Marine Conservation Research Articles

Conservation of sea turtles in scientific literature: A global bibliometric review

This paper considers the WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies as an important step in the crossing of sustainable trade and ocean governance. The analysis is made of the legal, economic, and environmental impacts of the agreement in terms of its provision in reducing destructive subsidies causing overfishing and depletion of marine life. Utilizing doctrinal analysis of the terms of the agreement and review of applicable WTO principles found in international environmental law, this paper answers the question of whether the agreement is an opportunity to harmonize trade regulation with wider sustainability goals, including SDG 14. The study also imagines the logistical difficulties of implementation and enforcement, especially for developing and least developed countries, with admitting the capacity shortcomings and compliance problems inherent to this obligation. From the analysis, this study finds that despite the agreement’s unprecedented change towards trade governance through its binding provisions on the environment, the actualized outcome will lie in domestic implementation multiplicity, ventured negotiations of the remaining categories of subsidies, and cooperative mechanisms for the provision of technical assistance. The study concludes that the WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies is also a first step to address the conflicting policies of trade liberalization and marine conservation and resource distribution.

The combined effects of marine heatwaves and heavy metals on metal accumulation in macroalgae.

Trawling the archives: Long-term trends in fish taxonomic and functional diversity in UK coastal community.

This study examines how community-based initiatives in Vietnam advance environmental sustainability through what we define as caring earth practices, a framework informed by the Eastern philosophy of harmony between Heaven, Earth, and humans. While global policies often emphasise top-down governance, the Vietnamese cases illustrate how local communities develop bottom-up models of ecological stewardship that intertwine cultural values, scientific knowledge and livelihood needs. Five contexts were analysed: sea turtle conservation and ecotourism in Con Dao Island, coral reef protection at Yen Islet, community-based tourism for riverbank stabilisation at Ho Islet, mangrove-friendly aquaculture in Ca Mau, and the “No plastic bag” campaign in Cham Islands Biosphere Reserve. Collectively, these cases demonstrate that communities function not only as beneficiaries but also as ethical stewards who align natural cycles, landscape values, and social norms with sustainable livelihoods. The findings identify three core principles underpinning caring for the earth practices: community centrality, knowledge hybridity, and conservation–livelihood balance, reinterpreted through the Eastern notion of Heaven (natural order), Earth (ecological landscapes), and Human (collective responsibility). By situating Vietnam as a living laboratory, this study reconceptualises community-based natural resource management with an Asian orientation and offers practical implications for policy design, sustainable tourism, and ecological governance in rapidly transforming environments.

This study examines how community-based initiatives in Vietnam advance environmental sustainability through what we define as caring earth practices, a framework informed by the Eastern philosophy of harmony between Heaven, Earth, and humans. While global policies often emphasise top-down governance, the Vietnamese cases illustrate how local communities develop bottom-up models of ecological stewardship that intertwine cultural values, scientific knowledge and livelihood needs. Five contexts were analysed: sea turtle conservation and ecotourism in Con Dao Island, coral reef protection at Yen Islet, community-based tourism for riverbank stabilisation at Ho Islet, mangrove-friendly aquaculture in Ca Mau, and the “No plastic bag” campaign in Cham Islands Biosphere Reserve. Collectively, these cases demonstrate that communities function not only as beneficiaries but also as ethical stewards who align natural cycles, landscape values, and social norms with sustainable livelihoods. The findings identify three core principles underpinning caring for the earth practices: community centrality, knowledge hybridity, and conservation–livelihood balance, reinterpreted through the Eastern notion of Heaven (natural order), Earth (ecological landscapes), and Human (collective responsibility). By situating Vietnam as a living laboratory, this study reconceptualises community-based natural resource management with an Asian orientation and offers practical implications for policy design, sustainable tourism, and ecological governance in rapidly transforming environments.

As a globally significant marine ecosystem, the South China Sea faces multiple challenges including overfishing, ecological degradation, and geopolitical conflicts. To balance ecological conservation with resource development needs, establishing a South China Sea National Marine Park has emerged as a critical strategy. This paper employs literature analysis, comparative research, and policy evaluation methods to investigate legal governance frameworks for the marine park. The study reveals that China’s current marine conservation legal framework faces challenges such as fragmented legislation, weak enforcement mechanisms, and inadequate integration between international and domestic laws, which hinder cross-border ecological cooperation. To address these issues, the paper proposes enhancing specialized domestic legislation, optimizing enforcement and supervision systems, and promoting regional marine conservation agreements to establish a legal framework tailored to the South China Sea’s unique characteristics. The research also demonstrates that legal development for the marine park must reconcile ecological integrity with geopolitical realities, fostering regional cooperation and trust through legal innovation. This study offers a feasible legal pathway for ecological governance in disputed waters while laying the foundation for sustainable blue economy development.

