The 2016 regional assessment of the Mediterranean Sea, which includes 73 species of sharks, rays and chimaeras, calls for urgent action to conserve their populations and habitats.

Researchers have completed a huge photo-identification study to assess the seasonal habits of whale sharks in the tropics. They were surprised to discover that the male juveniles didn't seem to venture too far from home.

The Turkish government has announced plans to extend two no-fishing zones in Gökova Bay Marine Protected Area by 700 hectares to protect critical sandbar shark habitat. This is great news for the species, which is listed as Endangered in the Mediterranean.

If it smells like food, and looks like food, it must be food, right? Not in the case of ocean-faring birds that are sometimes found with bellies full of plastic. But very little research examines why birds make the mistake of eating plastic in the first place.

In October and November the Australian Ocean Film Festival will be taking over Belgian cinemas to screen award-winning shorts set above and below sea level.

Researchers at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California San Diego are studying these microplastic particles found floating across the world’s ocean to understand how old they are, where they originated, and how they might move up the food chain into humans. The science behind the plastic trash could help with efforts to reduce plastic pollution reaching the ocean.

South Africa, home to one-quarter of the world’s 400+ shark species, will this month host the triennial meeting of the World Wildlife Conference where strengthened protection for sharks and rays will again be high on the agenda.

Australia’s commonwealth marine parks could be significantly cut back under recommendations that almost 100,000 sq km of the Coral Sea, including important coral reefs, lose their protection from fishing.

A panel of leading experts in fishes has gathered in the IUCN World Conservation Congress Species Pavilion to discuss the surge of interest in ocean health, and the effect of this surge on conservation successes and challenges. Organized by the IUCN Species Survival Commission Shark Specialist Group, panelists discussed the growing number of marine species assessed under the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, and how to ensure that threatened species assessments prompt effective conservation action.

A unique study by scientists at the National Oceanography Centre (NOC) will provide valuable new insights into the concentrations of microplastics in the open ocean from surface to the sea bed.