23. 01. 2026 Will Steen

Why krill matter: Krill fishing and conservation in the Southern Ocean

Why krill matter: fishing and conservation in the Southern Ocean.

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The Southern Ocean is one of the most remote places on the planet.

It was only in 1911 that the first human, Roald Amundsen, reached the South Pole. For context, the first powered aircraft, the Wright Flyer, took to the air in 1903. Humanity conquered the skies before it managed the southern continent. The waters here are cold, barely above freezing, yet full of life. These are some of the richest waters in the world.

The main character is just 6cm long. Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba) are small, shrimp-like crustaceans. They snack on the phytoplankton that thrives in the long hours of summer sunlight, trapping and storing similar amounts of carbon to seagrass and mangroves.

Their importance lies in their numbers: krill swarms are vast. The rust-coloured clouds are filled with billions of individuals and can be visible from space. They sustain most of the life around Antarctica. Penguins, seals, whales, fish and sharks all rely on this buffet: krill are a keystone species. More recently, people have joined the party.

Krill fishing has become a divisive topic, being featured in David Attenborough’s Ocean, calls to ban it being promoted at the United Nations Ocean Conference and some retailers withdrawing krill products from their shelves. Meanwhile, countries have applied to increase the catch limits and the amounts of krill being fished are higher than ever.

To understand where we are going, first we can look at where we have been. Why are krill important? What is our history in the Southern Ocean? What is our future?

Antarctic krill are small shrimp-like crustaceans. Posted by Ocean Generation. — *Photo credit: Brett Wilks*

How did we get here?

In 1775, Captain James Cook returned to England from a voyage around the world, in which he had searched for new lands. He found there wasn’t a new continent in the Pacific Ocean (at least not where one was predicted to be) and hypothesised on the existence of Antarctic land behind the ice (which he was correct about).

He had discovered some land on his travels: an island populated by seals and penguins, which was named ‘Isle of Georgia’ in honour of King George III of England. We know it now as South Georgia.

Sealing and whaling in the Southern Ocean

The element of Cook’s report that got attention was the abundance of fur seals on South Georgia and neighbouring islands. These pinnipeds were highly sought after, and between 1778 and 1822 an estimated 1.2 million fur seals were killed for their pelts. The species was almost completely wiped out on South Georgia and the islands.

The rise of industrial whaling then turned focus on to the waters of the Southern Ocean around South Georgia. Factory ships and explosive harpoons reduced the great whales to 18% of their original population. 5% of blue whales were left, and just 3% of humpback whales survived. When the last two whaling stations closed on South Georgia in 1965, 175,250 whales had been killed in those waters.

South Georgia, Antarctica. Posted by Ocean Generation.

When did krill fishing start?

Industrial fishing had been largely unmanaged, and everyone raced to benefit from the natural resources the Southern Ocean had to offer. One by one the marine species of the south had been targeted to great effect, and populations crashed. The focus then shifted to krill.

Industrial fishing for krill in the Southern Ocean increased through the 1960s and 1970s. As the species that formed the foundation of the ecosystem, the alarm bells rang, loud, at the prospect of the krill suffering the same fate as the seals and the whales.

Why are krill important?

Krill are a keystone species

The loss of krill would be disastrous for many different species. Whales, seals, penguins and fish are all krill predators. Less krill means less food for these species.

Southern Right whale mothers have shown a decrease in body condition over the past 40 years, suggesting ecological strain on an animal heavily reliant on Antarctic krill.

The population of krill has been linked with Adelie and chinstrap penguin numbers – when there is less krill, the penguin populations decrease.  And the fur seals, populations freshly rebounded from the hunting of the nineteenth century, are showing declines due to krill availability.

Without krill, life in the Southern Ocean could collapse.

To relay it in economic terms, krill are a vital piece of an ecosystem that provides, conservatively, $180 billion annually in ecosystem services – about 70% of New Zealands GDP in 2024.

Krill are climate champions

It isn’t just the animals in the Southern Ocean that depend on these. Krill are big players in the balancing of our atmosphere. They trap (sequester) a lot of carbon.

As phytoplankton photosynthesise, they take in carbon dioxide. When they are eaten by krill, the krill take on that carbon, some of which is then… dropped off. Krill faecal pellets (poo) alone are estimated to sequester 20 million tonnes of carbon dioxide per year. Depending on the price of carbon, this is worth between $4 and $46 billion.

Marshes, mangroves and sea grass are estimated to absorb 13, 24 and 44 million tonnes per year respectively, so when you add in the extras of krill moults (20 million tonnes) and migration (26 million tonnes), as the researchers say: “it is likely that Antarctic krill is amongst the world’s most important carbon-storing organisms.”

How is krill fishing managed in the Southern Ocean?

Those alarm bells over the fishing of krill led to the creation of the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR). It was formed in 1980 and entered force in 1982.

The CCAMLR is made up of 27 member states (as of January 2026), with a further 10 ‘Acceding’ states – that support but don’t contribute to the budget or take part in decision making.

The stated aim: to protect and conserve the ecosystem of the Southern Ocean. Article II of the convention states:

The objective of this Convention is the conservation of Antarctic marine living resources.
For the purposes of this Convention, the term ‘conservation’ includes rational use.

This captures a crucial distinction: fishing is an element of conservation, rather than an adversary.

How do you prevent overfishing?

Catch Limits

A general rule of thumb is that you can’t remove so much the population can’t sustain itself. That will vary with species – some animals reproduce a lot faster than others.

Understanding how much of a resource there is, is fundamental to managing it. This is one of the biggest obstacles in the Ocean: the water means you can’t just see (sea). In a field you can see how many cows there are, not true of a shoal of fish.

Acoustic surveying (using noise to find out what is there, like a bat) gives us estimates for the amount of krill. In short – a lot. We estimate there are over 300 million tonnes of Antarctic krill, roughly the same as the biomass of humans.

In the specific area targeted for krill fishing (known as Area 48), the biomass is estimated at 62 million tonnes (coincidentally, roughly the same mass as annual e-waste produced). So, CCAMLR adopted Conservation Measure 51-01. CM 51-01 set a trigger level at 1% of that biomass (620,000 tonnes) – when that is reached, all krill fishing stops, no questions asked. August 2025 was the first time this happened.

How acoustic surveying works: Explained by Ocean Generation.

Marine Protected Areas

Another tool in the toolbox is protected areas – designated places with specific rules. Choosing to avoid fishing in nursery areas, or places with high densities of predators, can ensure the health of the fishery.

The Southern Ocean is home to the first MPA on the high-seas (outside of the jurisdiction of any one country) and the largest. The South Orkney Islands Southern Shelf MPA was created in 2009, and is a no-take zone protecting penguin foraging areas.

The Ross Sea MPA was created in 2016 and is 2.09 million square kilometres, 72% of which is a no-take zone. The MPA has a controversial “sunset clause”, meaning the MPA will expire in 35 years unless renegotiated.

There are four other MPAs that have been proposed, but not yet agreed on.

Has the management of krill worked?

The krill fishery is one of the most closely managed in the world. Every single ship has an independent scientific observer on board to ensure catch and bycatch amounts are accurately reported. There is zero illegal, unreported or unregulated (known as IUU) fishing putting additional pressure on stocks.

Bycatch rates are very low. In 2004, after pressure to report bycatch, it was revealed 292 fur seals had been killed as bycatch. This prompted the fishery to adopt mitigation measures, and since 2010, 39 fur seals have been killed. This is alongside 7 humpback whales and 80 seabirds.

In many senses, this is a great success. Krill populations are stable and there have been little ecological impact from fishing. No other large-scale fishery in the world is as well-monitored, as efficient (in avoiding by catch) or conservative with catch limits. The industry refers to these points as support for increasing the limits.

What's next for the Southern Ocean? Posted by Ocean Generation.

It’s not just ‘how much’: Why location-specific catch limits matter

The numbers look excellent. However, the risk lies in local depletion. Taking 1% isn’t much unless you take it all from one place.

Penguins, seals and whales need the krill within reach. They can travel to find them, but the further they go, the more energy they spend to get there and the less far the meal will go.

To make an analogy:

It is like buying sweets. If you have £10 to spend on sweets, you could either buy lots of different types of sweets or spend all the money just on fudge. If you do the latter, Timmy from down the road might not get the fudge he wants because you bought it all.

To avoid krill fisheries removing the entire quota from one area and leave the local penguins hungry, CCAMLR introduced Conservation Measure 51-07 (CM 51-07). CM 51-07 divided the catch limits in area 48 into Subarea 48.1 (25%, 155,000t), 48.2 (45%, 279,000t), 48.3 (45%, 279,000t) and 48.4 (15%, 93,000t). It added another layer of protection to CM 51-01, but was a temporary measure with an expiry date, to incentivise agreement on long term measures.

In 2024, the CCAMLR failed to agree on new “move on” rules.  These would ensure fishing vessels leave an area once they have caught a certain amount, tackling the issues of local depletion. CM 51-07 expired without replacement at the end of the 2024 fishing season, leaving the krill fishery with only CM 51-01 (when  620,000 tonnes of krill is caught, fishing automatically stops) as guidance.

The CCAMLR currently doesn’t have any special measures to prevent the full quota being taken from the same place.

What is next in the Southern Ocean?

The krill fishery isn’t just dealing with changing policies, but also a changing Ocean.

The Southern Ocean is getting warmer.

The areas of sea ice coverage are decreasing, and a record low in 2023 was 1.02 million square kilometres less than the 1979-2022 average daily minimum. That is the same size as Egypt. The previous four years have seen the minimum sea ice extent drop below 2 million square kilometres.

Krill depend on sea ice. The changing amounts of ice impact the krill’s food – phytoplankton. As juveniles, they stay close for protection and graze off the algae that can grow on it. Less ice means less shelter and less food, which leads to a lot less krill before any fishing has happened. Maximum sea ice extents impact the following summer blooms of krill – more ice means more food and shelter for young krill, who then visibly blossom in the summer. 2025 had the third lowest sea ice maximum, behind only 2023 and 2024.

Since the 1970s, we have been seeing a reduction in the density of krill adults, and in the occurrence of very dense swarms around the Antarctic peninsula. These environmental changes also mean the krill are moving south – staying closer to the pole, where it is colder. This means that the northern ecosystems are losing access to their main food supply. It also means the areas divided up for krill fishing may not capture where the krill are anymore.

Conservation success: the return of the whales to Antarctica. Posted by Ocean Generation.

One of the biggest wins for nature and conservation is the return of the whales.

After population depletion by industrial whaling, whale populations are increasing to their historic levels. As whales return, the amount of krill they eat increases.

Acceptable krill catch limits from 20 year ago may no longer cater for the larger whale populations, which is why re-assessment is so important.

Even if the amounts of krill taken are acceptable, the fishing vessels can still affect the whales. The vessels disturb the whales and can spread krill swarms out more. This means that whales can spend more energy getting the same amount of food, which decreases their body condition and reduces their capacity to reproduce.

The situation gets more complicated when you combine the changes. Less krill is likely to disturb the recovery of whale populations.

Where do we stand on the future of krill?

The warming world and returning whales need to be factored into our management of krill fishing. But recent progress has been slow.

There is a lot of disagreement over the future of the krill fishery. In the meeting of the CCALMR in October 2025, Norway proposed a doubling of the catch limits for krill. At the same time, scientists are calling for a re-evaluation of the limits, as they are based on old data and assumptions. Meanwhile, concern about the exploitation of the Southern Ocean resulted in UK retailer Holland and Barrett withdrawing all krill products by April 2026.

The challenge of consensus

The CCAMLR operates on a consensus decision making model. Everyone has to agree before new measures can be introduced. New MPAs haven’t been agreed because one or two countries have blocked them on the grounds of a lack of scientific evidence and their right to fish for krill and other target species.

What have we learned from exploitation in the Southern Ocean?

There is a lot of hope to be found in the Southern Ocean. Fur seals were given protection in 1909, and their numbers have now recovered to over 3 million. Whaling stations on South Georgia are relics of the past, rusting microcosms of the industry they supported.