Abstract National‐scale benthic marine habitat maps underpin monitoring and conservation of vulnerable marine and coastal ecosystems. Cloud‐based satellite remote sensing can streamline these processes over spatial scales that would otherwise be financially and logistically challenging. Here, we test the sensitivity of mapped outputs to three key methodological choices when generating open‐source cloud‐based satellite maps of seagrass meadows: (1) period of image retrieval (seasonality, tested at n = 7 sites over n = 5 years); (2) machine learning classification method (SVM, RF, CART) over a range of training pixel densities ( n = 12 points with 0.0004–0.8757 training points/km 2 ) and (3) input satellite data choice ( n = 3: Landsat 8, Planet NICFI and Sentinel‐2). We found that in the Maldives, when using best available cloud masking methods, monsoonal cloud patterns introduce noise into satellite images, with implications for mapping accuracy. Comparing methods at the classification phase, Overall Accuracy (OA) was similar between classification methods, though SVM performed best (OA = 84.6%). We also determined that workflows using data derived from Sentinel‐2 resulted in the most accurate binary thematic seagrass map (OA = 80.3%), compared to Landsat 8 and Planet NICFI (OA = 72.7 and 74.8%, respectively). These results indicate that data source has a larger effect on OA than classifier type, and therefore should be the primary consideration for map producers. We further recommend that, as studies increasingly work over larger extents (i.e. >1,000 km 2 ), the minimum density of points used to train a binary classification of seagrass from Sentinel‐2 data ought to be 0.67/km 2 . We present an open‐source (for non‐commercial uses) workflow for generating high‐resolution national‐scale seagrass maps. Insights from this work can be applied in other settings globally to improve outcomes for marine planning and international targets on climate change and the conservation of biodiversity.

The Teluk Kupang Marine Nature Park (TWAL) in East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia, represents a valuable marine conservation area with significant potential for sustainable tourism. However, its management faces persistent challenges, including conflicts of interest among stakeholders, environmental degradation, bureaucratic fragmentation, and centralized governance that limits local participation. This study aims to develop and evaluate a collaborative governance model that addresses these barriers and supports sustainable marine tourism. Using a mixed-methods design, the research combines surveys, in-depth interviews, stakeholder analysis, and document review to explore governance dynamics and stakeholder perceptions. The findings reveal that fragmented collaboration, unresponsive bureaucracy, and limited institutional capacity have constrained effective management. To overcome these challenges, the study introduces the Integrated Collaborative Governance Metamorphosis Model (ICGMM), which emphasizes decentralization, participatory decision-making, and capacity building as prerequisites for effective collaboration. The model outlines a transformation pathway from fragmented governance toward integrated, inclusive, and adaptive management practices. Results indicate that strengthening transparency, aligning conservation and tourism objectives, and empowering local communities are critical for achieving long-term sustainability. This study contributes theoretically by advancing collaborative governance through the metamorphosis concept and offers practical insights for policymakers and conservation managers seeking to balance ecological protection and economic development in marine protected areas.

Detoxification metabolic pathways and hepatotoxicity mechanisms of B[a]P in reproductive clam Ruditapes philippinarum.

Artificial light at night (ALAN) is impacting sea turtle nesting around the globe by decreasing the nesting attempts, disorienting the sea turtle hatchlings while trying to find the sea, and disrupting hatchlings’ offshore migration. In the Mediterranean Sea, the shoreline of Kyparissia Bay is considered the most important nesting site for loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta), with several thousand nests on an annual basis. The current study reports for the first time the exposure of the core 10 km of nesting area to ALAN pollution, evaluates the potential impact on sea turtle conservation, and discusses mitigation measures as coastal urbanization and touristic activity increase rapidly in the region. Our findings demonstrate that most of the core area was not impacted by ALAN pollution, although a specific region (Kalo Nero) was subjected to high illumination at night, leading to reduced sea turtle nests and potential threats to hatchlings.

High-resolution species distribution models (SDMs) were developed for two benthic invertebrate species of marine conservation significance across a 113 km2 Ecologically and Biologically Significant Area (EBSA) of the Bay of Fundy, Canada. The stalked tunicate, Boltenia ovifera, and horse mussel, Modiolus modiolus, can form coastal biogenic habitat and are vulnerable to disturbance. A near-seabed imaging survey (depths ranging from 8 to 79 m) provided presence, absence, and abundance data for both species. Boosted Regression Tree SDMs combined these data with 11 environmental variables. Presence-probability distributions were generated; however, abundance patterns could not be adequately modelled. Oblique geographic coordinates, which incorporate location of samples as information, proved useful for predicting species presence, along with seabed rugosity, maximum current speed and bathymetry for B. ovifera, and maximum and minimum current speed along with seabed rugosity for M. modiolus. High-resolution SDMs (in this case, 5-m grid) provide enhanced spatial context for ocean managers towards marine spatial planning in high-use coastal marine environments where bottom contact fisheries access and other coastal development must be balanced against marine conservation objectives.

