1.8 trillion pieces of plastic weighing 80,000 metric tons are currently afloat in an area known as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch -- and it is rapidly getting worse. These are the main conclusions of a three-year mapping effort conducted by an international team of scientists affiliated with The Ocean Cleanup Foundation, six universities and an aerial sensor company.

Climate change is throwing a wrench into conservation. In the ocean, water is warming and becoming more acidic. At the poles, sea ice is melting. And across the globe, currents are changing pace or direction. Marine animals are moving, adapting, and changing behavior to cope with climate change. Can conservation policy keep up?

In March 2018 the Ocean Film Festival World Tour will screen over 2 hours of the most inspirational, educational and entertaining films related to the ocean from independent filmmakers both international and Australian. Project AWARE is a proud conservation partner of this awe-inspiring festival.

In a paper released in the journal Science on Thursday, scientists estimate that reefs across the Asia-Pacific region are littered with more than 11 billion pieces of plastic larger than 5 centimeters. The plastics are not only ugly, they attract diseases that can harm reefs, causing them to get sick and die.

An experiment involving more than 500 visitors to an aquarium 'shark tunnel' has shown the public's fear of sharks reduces when they learn about the species by watching their behavior.

The European Commission has committed to legislate against single-use plastic items in the new Strategy on Plastic in the Circular Economy. This would put the EU in a global leadership position in the fight against the relentless flow of plastic lids, stirrers and drinking straws into the oceans.

Nearly 200 countries signed a U.N. resolution in Nairobi on Wednesday to eliminate plastic pollution in the sea, a move some delegates hoped would pave the way to a legally binding treaty.

Every year, millions of tons of plastic debris ends up in the sea. The path taken by plastic to reach the sea must be elucidated before it will be possible to reduce the volume of plastic input. To date, there was only little information available on this. It has now been followed up by an interdisciplinary research team who were able to show that plastic debris is primarily carried into the sea by large rivers.

The EU Marine Directive requires Member States to achieve clean, healthy and productive EU seas by 2020 -  a much needed holistic approach to marine management. However, 2020 is only two years away and NGOs are concerned that action by Member States is too slow and Programmes of Measures  too weak.  Seas At Risk has therefore launched a campaign to get European citizens involved to  encourage EU Ministers to take further action to achieve their noble commitment.

September 27 marks World Tourism Day which aligns with the United Nation's overall designation of 2017 as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development. Responsible shark and ray related ecotourism can be a powerful, complementary conservation strategy. It can also serve as an important supplementary source of income benefiting operators and the local communities alike.