The CCAMLR is different to any other fishery. It has learned from previous mistakes and has made decisions based in robust science. A well-managed fishery will always be called too conservative, too limiting, too safe, because it will never reach the point of collapse or decline. So far, krill populations have remained steady, unaffected by us.

The Southern Ocean is changing, and so the fishery must change with it. Climate change, more whales and improved understanding of the ecosystem should all be considered in new fishery management.  There are three things to take from this:

We are capable of facilitating the recovery of the Ocean.
The Southern Ocean, and its krill, are facing new challenges.
We all benefit from the Southern Ocean, and its krill, flourishing.

Krill are small but mighty. They fuel giants and balance our climate. The continuing battle to protect them demonstrates how far we have come. We can understand better than ever the benefits this tiny crustacean imparts as a part of its ecosystem.

We don’t have all the answers, but the progress is reassuring. A relationship with the Ocean that is based in our understanding of the impacts of our actions will be much more productive than one based on the potential profits.

Krill are not the impressive, charismatic Ocean animals that whales and penguins are. But if we fail krill, we stand to lose the rest. Krill can be the species that marks a new chapter in our relationship with the Ocean – one in which we work with our Ocean rather than at the cost of it.

What have we learned from exploitation in the Southern Ocean?

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13. 01. 2026 Will Steen

From classroom to COP30: Questions from children to climate leaders about Ocean protection

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If a group of 7–11-year-olds could interview delegates at COP30, what would they ask?

Well in November 2025, Ocean Generation made this happen. We worked with 5 young Eco Ambassadors at Ballard School in New Milton, UK as they interviewed Professor Matt Frost, Head of International Office at Plymouth Marine Laboratory as part of the COP30’s Virtual Ocean Pavilion’s series of youth-led interviews.

What is COP?
COP (Conference of the Parties) is the UN’s annual climate summit. During the conference, parties negotiate climate action and review progress. COP is also a platform for scientific studies and activism. Read more about COP here.

Ocean Generation’s Youth Engagement Lead, Dr Gemma Connell, mentored the young people through the process and was so proud when they wrote their own (very difficult!) questions for Matt, giving him a bit of a grilling!

It was heartwarming to witness Matt’s honesty in his responses to the young people. He discussed where the problems are in the COP space, and most importantly – what we can all do to protect our Ocean.

Join the Eco-Ambassadors as they ask Professor Matt Frost the important questions around COP30, the importance of the Ocean and what his favourite sea creature is.

So, you wake up at COP30, what are you doing? What does you day look like? (Freddie’s question)

Matt’s answer:

Wake up, check the times on everything. You don’t want the changing time zones to lead to you missing events and meetings.

Planning where to be that day, making a list of places and times I need to be somewhere.

The first day and the start of every day includes a lot of security. Making sure everyone has identification and the right badges to get through the security measures that are in place protecting some of the world’s most important people.

COP can involve hundreds of thousands of people, so just working out where everything and everyone is, is a challenge. Got to make sure you know where the good coffee shops are.

“The fun bit is that you walk around, and you meet all sorts of people.”

Not just meetings or speaking events, but you might find yourself doing some media as well.

“Recently I was at a COP when I bumped into Tom Heap, who is one of the presenters on Countryfile. He said, ‘do you mind doing an interview while you’re here that we can put on Sky News?’”

Every evening there will be a reception, meeting all sorts of people from government ministers to scientists.

Youth-led interview series at COP30 — Photo by Ballard School

Young eco-ambassadors from Ballard School interviewing a climate scientists as part of COP30 — Photo by Ballard School

What are your expectations coming to the COP30 and what would you consider a successful result for the Ocean? (Toby’s question)

Matt’s answer:

“For many years, when people came to these meetings, they were all worried about what was going on on the land.” Matt noted how the conversations would focus more on forests, trees and farming, “but nobody really thought about the Ocean.”

“So, over the years, we’ve had to explain to people that our planet – and I’m sure you know this, being Eco Champions – is mostly water. The Ocean is most of our planet. So, one of the main things that is a success every time we go to these meetings is to make sure that everybody is talking about the Ocean.”

Every leader talking about the Ocean is a success. The next step is encouraging action.

The people at these meetings don’t have the power, they can go back to their governments to convince them to act.

For example, the UK government going home and taking direct action to address the issues in the Ocean through laws and funding would be a real success from COP30.

The Ocean has gradually grown in prominence on the global stage.

Ocean Generation’s note:

Six years ago, COP25 recognised the connection between Ocean and climate, COP26 called for Ocean action to be integrated in work programs and COP27 encouraged countries to include the Ocean in their national climate goals.

At COP30, the Ocean was formally included in the COP30 Action Agenda. It was the first time a COP decision included a specific Ocean angle, with goals and commitments. This included investing in marine conservation and renewable energy, reducing the environmental and ecological impacts of shipping, supporting aquatic food solutions and reducing the impact of coastal tourism.

Practical tools were launched at COP30 to help achieve the goals. An Ocean Breakthrough Implementation Dashboard was launched to monitor country progress across those five areas (nature conservation, renewable energy, shipping, marine food and tourism). The Marine Biodiversity and Ocean Health Breakthrough and Roadmap gives the standards and methods to tackle Ocean assessment and actions.

While COP30 included the Ocean more deeply than previous COPs, there was a lack of financing and binding agreements to ensure countries take action. It is now over to them to build on the outcomes of COP30 and take Ocean action.

How can governments encourage private companies to not use single use plastic? (Leo’s question)

Matt’s answer:

If I could get a brilliant answer to that it would solve one of the world’s biggest problems. So, I will do my best and honestly, Leo, if you and your friends have got ideas… we need some help with this.”

As well as a pollution problem, plastic is also a climate problem, as 99% of plastics are made from fossil fuels.

Governments like the UK have been banning things like plastic straws, microbeads in cosmetics and charging for plastic bags.

Should we ban everything? “I don’t think that will help ultimately…”. It is a global problem and needs to be addressed globally. The Global Plastics Treaty is an opportunity for governments to make a real difference. Read more about the treaty here.

Companies are willing to cut down on plastic but need incentives to do so. Encourage is a great word in the question.

“They [world leaders] can make it difficult by putting taxes [on plastic] and making it more expensive to use single use plastic. But ultimately… governments will only do so much.”

Government action can be encouraged by what we buy and say.

99% of plastics are made of fossil fuels. Posted by Ocean Generation, leaders in Ocean education.

Ocean Generation’s note:

The difficulty in banning all plastics, is where we haven’t yet found an affordable alternative which does the same thing as plastic but doesn’t have the impact on the environment.

This is particularly difficult in industries such as healthcare, where single use plastic is often used to keep patients, doctors and nurses safe. We can’t ban all plastics without looking at the other consequences that might have – context is very important! Read more about if plastic is good or bad here.

Are there plans to introduce whale friendly cruise routes to reduce noise pollution in the seas? (Lily’s question)

Matt’s answer:

Yes there are plans for whale friendly shipping, but we really need the shipping companies to start doing this now.”

Ships are big contributors to climate change, producing air pollution as they burn fossil fuels to power their engines.

There are much more ships on the Ocean at any one point – over 70,000. There are two main ways they cause issues for marine life such as whales – noise pollution and ship strikes.

Whale friendly cruise routes hope to minimise the impact of both of those things. The International Maritime Organisation and the International Whaling Commission are trying to implement rules on shipping. These include go slow zones where whales are known to feed and live, and special routes that avoid whale “hotspots”.

It is down to the individual ships, shipping companies and cruise companies to act on the advice of the IWC and IMO.

How marine shipping routes and whale's migration routes overlap. Explained by Ocean Generation.

Ocean Generation’s note:

Exact numbers of whales killed by ship strike are difficult to quantify, as data suffers from underreporting.  But recent work has shown that global shipping traffic overlaps with about 92% of whale species’ ranges. Of that, only 7% of the areas that are high-risk for whale-ship collisions have any protective measures. Protecting just 2.6% more of the Ocean would eliminate many high-risk areas with minimal impact to shipping times.

As Matt says, there are two main solutions. Slower ships give all marine life more time to dive or swim away, avoiding collision. Slowing ships to 10 knots can reduce the the number of whale deaths by 30%.

The other approach is by re-routing ships from collision hotspots. In the Mediterranean, rerouting ships away from the Hellenic Trench has reduced the risk of collision by an estimated 27%.

95% of hotspots fall within the exclusive economic zones of a country, so, each country can implement protective measures in coordination with the IMO recommendations. Whale safe routes are in reach.

Does creating the infrastructure in order to host COP30 and transporting leaders there outweigh the positive outcomes of the conference?  Do you assess the carbon footprint and is there a plan to offset this? (Sean’s question)

Matt’s answer:

The concern is that we might not have these conversations if we weren’t all in the same room. Yes, we carbon offset but there is going to be some environmental impact. We think the positives outweigh the negatives.

“At the moment we feel that if we didn’t go, who’s going to be there to speak up for good science, to speak up for the Ocean, to speak up to actually look after things? And the danger is that, if all the people who feel very strongly about carbon decide not to go to the COP for the reasons you’ve said, then it could be left with the people that don’t really care much about it.”

Ocean Generation’s note:

One of the intentions of hosts Brazil was to deliver a carbon-neutral COP30. They delivered this by offsetting their calculated emissions. They calculated that COP30 produced 130,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide or equivalent greenhouse gases. To counter this, they purchased 130,000 UN-certified carbon credits. The money for these credits goes towards carbon-negative projects, so COP30 is carbon-neutral in principle.

However, this calculation only considers the emissions generated by hosting. The bulk of emissions are likely generated by the travel of attendees. There is no comprehensive calculation of these emissions. A large part of that relies on the attendees doing what they can to reduce environmental impact.

“You can ask me again next year and maybe I’ll answer differently, but this year the positives outweigh the negatives.”

Was COP30 carbon neutral? Explained by Ocean Generation. — *Photo by Fernando Llano/AP*

Is COP30 going to be used for fossil fuel deals like the last one? (Sean’s question)

Matt’s answer:

“I can’t promise that that will never happen at any COP.”

Some people will want to see things stay as they are, but there are enough people with good intentions there to know that good things will come out of it. Multilateralism (global cooperation), connecting climate change messages to individuals and accelerating implementation are all main aims of this COP.

I’m hoping the good things will outweigh the others.

Ocean Generation’s note:

At COP29, there was backlash against the hosts, Azerbaijan, as one of their senior officials was found to be conducting meetings to coordinate fossil fuel deals. Find out more of what happened at COP29 in our article here.

What is the extent of the impact of pumping carbon back into the Ocean underneath the seabed? (Lily’s question)

Matt’s answer:

It’s possibly helpful, capturing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and tapping it. However, there are risks – if it leaks it can cause harm to marine life and return the carbon to the atmosphere.

We’re asking that we [humans] don’t do it until we know more about the effects of it.

“If you went to the doctor and said, ‘I feel really poorly,” and the doctor said ‘well, I’ve got some medicine for you… I don’t know if it works very well, and it might make you really ill, but I don’t actually know that we haven’t tried it.’ Would you take that medicine?

Impact of pumping carbon back into the Ocean: explained by Ocean Generation.

What key messages would you like us to share with our school community in order to look after the Ocean better? (Freddy’s question)

Matt’s answer:

There is an ongoing problem that people don’t really understand the Ocean. They don’t know what is in it, they don’t really understand it, and they don’t know that we rely on it.

We need to remind people that most of our planet is Ocean. When the Ocean is healthy, we are healthy.

We rely on the Ocean for our food, our breathing air and our mental health.

If we look after the Ocean, it will look after us.

Read more about how the Ocean keeps us alive here.

Toby’s surprise question: What is your favourite marine animal?

Matt’s answer:

Matt’s answer: the leafy sea dragon!

Ocean Generation’s note:

The leafy sea dragon is a fish closely related to seahorses and pipefish. The name of its genus, Phycodurus, comes from the Greek words for seaweed (phûkos) and skin (derma), encapsulating its amazing camouflage. It can change the colour of its skin to match the seaweed around it and moves through the water like a drifting frond.

Leafy seadragons typically swim solo, but will court each other through dance, mirroring each other’s movements. Males carry the eggs for 6-8 weeks on a specialised patch under their tail, before ‘giving birth’ to 100-250 20mm baby leafy sea dragons (about the size of a peanut).