Under the background of balancing marine resource exploitation and ecosystem conservation, marine ranching has become an important approach to enhance the sustainable use of fishery resources and to improve coastal environmental quality. Tropical marine ranching, situated in high-temperature, high-salinity, biodiversity-rich, and disturbance-prone waters, faces greater uncertainty and management challenges in ecological security. Based on a systematic review of literature, we summarized research progress on evaluation index systems, assessment methods, and weighting approaches. Most frameworks originate from temperate and subtropical marine ranch studies. Although recent efforts have begun to address tropical contexts, less attention has been paid on high-temperature stress responses, tourism carrying pressure, and high-frequency disturbance factors. With respect to metho-dology, studies have evolved from static composite evaluations to dynamic predictions integrating causal analysis, machine learning, and system dynamics, yet validation in tropical scenarios is still limited. Weighting approaches have applied subjective, objective, and combined methods, but optimization for tropical-specific ecological factors is lacking. To address these knowledge gaps, we proposed that the following directions for future studies: 1) develo-ping a multi-source uncertainty assessment framework integrating natural and anthropogenic disturbances to enhance the accuracy of risk early-warning; 2) constructing a comprehensive evaluation system reflecting tropical ecological characteristics and industry coupling to avoid 'climate-zone transfer' bias in indicators; and 3) creating time-series-embedded tools for dynamic monitoring and adaptive management of ecological security.

Deep-sea encompasses a wide diversity of microbiomes including bacteria, fungi and viruses which play crucial significant roles in nutrient biogeochemical cycling thereby imparting majorly to functional biodiversity of these hotspots. Sea mounts harboring microbes with extremophilic properties found in deep oceans could be conserved as living repository by functional metagenomics approach which is a potent source to screen bioactive compounds and novel enzymes thereby could address biological question on developing next generation plant biostimulants. This study outlines construction of fosmid metagenome library and adapted combined strategy of functional and nanopore sequence-based metagenomic screening to unveil phosphatase enzymes from Arabian Sea seamount sediment. About 9068 metagenomic clones were generated with an average insert size of 38 kb and stored in pools of 1024 clones, out of which 42 were found to be positive for phosphatase. Five clones with high phosphatase activity were further characterized and NIOT F41 showed the greatest specific activity for phosphatase (41.2 U/mg). Gluconic (1041 mg/L), oxalic (327 mg/L), and succinic acids (610 mg/L) were the predominant organic acids produced by recombinant clones. Fosmid DNA were extracted from five potential clones for nanopore-based metagenomics sequencing which generated an average of 6,00,786 reads. Taxonomic analysis revealed an abundance of Proteobacteria and Firmicutes phyla harboring phosphate-solubilising bacteria Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Bacillus subtilis and Staphylococcus warneri. Furthermore, functional annotation using phosphorus cycling database (PCycDB) predicted variation in relative abundance of phosphatase gene clusters encoding alkaline phosphatase (PhoD, PhoX and PhoA) and acid phosphatase (OlpA, PhoNand PhoC) produced by recombinant clones. In the pot assay, potential metagenomic clones exhibited positive impacts on shoot length (9.1 ± 1.1 cm, p < 0.05), root length (2.05 ± 0.05 cm, p < 0.05), wet biomass (39.3 ± 0.65 mg, p < 0.05), and dry biomass (5.1 ± 1.15 mg, p < 0.05) compared to the negative control indicating significant effect on promoting plant growth. The advanced nanopore sequencing and functional metagenomics methods employed in this study could serve as a marine biodiversity conservation approach for deep-sea microbes hidden in sea mount sediments towards harnessing potential next generation plant biostimulants with promising biotechnological application for sustainable agriculture.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1038/s41598-025-10337-y.

Ocean Literacy (OL) can be broadly defined as a framework for understanding the complex and evolving relationships between people and the ocean. It is increasingly recognized as a vital component of marine conservation and sustainability efforts. OL is inherently interdisciplinary, and psychology, while being a particularly relevant field, remains an underutilized field in this space. This paper demonstrates how psychological theories, frameworks, and validated measures can meaningfully inform OL strategies across its ten proposed dimensions: knowledge, awareness, attitudes, behavior, activism, communication, emotional connections, access and experience, adaptive capacity, and trust and transparency.

