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BIG FISH If the goliath grouper loses its legal protection, will the 800-pounder sink or swim? Off the coast of southwest Florida, a hundred feet below the water’s surface, a whump rolls through the sea. Another whump follows, like the … Continue reading →

JAPAN HALTS WHALING Japan Halts Whaling Program in Response to International Court Ruling Japan’s program to take minke, fin, and humpback whales in the Southern Ocean is not based on sound science, says court. Japan says it will abide by … Continue reading →

LAST OF THE VIKING WHALERS In Norway a maverick way of life is ending. The Lofoten Islands in the far north of Norway have always been a world apart, a peninsula-like chain of wild, craggy shards jutting into the Norwegian … Continue reading →

Shallow-water creatures, like corals, are extremely vulnerable to carbonic acid. Scientists are calling for drastic measures to avert massive bleaching of the world’s reefs. For tens of millions of years, Earth’s oceans have maintained a relatively stable acidity level. It’s … Continue reading →

Prized for sushi, the fast and powerful Atlantic bluefin tuna
is being relentlessly overfished. One moment the undersea is featureless blue, an empty cathedral, the sun an undulating hot spot in the vault of waves overhead, its beams radiating down as … Continue reading →

Doomed by a gill net, a thresher shark in Mexico’s Gulf of California is among an estimated 40 million sharks killed yearly for their fins. They add to the devastating global fish catch: nearly 100 million tons. No more magnificent … Continue reading →

Take a breath. Now take another breath. Every second breath you take comes from the ocean. Many people take a look at the ocean, and they see water. It’s not just water, it’s alive. The largest mountain ranges on the … Continue reading →

Titan, Saturn’s largest moon, is one of the solar system’s most remarkable satellites, and the appearance on it of a new landmass has made it more intriguing still. Like Earth, it has oceans and seas, but at -290 degrees F … Continue reading →

Caused by a coronavirus, this lung infection originated in 2012 on the Arabian Peninsula. As of May, 2014, MERS has infected more than 530 people worldwide and killed 145. In May evidence was presented that the first case had been … Continue reading →

The star Laverne Cox has gone from being bullied for appearing feminine as a kid in Mobile, Ala., to acting in Orange is the New Black and becoming a public face for the transgender movement. In the beaux-arts lobby of … Continue reading →