The leafy sea dragon is a fish closely related to seahorses. Posted by Ocean Generation.

Matt asked the students: what would the Eco Ambassadors’ message be for him to take to COP30?

Toby answered, “Plant more trees!”

A week later, the Eco Ambassadors planted 30 saplings after school, doing their bit to live up to Toby’s “plant more trees!” answer.

Alex Bellars, teacher at Ballard School said:

“Our Eco-Ambassadors absolutely loved taking part in the Virtual Ocean Pavilion interview with Professor Matt Frost on 6th November, 2025. It was inspiring to know that their voices and ideas formed even a tiny part of the global conversation at COP30!

It was especially cool to know that our pupils were the youngest participants in the Virtual Ocean Pavilion – and therefore possibly at the whole of COP30 itself. And it was wonderful to see Toby grab the chance to put Matt on the spot with an unplanned bonus question!”

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Will Steen

Secret life of algae: From oxygen to algae blooms

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11. 09. 2025 Elliot Yu

How do the Sounds of Kelp Forests Change?

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The age-old question goes “If kelp falls in a kelp forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?” … or something like that.

The study of kelp forest soundscapes is new, but it is essential to understanding the ecosystem.

What are kelp forests?

Kelp forests are incredibly diverse and important ecosystems of organisms living within dense areas of (surprise) kelp in coastal regions.

Kelp forests, and more generally seaweed forests, act as major carbon storage for the planet and are, when compared to the woods, incredibly diverse, containing mammals, arthropods (shrimps), echinoids (sea urchins), brachiopods (a shelled animal that feeds via filter feeding) and much more.

What does the Ocean sound like?

The Ocean is surprisingly noisy. Sound is used to convey information over long distances, and to neighbours on the reef or in the grass. In water, sound travels farther than either light or chemical cues and moves almost five times as fast as it does in air.

Marine mammals like whales and dolphins are famously loud and use sound to communicate. Sperm whales can reach volumes louder than jet engines. But a shocking truth is that other marine animals contribute to the Ocean soundscape too! For example, did you know that some fish make hums and purrs?

Beyond marine animals, there are other sound sources in the Ocean. Geological sounds (earthquakes and landslides) and our own human activity (engines and drilling) have their own effects on the Ocean soundscape.

What do kelp forests sound like?

Kelp forests are an unfamiliar setting to most of us, so to assist on our adventure of the soundscape, we’ll venture through the woods at the same time.

In the woods, we hear distinctive, familiar noises. The twitter of birds, the chattering of rabbits and the chirps of insects dominate the soundscape. In kelp forests, we can hear the different calls of fishes and the frequent snapping of shrimp.

The noises of kelp forest can be separated by their pitches. Generally, lower tones contain the noises of marine mammals and fish. The higher tones we’d hear contain the clicks of snapping shrimp and the sound of echolocating dolphins (although this is higher than the human ear can hear so it’s silent to us).

These soundscape features often change in both environments over time due to natural factors, like seasonal changes, or human activity.

Daily changes in the kelp forest soundscape

As the night comes, the sounds of the daytime animals switch to the noise of nocturnal animals.

In the woods, hooting owls and squeaking bats take over the soundscape along with the occasional chirp from foxes. This daily change is seen in kelp forests too, where the activity of animals and therefore the volume of their sounds shifts over the course of the day.

For some species of fish, their noise peaks at sunset and dips at sunrise. As well as this, snapping shrimp are nocturnal, which shows in their activity, as they have peaks at sunset and sunrise but a decreased activity during the day.

Seasonal changes in the kelp forest soundscape

With the arrival of autumn and winter in the woods, some animals migrate or hibernate, removing their noises from the soundscape.

A seasonal change also occurs in the kelp forest, where the time of year can affect the presence of animals.

The Plainfin Midshipman fish makes nests near the coast and uses a humming noise to attract a mate. This humming is heard in the kelp forests during late spring and summer, consistent with their mating season. Contrasting this, the presence of snapping shrimps is maintained year-round.

Plainfin Midshipman fish humm during spring and summer. Posted by Ocean Generation. — *Photo by Sara Thiebaud*

Human influence on kelp forest soundscapes

On our walk through the woods, we come across barren spots without trees, caused because of storms or fires. Similarly in the Ocean, an abundance of sea urchins and a lack of suitable food can cause them to feast on kelp clearing the area and leaving a space overrun with small, malnourished sea urchins, with the East Fish camp in California having an urchin density of 26.8 urchins per square metre.

Although urchin barrens may seem like a natural environment, they are created by human activity, just as extreme weather can become more prominent because of global warming.

Normally, sea otters and the occasional fish prey on urchins before the situation gets out of hand. But, due to hunting and overfishing, sea urchin predation is decreased, allowing their population to spike and kelp forests to be removed.

Urchin barrens influence the kelp forest soundscape. Posted by Ocean Generation. — *Photo by Ed Bierman*

Sea urchin barrens influence the kelp forest soundscape as the region becomes less suitable for some species and more suitable for others. When hundreds of sea urchins move in, they change biodiversity.

A more direct human influence on woodland soundscapes is deforestation. The direct removal of trees by humans to clear space or for resources is easily a big issue, as it decreases habitat space, reducing biodiversity and harming ecosystems.

A similar situation happens with kelp as it can be harvested, as it has uses like in food and beauty products. As a consequence, the amount of kelp is decreased, showing little to no recovery after two years, and biodiversity can change to be unlike before harvesting.

Does human noise affect kelp forests?

Listening in our woods, we don’t only hear animal noises but also human noises. Cars on roads which cut through the woods or heavy machinery operating can create loud persistent noises which can disturb the soundscape, affecting the distribution of the animals.

The same is true for animals in the Ocean. Loud noises like drilling and seismic surveys are loud and the noise can be emitted for tens of kilometres, causing confusion and hearing damage in marine mammals and fish.

Other sounds like engine noises from low flying planes and boats can act as background noises which decrease the distance that animals can hear and communicate.

Sound disturbances can normally be mitigated in kelp forests by kelp’s ability to attenuate (absorb and decrease) sound. However, because of the removal of kelp forests, this mitigation can quickly be removed.

The building of docks and other structures may seem like they could bring back attenuation, but they can also transfer noise from cars and docking boats into the Ocean, affecting microenvironments.

What can we do?

It may seem daunting that humans can cause all of this damage, but not all change is bad. Just as forests can be replanted and wildlife protected, as can kelp forests.

The growth of kelp can be stimulated, and areas can become marine protected areas, which can allow areas to be conserved. An example of this is in New Zealand, where an urchin barren has recovered back into a kelp forest within a marine protected area over the period of 20 years.

Looking at how we live our lives, like where our fish comes from or our usage of boats can make a difference in helping this delicate ecosystem.

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Elliot Yu

Secret life of algae: From oxygen to algae blooms

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27. 06. 2025 Ocean Generation

17 Science-backed ways the Ocean keeps you alive

Science-backed ways the Ocean keeps us alive.

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You’re alive because of the Ocean.

We’re exploring some of the many ways the Ocean keeps us all alive. It gives us the air we breathe, the rain that waters our food, climate stability and incredible biodiversity that keeps our planet thriving.

And yet, most of us don’t realise just how much we rely on the Ocean every single day.

Here are 17 science-backed ways the Ocean keeps us, and all life on Earth, alive.

1. The Ocean is an oxygen factory

Over 50% of the oxygen you breathe comes from marine plants (who rely on a healthy Ocean to survive. Big shout out to microscopic phytoplankton, doing the heavy lifting!).

Btw, that’s more than all the rainforests combined.

Over half of our oxygen is provided by the Ocean. Posted by Ocean Generation.

2. Heat absorber

Our Ocean absorbs +90% of excess heat trapped by greenhouse gases.

Without the Ocean, Earth would be scorching.

3. Climate regulator

Ocean currents redistribute heat, making life liveable. Ocean currents make it cooler in summer and warmer in winter all across the world.

4. Carbon sink

The Ocean is one of the largest carbon sinks on Earth. Various marine ecosystems store carbon plus allllll the animals and plants = natural carbon capture technology.

When animals pass away and sink to the bottom of the Ocean, they lock carbon deep in the Ocean.

The Ocean is heat absorber, climate regulator and carbon sink

5. Key player in the water cycle

The amount of freshwater we have on Earth is fixed. And the Ocean? It powers the water cycle: evaporation, precipitation, and storm formation.

No Ocean = no rain = no drinking water = no crops = no people.

How does the water cycle work? Posted by Ocean Generation

6. Food source

+3 billion people rely on fish as a key source of protein. Fisheries also support jobs, economies, and cultures.

And ecosystems like coral reefs and mangrove forests nurture little fish (like Ocean nurseries).

7. Ocean = weather controller

Ocean temperatures drive weather events like monsoons, hurricanes and El Niño. So, a warm Ocean = stronger storms (bad). A cooler Ocean = more weather stability (good).

Until it’s too hot, our Ocean will keep regulating the world’s weather patterns.

8. Biodiversity

Most biodiversity = within the Ocean.

Coral reefs, deep-sea ecosystems, the open Ocean: they all have unique ecosystems that are VITAL to the overall balance of our planet.

Biodiversity in the Ocean. Posted by Ocean Generation

9. Blue carbon ecosystems = defence systems

Coral reefs, mangroves, and seagrasses protect our coastlines. They guard against erosion, flooding, tsunamis and other disasters.

Considering about a third of the global population (2.5 billion people) live within 100 km of the coasts, this is a very important way Ocean ecosystems support us. And these ecosystems will be CRUCIAL as sea level rises.

10. Dr Ocean, reporting for duty

There are MANY marine compounds (over 20) that are used/ studied for medicines. The Ocean, and its creatures, help us develop medicines for: cancer, Alzheimer’s, infections and general pain.

11. Ocean currents keep food webs healthy

Ocean currents move nutrients across the world. These nutrients fuel marine food webs. One example is marine snow (tiny bits of decaying matter from dead organisms that slowly drifts from the surface which becomes food for deep-sea animals.

12. Culture and economic impact

There are numerous Ocean-based industries that generate trillions. Think of shipping, tourism, fishing and marine renewable energy. These industries, which rely on the Ocean, support millions of jobs and centuries of cultural heritage.

The Ocean keeps us alive, no matter where we live.

13. The origin of ALL LIFE ON EARTH

Scientists predict that all life began in the Ocean (in hydrothermal vents in the deep-sea.)

14. Cooling Earth’s core

Cool Ocean water is carried to Earth’s mantle which regulates geothermal heat flow over extended periods of time.

15. Solar radiation, be gone

Sea ice and the surface of our Ocean act as a reflector of solar radiation. Losing ice = more heat absorption = hotter planet = not good.

16. Ice cores hold the secrets of our climate

Ocean sediments and ice cores preserve millions of years of Earth’s climate and carbon dioxide history. This makes our Ocean a vital archive of climate science and information. We use these findings to model future predictions of our climate and weather patterns.

Ice cores hold the secret of our climate. Explained by Ocean Generation. — *Image credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/Ludovic Brucker*

17. Speedy carbon storage

I already mentioned blue carbon ecosystems (like mangroves, salt marshes and seagrasses and how they protect our coastlines). But! These ecosystems store carbon up to 10x faster than land-based forests.

No matter where you live, the Ocean is keeping you alive.

Whether the Ocean is stabilising the climate, powering the water cycle, feeding billions, or buffering us from storms, it’s Earth’s life support system.

But here’s the catch: our Ocean can’t keep protecting us if we don’t protect it.

As you scroll, sip, breathe and go about your day, remember a healthy Ocean is essential for a healthy future. For you. For me. For ducks. For everyone.

If the Ocean thrives, so do we. Posted by Ocean Generation.

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Ocean Generation

Secret life of algae: From oxygen to algae blooms

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4. 06. 2025 Ocean Generation

11 of the best Ocean books

Man reading a book on a rocky coast with waves crashing nearby.

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The best Ocean books: recommended by the Ocean Generation team

The Ocean is simply magnificent. In celebration of its importance and the wonder the sea invokes, we’re sharing 10 of our favourite Ocean books.