Abstract The impact of shifting marine conservation policy, including marine protected area (MPA) designation, in shaping interactions between humans and imperilled species, such as sharks, remains understudied, despite its importance in determining the success of these interventions. We investigated perceptions of shark–human interactions (SHI) among the community in a remote, large‐scale MPA (Ascension Island) where two recent shark attacks and perceived general increases in interactions (mostly with Galapagos and silky sharks), including depredation in recreational fisheries, have occurred. From 2023 to 2024, informal semistructured interviews ( n = 34) were conducted with island residents and analysed using two theory‐driven thematic frameworks to understand the level and drivers of conflict. We showed considerable social impact of SHI, including reduced human well‐being and substantial lifestyle changes, with both depredation and human attacks driving dispute‐level conflict. Strong social and familial connections on island resulted in narratives around attacks persisting and trauma resulting from attacks drove heightened perceived risk. Underlying conflict was further exacerbated by the perceived recurrent and unpredictable nature of negative SHI compounded with the interactions being perceived as abnormal with limited information on socio‐ecological drivers. Some felt excessive chumming by historic recreational fisheries, mostly engaged in by non‐residents, had also involuntarily exposed them to heightened risk by increasing SHI. There was also no consensus of what shark species were behind the increased interactions. Management resolutions were perceived as minimal but were not widely viewed as negative. However, divergent views on the use of lethal control and the need for conservation measures, such as banning shark exploitation, were evident. A key theme emerged around the need for wider community participation in the research and management processes. Policy implications . Our results highlight the critical importance of demystifying marine species, particularly in terms of understanding socio‐ecological drivers of human–wildlife interactions, to combat escalation into human–wildlife conflict. This is particularly important to maintain support for large‐scale MPAs and species‐specific conservation. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

<scp>Career Pathway Interview</scp>: Dr. Eric Raes, Marine Scientist at the Minderoo Foundation—Collaboration to Advance Ocean Conservation

In the decade between the mid-1980s and mid-1990s, critical voices within the conservation biology community argued that site selection for protected areas was most often done in a way that was unscientific. Conservation practitioners, many of whom became acutely aware of the constraints of the policy world through direct participation, believed that they needed to think pragmatically about establishing a scientific basis for the design of protected areas. Some of the conservation practitioners came to see rationalistic tools such as optimization algorithms embedded within decision-support systems as means of reconciling social, economic, and environmental interests. This paper recapitulates the history of the first significant policy initiative that purported to use algorithmic decision support software, MARXAN, by interweaving environmental history, history of computing, and history of science. Specifically, it is a historical reconstruction of the use of MARXAN in its first large-scale conservation policy project: a rezoning of Australia's Great Barrier Reef that took place between 1998 and 2004. This paper asks: how exactly was MARXAN used in the conservation policy planning initiative? And, what role did MARXAN play in narratives about the success of the policy initiative? I argue that in Australian case, it was the commitment to political value of democratic deliberation and not the allure of algorithmic objectivity that stood behind what was by many considered an agenda-setting marine conservation policy. These findings add support to the growing consensus in critical algorithmic studies against algorithmic determinism by situating the agency of the users of MARXAN within a larger context of a "drama" as reported (Hilgartner in Science on Stage: Expert Advice as Public Drama. Stanford University Press, Stanford, 2000) of science advice.

This study reveals novel skeletal deformities in two marine fish species (Nemipterus randalli and Pomadasys stridens) from Antalya Bay, Türkiye, linking them to potential impacts on locomotion and ecological fitness. Major abnormalities include pectoral fin absence, saddleback syndrome, and nasal defects. This study establishes the critical relevance of documenting fish deformities as a powerful and sensitive tool for monitoring ecosystem health. The study advocates for integrating imaging technologies into ecological monitoring to detect hidden stressors affecting marine life. By understanding how deformities influence movement and survival, scientists can better evaluate anthropogenic impacts on fish populations. These insights advance the use of morphological abnormalities as sensitive indicators of ecosystem health, supporting more proactive marine conservation strategies.

ABSTRACTThe Southern Resident killer whales (SRKW) are an endangered species that occupy marine environments on the west coast of North America, including the Salish Sea. Representing marine species in this environment can be achieved by multidimensional space–time simulation modeling that provides more information about locations and behaviors for use in protection and preservation strategies. In this study, the main objectives are: (a) design and implement a prototype four‐dimensional (4D) agent‐based model (ABM) to simulate marine species, (b) implement the model to represent SRKW's J Pod in the Salish Sea, and (c) investigate their 3D movements considering bathymetry, vessel noise, and prey–predator relationships with Chinook salmon. The simulation results indicate the SRKW are often present around the San Juan Islands, and the model locations correlate with real data on reported sightings, prey availability, and low vessel noise. The developed methodology can be used to further inform and improve marine conservation and management practices.