists together to identify specific priority ocean areas in the mid-Atlantic for protection. This report summarizes the results of the scientific workshop in order to foster better understanding, management, and protection of marine species and habitat in federal waters of the mid-Atlantic. The report includes maps reflecting priority areas recommended by each participating scientist.

For additional policy documents, see the NRDC Document Bank.
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