Our Ocean has been inspiring authors for centuries. Whether you’re an avid bookworm, just want to learn more about the Ocean or dipping your toes into Ocean literacy, these reads are sure to educate, empower and connect you more deeply to the Ocean.

1) How to Read Water by Tristan Gooley

Suggested by: Lucy, Fundraising and Partnerships team

About the book:

An accessible guide that teaches you to decode the signs of rivers, lakes, puddles, and the Ocean (from ripple patterns to the colour of water).

In Lucy’s words: “I enjoy this book because anyone can read it. Tristan Gooley encourages his readers to get to know your local landscapes better by reading its signs and patterns. He’s an advocate for connecting with nature from a deeper perspective – in ways our ancestors did.”

Cover of "How to Read Water" by Tristan Gooley – a guide to reading water signs in nature.

Why Lucy chose it:

“It gives you the power to be more present when in nature.”

2) Blue Mind by Wallace J. Nichols

Suggested by: Nadia (Fundraising and Partnerships) and Gemma (Youth Engagement) and…pretty much everyone else. We love this book!

About the book:

Blue Mind explores the science behind how being near, in, on, or under water can improve our mood, performance, and overall wellbeing. This Ocean book is a powerful blend of neuroscience, psychology, and personal stories.

Cover of "Blue Mind" by Wallace J. Nichols – a book about the mental health benefits of being near water.

Why Nadia chose it:

“I read it when I first joined Ocean Generation. It’s a compelling exploration of our mental health and how it is impacted by our connection to the water and nature.”

Why Gemma chose it:

“It really shows just how important water and the Ocean are to all of us, particularly to our mental health.”

3) What A Fish Knows by Jonathan Balcombe

Suggested by: Will, Science team

About the book:

This Ocean book challenges what we think we know about fish. Balcombe uses scientific research to prove that fish are not just swimming creatures – they feel pain, communicate, play, and have personalities. This is a must-read for anyone who wants to dive deeper into marine life.

Cover of "What A Fish Knows" – a science book revealing surprising facts about fish behaviour. Shared by Ocean Generation in an article of Ocean books.

Why Will chose it:

“Consistently one of my favourite fishy books!”

4) The Sea Around Us by Rachel Carson

Suggested by: Jo Ruxton, founder

About the book:

Written in the 1950s, this award-winning book is lyrical and scientific. It paints a picture of the Ocean before plastic pollution and climate breakdown. It offers a historical baseline to help us understand how much has changed — and how much we still have to protect.

Cover of "The Sea Around Us" – Rachel Carson’s classic Ocean science book.

Why Jo chose it:

“This book is a snapshot of how the Ocean used to be, all in balance, before human destruction.”

5) The Brilliant Abyss by Helen Scales

Suggested by: Storm, Comms team

About the book:

In this book, Helen Scales dives into the darkest parts of the Ocean to show how life thrives in extremes. And how these little-known deep-sea regions are vital to the health of our entire planet.

Cover of "The Brilliant Abyss" by Helen Scales – a book about the deep Ocean's mysteries.

Why Storm chose it:

“I love this book because it lifts the veil on the deep sea, a place most of us will never visit. The deep Ocean holds some of the greatest mysteries of our planet and I find it fascinating! This book balances scientific discovery with Ocean wonder really well, too.”

6) The Salt Path by Raynor Winn

Suggested by: Kavina, Youth Engagement team

About the book:

A memoir of loss, resilience, and wild places. The Salt Path follows a couple who trek 1013km/ 630 miles along the Ocean-swept South West Coast Path of England. It’s about their journey and the healing power of nature (particularly the Ocean).

Cover of "The Salt Path" – a coastal memoir about healing and walking the South West Coast.

Why Kavina chose it:

“It weaves together the incredibly challenging and healing relationship we have with water as a couple take on the South West Coast Path whilst coming to terms with loss.”

7) White Caps by Jacques Cousteau

Suggested by: Victoria, CEO of Ocean Generation

About the book:

White Caps is a classic! It was written by legendary explorer, Jacques Cousteau. Readers get a first-hand view of the Ocean’s mystery and magnificence, from his perspective. It’s part adventure, part love letter to our Ocean, and full of curiosity.

Cover of "White Caps" by Jacques Cousteau – a legendary Ocean explorer’s memoir.

Why Victoria chose it:

“It was the first book I was given about the Ocean. I wanted to be him when I grew up. It’s taken me 50 years since then to finally reach the Ocean in my career, so I guess the moral of that story is ‘Never Give Up!’”

8) What The Wild Sea Can Be by Helen Scales

Suggested by: Will, Science team

About the book:

Marine biologist, Helen Scales, takes us on a journey across marine ecosystems: seagrass meadows, deep-sea trenches, and coral reefs. The book shares stories of resilience, adaptation, and hope. It’s a beautifully written call to action, urging us to protect the wild heart of our blue planet.

Cover of "What The Wild Sea Can Be" – Helen Scales’ book about Ocean resilience.

Why Will chose it:

“It is an honest representation of the state of our Ocean, with an Ocean Generation flavour of optimism looking forward.”

9) The Blue Machine: How the Ocean Works by Helen Czerski

Suggested by: Storm, Comms team

About the book:

Oceanpgrapher and physicist, Helen Czerski, connects the Ocean’s complex systems to climate and biodiversity impacts. This book makes Oceanography accessible and highlights the Ocean’s role in Earth’s climate and ecosystems.

Cover of "The Blue Machine" by Helen Czerski – explaining how the Ocean system works.

Why Storm chose it:

“The Ocean is more than a body of water. This book shows us just that: how the Ocean is a powerful, living system that shapes our whole planet. It’s a beautiful example of science meets rich, textured storytelling.”

10) Whale Fall by Elizabeth O’Connor

Suggested by: Agnes, Comms team

About the book:

Set in a remote coastal village, in the UK, this novel follows a woman grappling with her past while surrounded by the wild, untamed Ocean. It’s atmospheric, almost poetic, and perfect for readers who love storytelling where the natural world is deeply felt.

Cover of "Whale Fall" by Elizabeth O’Connor – a literary novel set in a coastal Ocean village.

Why Agnes chose it:

“I enjoyed the book because it shows the connection between the Ocean and the inhabitants of a remote island, but without romanticising it. This sort of lifestyle rarely exists today so it was really interesting to learn about it through the story of a young Welsh woman, a whale, and some English researchers.”

11) Life of Pi by Yann Martel

About the book:

While this isn’t a science book, we’ve added it to the list for our fiction lovers. Life of Pi is an award-winning novel about survival at sea. It explores faith and the majesty (and brutality) of the Ocean.

Pi’s deep respect for the Ocean and its creatures makes this quite a philosophical read for Ocean lovers.

Cover of "Life of Pi" – a fiction novel about survival at sea and Ocean reverence.

What are your favourite Ocean books?

When we understand the Ocean, we care for it. And when we care, we take action.

In their own ways, each of these books reminds us why take action to protect the Ocean.

If we’ve missed one of your favourites, share it with us on social media. We’re @OceanGeneration everywhere.

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Ocean Generation

Secret life of algae: From oxygen to algae blooms

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30. 05. 2025 Will Steen

Can we rebuild coral reefs? The promising (and weird) world of coral reef restoration

Can we rebuild coral reefs? Posted by Ocean Generation.

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Here’s what you need to know about coral reef restoration:

Corals are cool. But the reefs face danger. A warming Ocean causes corals to bleach more regularly. Some estimates say we have already lost 50% of the world’s coral reefs.

While we work to reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases, to keep our world from warming, we can also look to support the recovery and rebuilding of impacted coral reef systems. So today we ask: how can we restore our coral reefs (and how is a coral reef like a struggling orchestra)?

Why should we care about coral reefs?

Anyone that has had the privilege of diving on a coral reef will tell you how special these places are.

Reefs cover less than 0.1% of our Ocean floor but support 20-30% of marine species. We have tried to estimate the economic value coral reefs bring, but it’s a difficult area, and economists can’t agree on the price tag.

The range of $30 billion to over $300 billion puts coral reef value somewhere between “tremendously valuable” to “astronomically precious”. Include the goods and services provided by coral reefs and the estimated figure is $2.7 trillion. Trillion with a T.

Coral reefs are excellent shields – healthy reefs can absorb 97% of wave energy. This protects our coasts, on which many of us live. Think of the most famous reef in the world – the Great (what?) Reef for example.

So, we have to keep our corals around. The question is: how are we going to? Let’s take a look at the three most common coral reef restoration methods.

How can we help corals survive? Posted by Ocean Generation. — *Image credits: Coral gardening photo by the BBC, Microfragmentation photo by Blue Corner Dive*

What is coral gardening?

The most used method of reef restoration is coral gardening.

Fragments of healthy coral are taken from an existing coral reef and placed in a nursery. This nursery is set up for the baby coral to thrive. When the corals reach a big enough size, they are ‘planted’ back onto the reef.

This is a very accessible, increasingly cheap way of tackling coral decline. Costs are estimated to drop from $150-$400 per coral to <$10 per coral with improving techniques. It doesn’t require expensive equipment, and is a very visible, practical way to engage communities.

Does coral gardening work long-term?

Not sure. Short-term results? Pretty promising. Two large projects (Coral Reef Foundation in Florida and CARMABI in Curaçao) claim over 80% survival after one and three years respectively.

However, it isn’t all sunshine and coral roses. These figures aren’t peer-reviewed (cross-examined by other scientists) and likely reflect best-case scenarios for certain coral species.

A more accurate long-term figure is likely 30-50%, and although it does increase coral cover, does not comprehensively improve reef health.

A healthy coral reef is diverse.

Gardening projects, however, tend to focus on fast-growing genus like Acropora, ignoring slower growing (but just as important) species. This results in ‘restored’ reefs that are low in biodiversity.

Coral gardening projects tend to focus on fast-growing species. Explained by Ocean Generation.

It’s like trying to have an orchestra with only violins. It is technically music, and possible to even be good, but lacks the depth and the magic of the interplay between instruments that brings it to life.

(One of our marine scientists favourite orchestral pieces is the Planet Earth II Suite: the layering of the song as different instruments come in make your soul soar. What other piece can boast having sleigh bells?? Listen here.)

This coral restoration method is also limited in scalability – can it be used to make a big difference?

Coral gardening is like trying to replant the Amazon by using window boxes. It’s cost effective, and great for fast-growing corals. BUT it produces reefs with low genetic diversity (making them vulnerable to disease) and low species diversity.

Gardening alone isn’t going to save our coral reefs.

Can cutting corals into tiny bits help?

Microfragmentation is chopping up coral colonies into little pieces. The fragments are placed next to each other, and will grow out, to form larger colonies.

The key advantage here is in the species this method targets, such as star or brain coral.

Where, with coral gardening, we are predominantly working with fast-growing corals, this is for the slow-growing corals that are key to reef building, and for whom other methods won’t be effective. These are the bass section in our orchestra: there are less of them, and they are slower, but still crucial to the symphony.

Studies have suggested that this method of coral restoration can accelerate the growth of massive colonies by 10-15%.

However, this is limited to massive species and carries the same dangers of limited genetic diversity as gardening, if few donor colonies are used.

As coral reproduction is strongly linked to size, smashing colonies into little bits certainly impacts their reproductive capacity in the short term. Currently, we don’t know how much or how long that effect lasts.

While this method is an excellent boost for the big boys on the reef, it’s not a reef-wide solution. If it’s used with more conventional gardening, you can help specific species of corals grow more successfully. But how can we support the entire reef system, in all its complexity and diversity?

Microfragmenttaion, a coral reef restoration method, can help slow growing corals. Posted by Ocean Generation.

How do corals reproduce?

Coral reproduction is weird. A few nights of the year, all the corals on the reef will release their eggs and sperm to mix in the Ocean currents. These are called coral spawning events.

The fertilised eggs will be Ocean floaters until they find a spot to settle. Most species settle within two weeks, but some can take as long as to 2 months.

Can we increase the amount of coral larvae settling?

There’s growing appreciation of the different ways coral larvae decides where to settle. We now know that the sounds produced by a healthy reef act as a draw for young corals (find out more about the sounds of a coral reef here). Similarly, we are now realising that young corals “smell” their way to their new home.

What can we do with this information? We can advertise reefs in a way young corals can understand. Speakers playing the noises of healthy reefs, and a newly engineered gel releasing chemical cues replicating a healthy reef are some examples.

These solutions increase coral settlement, helping the reef rebuild itself. This is like advertising for more players in the orchestra, looking to bring in new talent. But what if we take that further?

Coral spawning is fascinating. Explained by Ocean Generation, leaders in Ocean education.

How do you help corals have more babies?

The Ocean is becoming a lot less of a love nest as it warms. The success rates of coral fertilisation drop with rising temperature and acidity.

So, how can we help the corals? By collecting the eggs and sperm during spawning events and taking them back to the lab. There, they have the best chance at fertilisation, and the larvae can be reared until they are ready to settle. Then, they can be released back to the reef.

We can protect the coral at their most vulnerable stage of life.

In the wild, less than 1% of coral larvae will make it to settlement. Of those that do, up to 90% won’t survive the first few months. The proportion of larvae to survive to a juvenile coral is minute, somewhere between 0.001 – 0.1%.

Through assisted reproduction, the success rates are still low, but much higher than the wild. Some studies have shown survival rates to a year to be 0.1-1%. That might seem small, but it’s at least ten times better than the chances for a wild coral larvae. Others show an increase in coral cover after nearly three years. Even more promising? Drop the young corals in, rather than manually fixing them to the reef (a seeding approach), survival rates after a year can reach a whopping 9.6% while the costs remain low.

Here’s the real magic: these methods keep the gene pool diverse and interesting.

Coral reef restoration methods. Explained by Ocean Generation.

We’ve already discussed fragment-growing methods like coral gardening and micro-fragmentation. But unlike fragment growing (which is basically coral cloning), assisted reproduction gives us reefs with genetic variety – think coral cousins rather than identical twins. And that variety? It makes reefs more resilient long term.

This would be the equivalent of sponsoring a musical training programme, nurturing the next generation to guarantee the success of our orchestra.

Where’s the catch?

All the data here comes from projects with scientists doting on every need of the corals. Basically: If we were to strip back the money and the monitoring, the survival rates of corals will probably take a hit.

Assisted reproduction works with the natural reefs, which is its strength as it maintains diversity and avoids the risks of disrupting the ecosystem with new species. It’s also a weakness, as some reefs have lost too many sexually mature corals to rebuild themselves.

While it may not be the most efficient way to resurrect a reef, assisted reproduction could make the difference on degraded reefs needing a boost.

Are artificial reefs the answer?

Like corals, people are great builders. Like us, corals need a good foundation to build on. Some of the most fun coral reef projects focus around providing those foundations, through concrete blocks and 3D printed units.

These foundations can encourage our polyp pals (AKA: coral babies) to settle down and make their home. We can build a new concert hall for our orchestra.

These structures provide habitat immediately for non-coral animals to use as well (little fishies can hide and sponges and algae can grow).

We have also found that running electricity through a concrete foundation helps coral growth (now that’s current science).

Artificial coral reefs are a good initial boost.

Plus, it works quickly and can be scaled up easily. Like coral gardening, artificial reef building is accessible enough for local communities to get their hands wet. And there’s nothing like a concrete reef structure to make conservation visible *literally* and raise the profile of reef protection efforts.

Artificial coral reefs are a reef restoration method. Posted by Ocean Generation.

But we don’t have a silver bullet here. There is concern that they could act as an ‘ecological trap’. They are fish magnets, not factories – they concentrate, not create.

Natural reefs and their residents settle and thrive not just because of a hard surface, but because there are good water conditions, plenty of food for their inhabitants and their populations are balanced.

A reef in a poor location could end up negatively impacting the local fish. Imagine a new housing estate, but with no water and no shops. And acid rain. And bears. This is not a good housing estate.

For artificial coral reefs to work they must be designed AND located with care and understanding. Don’t build a concert hall with terrible acoustics, no electricity and no public transport links. You need to know the area you are building in.

Can we make super corals to survive climate change?

None of the approaches so far tackle the root issue. The main threat to coral reefs is that the Ocean is changing faster than they can cope with.

Could the answer then lie in us accelerating their adaption, selecting the more heat-resistant corals as evolution does, but faster?

Our orchestra can experiment with new instruments and compositions to make a new sound.

What is a super coral?

Through selective breeding (choosing corals that can take the heat and breeding them) and microbial manipulation (like giving corals a probiotic yogurt, with beneficial bacteria and other tiny friends), we may be able to create ‘super corals’.

When it works, it works brilliantly. Some lab studies showed that selectively bred corals could handle Ocean temperatures 1.5 degrees warmer than their non-selected colleagues.

It’s an approach that directly addresses the main threat to corals, temperature rise, and could produce corals able to thrive in the predicted conditions of the Ocean in 2100.

But temperature isn’t the only thing at work. These super corals have shown decreased resistance to Ocean acidification, the co-conspirator to Ocean warming. Think of a triathlete that can swim *like a fish* but also cycles like one. One-trick ponies aren’t what we’re going for when it comes to building healthy coral reefs.

Our high performer corals also put a lot of energy into being super, so have less to put into growth and reproduction.

What are super corals? Explained by Ocean Generation.

Another simple hesitation is the amount we don’t know. How could the super corals fit in? Will they outcompete naturally evolving corals? Disrupt ecological balances we don’t yet understand? Will our new music find an audience?

Despite these challenges, assisted evolution remains a promising way for reef conservation in a rapidly warming world.

As one researcher memorably put it: “We’re not playing God with corals; we’re simply giving evolution a helping hand when we’ve rather inconsiderately moved the finish line.”

But if we are making new music, maybe we need a different orchestra set up.

Is coral reef restoration the way to go to save reefs?

New approaches and ways of thinking suggest that we should embrace our changing world.

We may not be able to ‘restore’ our reefs to the way they were, as our world is not the same as it was. Instead of spending time, money, and effort trying to build the reefs that used to exist, we could help build a reef that can thrive in the future conditions of the Ocean.

To play to the tune of the future, maybe we need more woodwind and brass. Think more jazz improvisation than classical recital.

This could offer a more pragmatic approach, acknowledging that full restoration is not feasible in the long term. It focuses on ecosystem function rather than maintaining the old reefs and could integrate the use of ‘super corals’.

But this comes with the issues of the unknown.

Ecosystems are notorious for their chain reactions. Tweak one thing, and something you thought completely unrelated is affected. Bring wolves back to Yellowstone? Suddenly the rivers change course. Remove tiger sharks from an area? Watch the dugongs reduce the seagrass to mud flats since they don’t have to watch their backs.

How would the new ecosystem function and effect the life around it? What if the new saxophonist doesn’t get on well with the trombone players? What if the audience don’t like it?

Coral reefs support 25-30% of marine species.

So how are we doing with coral reef restoration?

One estimate calculates that less than 0.1% of degraded reef area is under active restoration. Most projects are small-scale (100m²or less) and short-term, with monitoring lasting less than 18 months.

Restoring just 10% of degraded reefs could cost billions.

The reality is most restoration projects are in convenient places, not where the corals will thrive. This renders most restoration projects vulnerable. Some can be completely lost after promising growth.

But reef restoration is a stark reminder – humanity can act.

Coral bleaching is among the most visual representations of our changing climate. But the time, effort and care that is devoted to restoring coral reefs around the world shows the desire to protect our natural world.

For us to have healthy coral reefs, to have our orchestra really sing, we need to combine approaches. We can’t focus only on strings or on bringing in the young talent. We need to support the whole orchestra so we can enjoy the music.

As corals have been a poster child for the degradation of our world, so too could they be the success story. Every young coral nurtured today could be the foundation of a healthy future reef, different to yesterday’s maybe, but no less important for our blue planet.

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Will Steen

Secret life of algae: From oxygen to algae blooms

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14. 05. 2025 Will Steen

What is coral bleaching?

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What you need to know about coral bleaching:

White branches reaching out, stark against the blue. Where there was colour, now only ghostly white. This haunting transformation isn’t just a visual tragedy – it’s the silent SOS of some our Ocean’s most spectacular ecosystems. This is coral bleaching.

Coral reefs aren’t just beautiful — they’re nurseries for fish, protect coasts from storms, and feed millions of people. When coral reefs bleach, their whole ecosystem is at risk. But what is coral bleaching? What causes it, and why does it damage reefs?

Are corals animals, plants or rocks?

Corals are animals. Some may have stone skeletons and live with plants. But all corals are animals.

Corals are tiny animals called polyps. Each polyp has a soft body and a mouth surrounded by tentacles, like a little sea anemone or an upside-down jellyfish. All these animals are related – they are cnidarians (silent c), named after their cnidocytes – special cells that can sting.

Where does coral’s colour come from?

Corals are incredible animals. They build immense structures that provide homes for marine species, protect the coast and create oases in the ‘desert’ of tropical seas (there are very few nutrients in the waters of the tropical Ocean).

To be able to do all this, they need some help. Corals have symbiotic algae called zooxanthellae living in their skin cells. Think of zooxanthellae as tiny solar-powered chefs living inside coral homes.

They catch sunlight, cook up energy, and share over 80% of the meal with their coral landlords. The coral provides protection and prime real estate with an Ocean view. It’s a win-win (this is what symbiotic means) – until climate change cranks up the thermostat.

It’s zooxanthellae that gives coral its colour. The magical, vivid world of coral reefs is painted by these little algae. Without them, corals are translucent, and the white of their calcium carbonate skeleton shines through.

Why do corals bleach?

The happy relationship between coral and zooxanthellae can be disrupted. When it is, this can lead to the expulsion of the algae from coral tissues, leaving the coral gleaming white (it is a spectrum, coral can partially bleach).

The most common cause of coral bleaching is thermal stress AKA temperature. If conditions aren’t right, the systems that make photosynthesis (plants turning sunlight into food) can break.

When these systems break, they can produce reactive oxygen species (ROS). ROS are produced in normal function, but too many ROS harm the coral. When the coral detects this build up, it acts in self-defence and throws the algae out.

Usually, this is from it being too hot, but the system can be broken when it is too cold, or in too much sunlight, or exposed to harmful pollutants.

That’s a bit abstract. Let’s make an analogy.

Imagine the coral as a battery, and the algae as a solar panel. Normally, the algae are providing energy to the battery from the sunlight. But if the solar panel gets too hot or is exposed to too much sunlight under a magnifying glass, it might start to malfunction. It starts to spark, so to protect itself the battery disconnects. Without its solar panels, our coral battery can only run on emergency power for so long before it’s completely drained.

Why does coral bleaching happen? Explained by Ocean Generation.

History of coral bleaching – how long has bleaching been about?

We’ve known about coral bleaching for nearly a century. In 1929, scientists first described it during extreme low tides. But it wasn’t until 1984 that a mass bleaching was documented, linked to unusually warm waters.

Then came 1998 — the first global mass bleaching event, when around 16% of the world’s coral reefs were lost.

Places like the Maldives, Seychelles, and reefs in the Indian Ocean lost nearly half their coral cover. 2023 saw the start of the fourth global coral bleaching event, that over the next two years saw an estimated 84% of the worlds coral reef areas bleached.

Sounds bad, but this isn’t the end.

Why do corals bleach? — *Image credit: Great Barrier Reef Foundation*

Does bleaching mean coral is dead?

No. A bleached coral is still alive, it just doesn’t have its friend feeding it. This leaves the coral more vulnerable to disease, but also to starvation. Unless our battery reconnects to its solar panel, it will eventually run flat.

Having repeated bleaching events reduces corals’ ability to recover. It’s like punching them while they are down.

When the coral eventually dies, it loses its white look and will begin to get covered with other algae and seaweed.

However, corals have shown us again and again they have an amazing ability to recover when given the chance.

Different species of coral are more tolerant, and different species of zooxanthellae can take more heat too.

Some species of coral bounce back faster than others; the marine equivalent of those friends who somehow recover from a night out while you’re still nursing a headache. The massive boulder corals? They’re the slow-but-steady marathon runners. The branching corals? More like sprinters – quick to bleach, but sometimes quicker to recover.

After bleaching, it is possible that coral acquire more heat-tolerant photosynthesising friends, chefs that can take the heat in the kitchen. Corals aren’t going down without a fight.

How can we help prevent coral bleaching? Explained by Ocean Generation, leaders of Ocean education.

How can we help the corals?

There is a lot of work going into understanding corals, and reef restoration methods continue to be tested and implemented (read here for more.)

Corals are the poster child of Ocean health. They are impacted by all our Ocean threats, which means you can help wherever you are.

Every time you switch off an unnecessary light, choose a reef-safe sunscreen (free from oxybenzone, octocrylene or octinoxate), or select a sustainably caught fish dinner, you’re casting a vote for coral survival.

The future of coral reefs could be written in bleached white, or in vibrant technicolour. The pen, rather excitingly, is in your hands.

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Will Steen

Secret life of algae: From oxygen to algae blooms

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2. 04. 2025 Will Steen

Why are rivers important?

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From the creek whispering through a forest, to the confusion of huge currents twisting against each other in the channel. These flowing waters connect ecosystems, cultures, and continents — and ultimately, they connect us to the sea. Join us to explore why rivers are important.

Read about the wider water cycle and how rivers fit into it here.

Why are rivers amazing? What is an estuary? And what are the threats to these wet wonders?

What are rivers?

Let’s start with a quick definition. Rivers are large, natural flowing streams of water. They have banks on either side, they have a source and a mouth. They meander through every continent, from a few kilometres to thousands long.

Which is the biggest river?

What does ‘biggest’ mean? Let us start with length, and to answer that, let us start with another question: where do rivers start? Finding where a river begins is notoriously difficult.

It’s tricky to work out where that first drop comes from. Some rivers begin from a lake or a melting glacier. Others, like the Danube in Europe, start from a spring (water bubbling out of the ground).

River origin leads to debates over which the longest river is – the Nile or the Amazon.

The Guinness Book of World Records gives the award to the Nile but does concede “which is longer is more a matter of definition than simple measurement”.

The Nile, in Africa, has been estimated as great as 7,088 km (4,404 miles) in length, and the same paper puts the Amazon, in South America, at 6,575km (4,085 miles).

However, a quick search will reveal some debate. 6,650 km (4,132 miles) is more commonly quoted for the Nile, and 6,400 km (3,976 miles) for the Amazon.

Explorers are always trying to prove otherwise, measuring in a different way, from a different point, to a different point.
We are #TeamNile.

Next, there is the deepest river in the world: the river Congo.

It reaches depths of 220m. That is about as deep as the world record for SCUBA diving. By that depth there is little light, and the pressure from the water above is equivalent to having three adult orcas lying on top of you.

The Amazon stands alone in the amount of water it gathers.

Once rivers start their journey, they gather in momentum on their mission back to the Ocean. More precipitation and groundwater help fuel their flow, and other streams, known as tributaries, join it along the way.

Approximately 209,000m^3/s of water enters the Atlantic from the Amazon. Imagine 75 hot air balloons filled with water, every second. This is equivalent to almost 20% of the total global river discharge, the total volume of water rivers release into the Ocean.

The Amazon is more than the Nile, the Mississippi, in the USA, and the Chang Jiang (Yangtze), in Asia, combined. The brown waters can be seen as far as 100km (62 miles) out to sea, which provided an important navigation tool for sailors hundreds of years ago.

The biggest rivers on Earth, posted by Ocean Generation.

Where are estuaries?

Where the river reaches the Ocean, the interface is an estuary. They usually have a mix of fresh and salty water, known as brackish (there are some examples of freshwater estuaries in the Great Lakes of North America).

Estuaries are highly productive, unique ecosystems. For many different animals they provide food, places to breed, nursery grounds and hosting migratory species.

But why do rivers matter?

Rivers are important, as fresh water is key to all life. Rivers have influenced our world historically, geologically and culturally. They support life where it would otherwise be unviable, on land and in the Ocean. They are the ultimate connector.

Approximately 40 trillion cubic metres of water enters the Ocean from rivers every year. But it doesn’t come alone.

As water moves over the land, it picks up hitchhikers (such as ions, making the sea salty – see more here). Material dissolves into the river, or the water pulls it along. These can lend colour to the river waters (and often their names).

There is the Rio Negro in Brazil, named due to the humic acid from decomposing vegetation colouring the water black. The Red Rivers in Peru and North America, from the small pieces of rock containing iron oxides. The Drina in central Europe is green due to the limestone it flows over and the Hwang Ho (Yellow River) in China is named so because of the loess (a type of soil or sediment) it carries.

They do more than just look good; these multicoloured masses are changing the world.

Freshwater is key to all life on Earth. Posted by Ocean Generation.

How do rivers change the world?

Flowing over rocks, mud and sand, each particle that the waters pick up change the course of the river and the shape of the land. Look around where you live, you can usually find the fingerprints of water at work.

Rivers can cut away land and form new land, depositing the sediment it has picked up on the bank or in deltas where they meet the Ocean.

The Colorado River, in North America, has produced the most remarkable example, carving away the landscape to produce the Grand Canyon, while the Nile Delta shows us how rivers build land too.

The waters are full of nutrients, iron, nitrates and other essential building blocks for life. When these enter the Ocean, life flourishes.

How are rivers and estuaries important for us?

Rivers are incredibly important for one species in particular: us.

The first great civilisations all rose up on rivers. The Nile, the Indus, the Tigris and Euphrates and the Huang all supported some of the earliest great cities in human history. Think of a big city – if it isn’t on the coast, we bet it is on a river.

Rivers provide food: the last two very long uninterrupted rivers in Southeast Asia, the Irrawaddy and Salween, provide 1.2 million tonnes of catch annually and support agriculture of over 30 million people. In the US, approximately 68% of the commercial fish caught were caught in estuaries.

The water rivers carry is crucial for drinking, domestic use and agriculture. More recently, we use it for power and industry, and transport.

Rivers have held a central place in culture as well, connecting us and our world metaphysically.

The Whanganui river in New Zealand has been regarded as an ancestor by the Māori people for centuries, and the Ganges is upheld as a place of healing and purity, personified by the goddess Ganga. In Japan, Shinto beliefs hold that each river has its own divine guardian, the Kawa-no-Kami.

Across many different cultures, rivers have been celebrated and protected.

Why do rivers matter? Posted by Ocean Generation, leaders in Ocean education.

What are the threats to the rivers?

As much as rivers have impacted human civilisation, we have had our impact on them.

Changes to our water cycle due to climate change have reduced the resilience of our rivers as they experience larger variations in flow. Add that to pollution, developing on their banks, extracting their flora and fauna and even stopping their flow – rivers have had it tough.

In order to harness the power of our rivers, we have been interrupting their flow. Just 23% of rivers over 1000km long flow uninterrupted into the Ocean, broken up by an estimated 2.8 million dams.

How does pollution affect rivers?

It is important to realise there are lots of different types of pollution. The first and most obvious is big pollution – plastic, waste, shopping trolleys – that kind of thing. This rubbish can damage the life in the river itself, spoil the water for use and clog and disrupt the water flow.

The other kind of pollution is the small stuff – chemicals, microplastics and pharmaceuticals. These can disrupt aquatic wildlife, make the water unsafe to drink and accumulate through the food chain.

The Ganges, in India, is now a stark example of river pollution. In Hinduism, the river is personified as the goddess Ganga, the goddess of purity.

Just 37% of sewage is treated before entering the river. The banks are lined with tanneries, slaughterhouses, textile mills, chemical plants and hospitals. The waste that fills the river has an estimated 66% occurrence of waterborne disease and contains super-bacteria resistant to antibiotics.

How are estuaries under threat?

Estuaries face many of the same threats as rivers. An estimated 55% of global wetland areas has been lost since 1900, due to developing coastal areas. These wetlands provide unique habitats for their inhabitants, who often are not suited to either the freshwater or marine environments.

We also benefit from the carbon dioxide absorption, offsetting our emissions, and the reduction in the risks of flooding and coastal erosion.

But we are poisoning them too. Chemicals – pesticides and fertilisers – used in agriculture, are washed into rivers and accumulate in estuaries. This leads to nutrient overloading, or eutrophication, with harmful algal blooms appearing. When these die, the decomposition uses up the oxygen in the water – impacting the animals living there.

Estuaries absorb carbon dioxide. Posted by Ocean Generation

How can we look after our rivers?

Everything is connected, which means you can make a difference from anywhere. Simply being aware of the connection you have with the Ocean is an important step. You can look after it, wherever you are.

Rivers connect us directly to the Ocean. A hot take? All life is essentially marine – everything is connected to and dependent on the Ocean.

Along with estuaries, they provide important habitats, give us the water we need to survive and bring us closer together through transport and culture. But they are threatened in our new world. As ever, being aware is such a crucial first step to solving any issue.

Educate others:

Share information about river conservation and encourage others to take action.
Engage in local initiatives that promote sustainable water management practices.

Join community and advocacy events:

Participate in local river clean-up events to help maintain waterways and raise awareness

Advocate for sustainable practices:

Support policies that protect rivers from pollution and over-abstraction
Promote low-impact renewable energy to preserve free-flowing rivers
Be aware of what you use. Harsh chemicals for cleaning and gardening will eventually enter our Ocean. Check your shampoo for harmful chemicals and microplastics.

Next time you are by a river, take a moment. That is a direct line to the Ocean. See if you can understand the connection humans have felt with rivers throughout our history. Wonder at the power and beauty. Appreciate the importance of our rivers.

You can make a difference from anywhere.

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Will Steen

Secret life of algae: From oxygen to algae blooms

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8. 12. 2024 Will Steen

COP29 outcomes: Wins and disappointments

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COP29 finished on the 24th November 2024, after two weeks of tough, technical negotiations.

It was full of colouring books, expensive sandwiches and drama! Let’s break down the COP29 outcomes: the wins and disappointments – and have a look across to COP16 (the biodiversity one) too.

What is COP16? Why are there multiple? What are all the acronyms? Read our explainer here.

Money, money, money.

COP29 was held in Baku, Azerbaijan and was painted as the ‘finance COP’ with the hopes of a climate finance deal being agreed.

Hold up – what is climate finance? Broadly speaking, climate finance refers to any money “that seeks to support mitigation or adaption actions that will address climate change” – UNFCCC (remember what it stands for? Spoiler: United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change)

Richer countries – often referred to as the Global North (that also includes Australia, Israel and New Zealand) – have emitted the vast majority of the CO2 that is responsible for climate change. As of 2019, the Global North have emitted 2.5 times their fair share of the emissions allowed for 1.5 degrees of warming.

Countries in the Global North industrialised much earlier than the Global South, making a lot of money at the cost of carbon dioxide emissions. It has been called for, and agreed, that the richer countries should provide money to the developing countries, to allow them to develop without emitting so much CO2.

Furthermore, there’s a loss and damage fund to help countries most affected by climate change. Many of the countries most vulnerable to the effects of climate change (sea level rise, droughts, heatwaves, floods, intense storms etc.) are poorer countries.

What were the themes of COP29?

So, what actually happened this year? Let’s explore a few of the themes that came from the COP29 summit this year.

Presents and petrol stations.

Countries have their own stands – as an opportunity for cultural sharing and integration. Many gave out gifts: Georgia handed out some wine tasters, the UK provided coffee.

Go to the Russian stand and you could pick up an ecological colouring book, full of tips for environmental sustainability. Some were slightly cynical, as it was produced by a major fossil fuel company.

Fossil fuels were present throughout COP29. Azerbaijan, the host country, is a country with 90% of its exports comprised of fossil fuels. The capital, Baku (save that for the pub quiz) houses the very first industrial oil well and was the world’s first oil town (dating back to the 1840s).

For the second year running, COP was attended by more fossil fuel lobbyists than the ten most climate change vulnerable countries‘ delegations combined. The host nation Azerbaijan, next year’s host Brazil and one of the countries competing for COP31 presidency, Turkey, were the only countries with more attending.

Although the 1,773 attendees from fossil fuel companies made up only 1.5% – there were only three countries with more.

Should discussions around climate change happen in the house of the industry most responsible for the damage?

Or does it represent an opportunity to engage and include those most capable of changing our world?

Al Gore said, “It’s unfortunate that the fossil fuel industry and the petrostates have seized control of the COP process to an unhealthy degree.”

Or, as Oil Change International member David Tong said: “It’s like tobacco lobbyists at a conference on lung cancer.”

The president of Azerbaijan made headlines this year describing oil and gas as “a gift from God”. This was denounced by a multitude of faith groups. And the Brazilian environment minister Marina Silva said: “We should take care in moderation of the gifts we are given – if we eat too much sugar, we get diabetes.”

A report published during COP highlighted that eight fossil fuel companies had paid at least $17.6 million to Meta (which owns Facebook and Instagram) alone for pushing their posts – 700 million impressions, all within the last year.

Al Gore quote about fossil fuel lobbyists at COP29. Posted by Ocean Generation.

Activism has always been a big part of COP.

It presents an opportunity to make voices heard by the decisionmakers and gives a platform to send big messages.

Attendees of the COP29 summit were welcomed by a realistic, full-sized model of a dead sperm whale on the waterside in Baku. Created by Belgian art collective Captain Boomer, the piece hopes to highlight “the disruption of our ecological system”.

In the run-up to COP29, the cop29.com website was acquired by Global Witness, which called for fossil fuel CEOs to pay for the damage they have done to the climate.

There was a protest outside BP headquarters in London, and a number of demonstrations in Baku, including a large snake, with the message “weed out the snakes” – aimed at the fossil fuel attendees.

Activism at COP29 presents an opportunity to make our voices heard.

COP29: Agreements and outcomes.

After two weeks, and running over by 34 hours, COP29 closed with a number of agreements. What did all the sleepless nights in smelly conference halls produce? (at one point the plumbing failed, filling the corridors with the smell of you-know-what).

There were finally some numbers for climate finance – $1.3 trillion per year, needed by 2035. This number is based in the recommendations of the Independent Expert Group on Climate Finance (IHLEG). “At least” $300 billion of this is to come from developed countries. The rest could come from a range of sources including private finance and taxes on cryptocurrency, airplane tickets and the super-rich – known as solidarity levies.

There was no agreement reached on how to take the Global Stocktake from COP28 forward, so it was pushed back to COP30 next year.

Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, describing ‘carbon markets’, was finalised, marking the last element of the Paris Agreement to be completed, although it was not agreed on. This just means that the text has been written, but countries have not yet signed on the dotted line.

The reaction to COP29 has been, optimistically, mixed.

The focus, following on from the expectations coming into COP29 (finance COP), has been on climate finance. The amount pledged by the Global North has come under fire: “A paltry sum” and “a joke” by delegates from India and Nigeria respectively.

However, some took a more positive view. Marshall Islands climate envoy Tina Stege said, “it isn’t nearly enough, but it is a start”. An observer was quoted by the Carbon Brief as saying, “momentum was neither lost nor gained, just maintained” so overall, it achieves “a passing grade”.

UNFCCC (remember what that stands for?) Executive Secretary Simon Steill said:

“This new finance goal is an insurance policy for humanity, amid worsening climate impacts hitting every country. But like any insurance policy – it only works – if premiums are paid in full, and on time. Promises must be kept, to protect billions of lives.”

$300 billion per year, it has been widely agreed, is not enough. But the creation of a deal is a good step and could be enough to spur on the further investment required from private finance and new sources, such as carbon markets and new taxes.

What happened at COP29 and COP16: Explained by Ocean Generation.

Outside the negotiating rooms.

Beyond the walls of formal negotiations, there were some big developments.

Indonesia, the 8^th biggest emitter of CO2, unexpectedly pledged a complete phase out.
Mexico was the last G20 country to not commit to net zero, but did during COP29.
UK and the EU joined 30 nations in an agreement to slash emissions further, specifically targeting methane emissions.
China’s influence grew in the absence of strong US leadership. It announced the opening of the largest wind farm in the world.
Some NDCs (Nationally Determined Contributions) announced: UK pledged a reduction of 81% against 1990 levels by 2035. Brazil announced a 59-67% reduction against 2005 levels.
At COP29, over 70 events were hosted in the dedicated Ocean Pavilion over the two weeks.

What happened at COP16 (the biodiversity summit)?

Just 10 days before the first delegates landed in Baku, COP16 wrapped up in Cali, Columbia. This followed very similar themes. It was focused on money. Specifically, where to find the money required to tackle biodiversity loss and restoration.

The Cali Fund was established and though limited in being entirely voluntary with debated scope, can be a positive step.

Another main objective for COP16 was the updating National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans, and unfortunately only 44 countries out of 196 had done so by the end of the conference.

119 countries submitted national biodiversity targets, building on the work of the Global Biodiversity Framework agreed on at COP15.

COP16 formally recognised the importance of indigenous peoples and local communities (IPLCs) to conservation efforts, creating a body to amplify their voices in the CBD.

At COP16, the Ocean was prominent in a way not previously seen.

The Small Island Developing States (SIDS) pushed for progress. The Maldives announced14% protection of their coral reefs with more protection pencilled in. The Azores announced the largest MPA network in the North Atlantic, protecting 30% of its waters.

Parties approved a new process to identify ecologically or biologically significant marine areas (EBSAs) (bet you thought we were done with new acronyms).

This doesn’t guarantee protection but can guide the creation of marine protected areas (MPAs) in areas that will be most effective, including the high seas.

Generally, the progress made for the Ocean was received very positively.

COP29 and COP16: the transition from negotiation to actions.

Awareness, knowledge and respect for the natural world is growing. Frustration at pace of progress is evident throughout the process, from those in the room to those hearing the news. We need to appreciate how far we have come, while also maintaining the push onwards.

What was top of the COPs?

Tops	Nots
Agreement to triple climate finance to $300 billion	Amount falls far short of that hoped by developing countries
Carbon markets approved after a decade of trying	Fears of carbon markets being misused in bad offsetting and fraud
Cali Fund established	No mandatory contributions – entirely voluntary, no guarantees
Loss and Damage Fund should be operational in 2025, and has $730 million pledged	No further progress on last year’s Global Stocktake – phasing out fossil fuels
Mexico and Indonesia surprise with net zero and emission cutting announcements	Some countries and parties obstructing progress
China announces more voluntary contributions to climate finance

COP29 ment a transition from negotiations to actions. Posted by Ocean Generation.

Brazil has made it clear it intends to make COP30 a “Nature COP”. If it can maintain momentum, COP29 has given foundation for the transition into tangible action.

These big global treaties can feel very far away, and it can seem that there is nothing you or I could do. But we are the key parts of this puzzle. Appreciate every small action you take.

Turn down your heating by one degree this winter – barely enough to notice but saving a lot of emissions.

Be conscious of what you eat – choosing local, seasonal food can be your difference.

Get talking. You are already doing something important – staying informed. Having conversations with other people, making people more aware, is a crucial part of the process. Engage with us! We love to hear the actions you are taking, and we will answer every question sent our way.

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Will Steen

Secret life of algae: From oxygen to algae blooms

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8. 12. 2024 Will Steen

Everything you need to know about COP: COP29, COP16s and the things between

Everything you need to know about COP: Explained by Ocean Generation.

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Heard a lot about the COP conferences but not sure what’s going on? Acronyms got you all in a twist?

Welcome to a white-knuckle ride into climate-summit world, where we explain everything you need to know about COP.

What is COP?

COP is our first acronym (can be written as Cop or all in caps). It stands for Conference Of the Parties, the name given to the group of countries (Parties) all coming together to make big decisions.

It consists of negotiations between representatives, presided over by the host country. They’re also used as a platform for scientific developments and activism: talks are held, and papers are released aiming to maximise impact.

Why are there multiple COPs?

COP is most used to refer to the COP of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) – the big annual summit on climate change. The 2024 edition was the 29^th summit, so it is known as COP29 – easy!

But COP can be used to describe the meetings held for other conventions too.

2024 also had the COP for the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (UNCBD) in October and the COP for the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) in December. Both of these are biennial (one every two years) and meeting for the 16^th time, so both are known as COP16 – useful (not).

Three conventions of the Rio Trio aim to tackle threats to humanity. Posted by Ocean Generation

The three COPs were all created at the UN Earth summit in 1992 in Rio de Janeiro, so are known as the ‘Rio Conventions’ or more informally the Rio Trio. They aim to tackle three major threats to humanity – climate change, biodiversity loss and desertification.

The most famous COP outcome was the Paris Agreement.

The Paris Agreement was negotiated at COP21 in 2015. You’ll never guess where. It’s a legally binding (means enforceable by law) agreement with the primary goal of keeping global average temperature well below 2 degrees above pre-industrial levels.

The basic plan? Every country gradually ramps up their climate actions, detailed in Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). NDCs are refreshed every five years, and the next round are coming in 2025 – watch this space.

The Agreement also provides a framework of support between countries. Financial, technological and capacity building support is guide lined to enable and encourage cooperation.

Countries also established an enhanced transparency framework (ETF) for gathering relevant data, which will then feed into the Global Stocktake, the progress report for our climate. The Global Stocktake will be published every five years, with the first released last year at COP28.

Everything you need to know about COP: The Ocean is our biggest ally against climate change.

What does COP mean for the Ocean?

This depends which COP you are talking about.

Climate change is a global threat, against which the Ocean has acted as our shield for years. The Ocean absorbs excess heat and carbon dioxide, maintaining our biosphere’s balance. Ocean acidification, marine heat waves and intensifying weather patterns are just some symptoms of a stressed system.

The Ocean is our biggest ally against climate change and the actions at COPs can safeguard our Ocean. While they are not specific to the Ocean, the decisions made at COP can decide the health of our Ocean ecosystems.

The CBD COP (the biodiversity one) is more directly linked to the Ocean: at COP15 the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework officially set the target to protect 30% of countries land and seas by 2030, known as the 30×30 agreement.

Read more about the agreements made at COP29 and learn more about the outcomes of COP16 here.

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Will Steen

Secret life of algae: From oxygen to algae blooms

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16. 10. 2024 Thi Nguyen

How Climate Change threatens polar species: Polar bears, Orcas and Narwhals

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Many polar species depend on sea ice for essential activities like resting, hunting, and avoiding predators but climate change poses a threat.

Polar species have finely tuned their behaviours, and physiological traits to the seasonal advance and retreat of sea ice.

However, as sea temperatures rise and the Arctic (in the Northern Hemisphere) warms at four times the global average rate, sea ice is shrinking and breaking up earlier each year.

This trend presents growing challenges for polar species that rely on ice, highlighting just how important it is to tackle climate change to ensure their survival.

How polar bears are impacted by climate change

Characterised by their large size, dense white fur, and flattened cranium, polar bears are apex predators in the Arctic ecosystem. Their primary prey are ice-dependent seals, particularly ringed and bearded seals.

Seals use the ice as a platform for resting, breeding, and giving birth. Using an ambush technique, polar bears wait at seal breathing holes, catching seals as they come up for air. This saves them energy compared to more active hunting methods.

Ringed and bearded seals in the Arctic, posted by Ocean Generation

Polar bears’ hunting success peaks in the spring and early summer, coinciding with the weaning period of seal pups. This makes it a critical time for the bears to build fat reserves essential for survival through winter.

Climate change delays sea ice formation in autumn, and it’s reducing the time available for hunting seals later in the year. As a result, it’s becoming increasingly difficult for polar bears to build or maintain their fat reserves.

Increased fragmentation of sea ice also forces polar bears to swim longer distances to reach stable ice. In some regions, polar bears have been recorded swimming over 50km. This is an energy draining task for these not-so efficient swimmers, due to their paddling motion and the added drag of swimming at the water’s surface.

Polar bears wait at seal breathing holes

With summer sea ice disappearing, polar bears are becoming more dependent on food sources on land. These offer far less nutrition compared to the energy-rich blubber of seals and increases human-wildlife conflict.

They are currently listed as Vulnerable under the IUCN Red List (last assessed in 2015), facing threats from residential and commercial development, human disturbance and climate change.

How narwhals are impacted by climate change

Narwhals, distinguished by their long, protruding tusks, are remarkable divers capable of reaching depths of up to 1,500 meters in pursuit of prey. Their diet primarily consists of fish (Greenland halibut in particular), cephalopods (such as squid), and crustaceans.

Narwhals depend on breathing holes in the ice to survive

To support their slow, endurance swimming, narwhals have evolved a high proportion of specialised slow-twitch muscles, which make up about 90% of the muscle fibre in their bodies. These muscles are rich in myoglobin. This is an oxygen-binding protein that enhances their ability to store and use oxygen efficiently during extended dives.

Narwhals, like other marine mammals, depend on the stability of breathing holes in the ice to survive. However, climate change has made these ice conditions increasingly unpredictable, leading to entrapment and fatalities for narwhals when they can’t locate a breathing hole.

Their narrow temperature range coupled with strong attachment to specific locations and migratory routes makes them particularly vulnerable in the rapidly warming Arctic.

Currently listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List (last assessed in 2023), narwhals are increasingly threatened by climate change, as well as energy production and mining activities.

How orcas are impacted by climate change

Orcas inhabit the Oceans worldwide, ranging from polar regions to tropical waters. They are categorised into three distinct forms, A, B and C, with type B exhibiting cooperative hunting behaviour in pursuit of seals. In these strategies, family group members work together to create synchronised waves that wash seals off the ice.

Orcas find new opportunities in the changing polar regions

When searching for potential prey, orcas adapt their travel behaviours to the surrounding ice conditions. In open water with minimal ice, they tend to stay close together, while in pack ice, they spread out and often travel as individuals or pairs.

Near ice floes (thin sheets of frozen seawater), individuals engage in spy-hopping to locate seals, taking multiple views from various angles around the edge of the floe.

After observing, they swim away briefly to vocalise and communicate with other group members before returning.

Before attacking, the whales swim together in loose formation, often rolling at the surface. They move side-by-side away from the ice floe before charging back rapidly in a coordinated manner, generating waves as they approach.

Depending on the size of the floe, they create two distinct wave types. One is a breaking wave for smaller floes that can wash seals directly into the water, the other is a non-breaking wave for larger floes that shatters the ice and drives seals off.

Many Arctic marine species use frozen areas as a refuge from orcas.

Bowhead whales, which can break through the sea ice to create breathing holes, face few predators besides humans and orcas. However, as sea ice shrinks, orcas are increasingly detected in Arctic waters.

Many polar species use frozen areas as a refuge from orcas, but climate change and shrinking sea ice threatens them. Posted by Ocean Generation

While this provides new prey opportunities for these apex predators, it could significantly stress prey species, potentially altering their behaviour and population sizes. For example, the specialised locomotor muscles of narwhals make them too slow to escape orcas.

Moreover, the increased presence of orcas may impact indigenous communities that rely on subsistence hunting to sustain their way of life.

Orcas are currently listed as Data Deficient under the IUCN Red List (last assessed in 2017). This highlights the need for more research to comprehensively understand population trends and conservation priorities.

Turning climate challenges into opportunities

The survival of polar species is increasingly threatened by climate change, which leads to shrinking sea ice and altered ecosystems.

These changes not only challenge the feeding and breeding behaviours of these animals but also affect indigenous communities that depend on these species for their livelihoods.

We can help through supporting conservation organisations, taking climate action, advocating for policy change, engaging in sustainable practices, and raising awareness about our impacts on polar ecosystems.

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Thi Nguyen

Secret life of algae: From oxygen to algae blooms

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14. 10. 2024 Thi Nguyen

Surviving the Polar Regions: Animal strategies and adaptations

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The polar regions are among Earth’s most unique environments

Characterised by low temperatures, limited food availability, harsh climates and extreme seasonality, it’s challenging to live in the polar regions. Species inhabiting the Arctic and Antarctic have evolved various physiological, morphological (structural), and behavioural adaptations to survive in these challenging conditions.

Where is the Arctic? Where is the Antarctic?

The Arctic is in the Northern hemisphere whereas Antarctica is in the Southern hemisphere.

Iconic Arctic species include the polar bear, Arctic fox, narwhal, walrus, and bearded seal.

In contrast, the Antarctic is home to species such as the leopard seal, Emperor and Adélie penguins, and rock ptarmigan (a medium-sized game bird).

Iconic Arctic and Antarctic animals, posted by Ocean Generation.

Slow and steady is key to survival.

Temperature has a major impact on how fast species develop. A pattern of slow development rates has been observed among Antarctic marine ectotherms (species that rely on the environment to regulate their body temperature).

For example, the development rates of marine larvae are slower at low temperatures compared to those in temperate and tropical regions. This is likely due to lower temperatures reducing protein synthesis and folding, resulting in fewer functional proteins available for growth.

With the close link between metabolism and development, polar species tend to have slower metabolic rates and use up minimal energy. Antarctic Nototheniodei fish, for instance, have evolved with reduced quantities of red blood cells and haemoglobin , the protein responsible for transporting oxygen throughout the body.

This reduction in haemoglobin reflects their lower metabolic rates and oxygen demands compared to species in warmer, temperate climates. Slow metabolism and development are key to surviving with the limited food available in the polar regions.

Slow metabolism and development are key to surviving in the polar regions.

How species cope with food scarcity in the polar regions

The polar regions experience dramatic seasonal shifts in solar radiation, with continuous daylight in the summer and nearly total darkness in the winter.

This is accompanied by blizzards, freezing temperatures and limited food availability.

During winter, reduced sunlight limits the growth of primary producers like phytoplankton and plants, which in turn affects the entire food chain. Additionally, the sea ice that forms over the Ocean restricts access to open water, where many marine animals feed. Snow cover makes it more challenging for land animals to access their food sources.

For some animals, these harsh winter conditions are too extreme, and they migrate to more favourable areas. For those that remain, many build up fat reserves during the summer and early autumn to prepare for the limited food availability.

How animals cope with food scarcity in the polar regions

In the Svalbard rock ptarmigan, for example, these fat reserves are primarily used during episodes of acute starvation rather than supplementing daily energy needs.

Some animals also exhibit surplus killing and hoarding behaviour in the summer, such as the Arctic fox. The fox has been observed storing food, with one cache containing as many as 136 seabirds.

Many animals will limit physical activity to conserve their energy and reduce their resting metabolic rate. This refers to the amount of energy the body uses at rest to maintain basic physiological functions.

Adult King penguins can go without food for up to one month. Meanwhile, chicks can endure fasting for up to five months during the subantarctic winter, losing up to 70% of their body mass while relying mostly on stored fat reserves.

Small invertebrates that live on the seafloor, or meiofauna, have adapted to polar environments by feeding on degraded organic matter, which remains available year-round.

In many Arctic marine mammals, the milk produced for their young is exceptionally rich in energy and nutrients, which is vital for the pups to survive in the harsh, cold environment.

How animals cope with freezing temperatures, explained by Ocean Generation, leaders in Ocean education

How species cope with freezing temperatures

Air temperatures in the polar regions can occasionally drop to -60°C, while Ocean temperatures are close to freezing. To maintain a stable core temperature, organisms must employ strategies to minimise heat loss through conduction, convection, radiation, and evaporation.

One common adaptation is the evolution of a rounded body shape to reduce exposed surface area. For instance, walruses have a large, tubular body with minimal projecting extremities, such as visible ears or a tail, reducing heat loss through conduction and convection.

Rounded body shapes help cope with freezing temperatures of the polar regions.

Many polar species develop dense fur for insulation, such as reindeer and caribou (also a species of deer), whose hollow guard hairs provide air-filled cavities for additional warmth. In marine animals, where fur offers little insulation value, a thick layer of blubber becomes essential for protection against cold seas. It also serves as a food reserve.

Many species have evolved sophisticated blood flow regulation systems in body parts exposed to the cold. In marine mammals, a network of blood vessels in the flippers operates as a counter-current heat exchange system. This is when warm blood flows to the flipper transferring heat to cooler blood returning from it. This adaptation allows them to conserve heat in critical areas while maintaining functionality in their extremities.

Moreover, both Arctic and Antarctic fish have independently evolved antifreeze glycoproteins, which are secreted into their blood to prevent the formation of harmful ice crystals. These compounds are produced during the cold winter months in Arctic fish and year-round in Antarctic fish.

Behavioural adaptations also play a key role in survival

Emperor penguins form large huddles in extreme Antarctic cold and wind, with groups consisting of hundreds of individuals. The penguins take turns occupying the warmer centre of the huddle, where ambient temperatures can reach 37.5°C, helping conserve energy and incubate eggs during the winter.

Emperor penguins form huddles to shelter from the cold

Snow place like home

Survival in the polar regions requires a combination of physiological, morphological and behavioural adaptations, enabling species to endure extreme cold, limited food availability and harsh climatic conditions.

As climate change continues to alter these environments, the ability of polar species to adapt will be crucial for their ongoing survival in an increasingly warming world.

Check out How Climate Change threatens polar species: Polar bears, Orcas and Narwhals, where we discuss the opportunities and challenges for animals in a changing world.

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Thi Nguyen

Secret life of algae: From oxygen to algae blooms

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Why krill matter: Krill fishing and conservation in the Southern Ocean

The Southern Ocean is one of the most remote places on the planet.

How did we get here?

Sealing and whaling in the Southern Ocean

When did krill fishing start?

Why are krill important?

Krill are a keystone species

Krill are climate champions

How is krill fishing managed in the Southern Ocean?

How do you prevent overfishing?

Catch Limits

Marine Protected Areas

Has the management of krill worked?

It’s not just ‘how much’: Why location-specific catch limits matter

What is next in the Southern Ocean?

The Southern Ocean is getting warmer.

One of the biggest wins for nature and conservation is the return of the whales.

Where do we stand on the future of krill?

The challenge of consensus

What have we learned from exploitation in the Southern Ocean?

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From classroom to COP30: Questions from children to climate leaders about Ocean protection

If a group of 7–11-year-olds could interview delegates at COP30, what would they ask?

So, you wake up at COP30, what are you doing? What does you day look like? (Freddie’s question)

Matt’s answer:

What are your expectations coming to the COP30 and what would you consider a successful result for the Ocean? (Toby’s question)

Matt’s answer:

The Ocean has gradually grown in prominence on the global stage.

Ocean Generation’s note:

How can governments encourage private companies to not use single use plastic? (Leo’s question)

Matt’s answer:

Ocean Generation’s note:

Are there plans to introduce whale friendly cruise routes to reduce noise pollution in the seas? (Lily’s question)

Matt’s answer:

Ocean Generation’s note:

Does creating the infrastructure in order to host COP30 and transporting leaders there outweigh the positive outcomes of the conference? Do you assess the carbon footprint and is there a plan to offset this? (Sean’s question)

Matt’s answer:

Ocean Generation’s note:

Is COP30 going to be used for fossil fuel deals like the last one? (Sean’s question)

Matt’s answer:

Ocean Generation’s note:

What is the extent of the impact of pumping carbon back into the Ocean underneath the seabed? (Lily’s question)

Matt’s answer:

What key messages would you like us to share with our school community in order to look after the Ocean better? (Freddy’s question)

Matt’s answer:

Toby’s surprise question: What is your favourite marine animal?

Matt’s answer:

Ocean Generation’s note:

Matt asked the students: what would the Eco Ambassadors’ message be for him to take to COP30?

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How do the Sounds of Kelp Forests Change?

The age-old question goes “If kelp falls in a kelp forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?” … or something like that.

What are kelp forests?

What does the Ocean sound like?

What do kelp forests sound like?

Daily changes in the kelp forest soundscape

Seasonal changes in the kelp forest soundscape

Human influence on kelp forest soundscapes

Does human noise affect kelp forests?

What can we do?

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17 Science-backed ways the Ocean keeps you alive

You’re alive because of the Ocean.

1. The Ocean is an oxygen factory

2. Heat absorber

Does creating the infrastructure in order to host COP30 and transporting leaders there outweigh the positive outcomes of the conference?  Do you assess the carbon footprint and is there a plan to offset this? (Sean’s question)