Most Relevant

People & Culture

The cod delusion

A moratorium on cod fishing that was supposed to last two years has now lasted 30. What will it take to rebuild cod stocks — and a way of life?

3119 words
13 minutes

Mapping

Marine protected areas in Canada may not be as protected as we think

Marine protected areas are widely considered to be an effective tool for ocean conservation. But are they living up to their full potential?

409 words
2 minutes

Environment

Daniel Pauly on preventing the end of fish

Episode 29

The marine biologist on why we’re asking too much of the ocean — and how to protect the future of fish

41 minutes

Environment

Four things to know about Arctic policy and sustainable ocean management in Canada and Norway

The Royal Norwegian Embassy and the Royal Canadian Geographical Society teamed up for two days of talks on the future of the Arctic and the “blue economy” in Norway and Canada

1179 words
5 minutes

Environment

Kelp: The sustainable superfood coming soon to a plate near you

Kelp’s potential as a commercial crop is finally being recognized — and, as kelp forests vanish worldwide, so is its importance in coastal ecosystems

2515 words
11 minutes

ocean bridge

Environment

Q&A: Ottawa’s Clare Stone on her journey to becoming an ocean conservation leader

Stone was one of the 160 young Canadians selected for the 2020 Ocean Bridge program, a program that empowers young professionals to serve their community through the lens of ocean and waterway conservation

646 words
3 minutes

Environment

Ocean Bridge Diaries: Jordan Bertagnolli

As I think about all that we managed to pack into those 10 days, the memories that stand out all share a common thread: North Beach

901 words
4 minutes

Environment

Ocean Bridge Diaries: Chúk Odenigbo

We are the ocean, yet we know not who we are, so we went to people who did

960 words
4 minutes

Youth expedition members haul a large fishing net off North Beach during a plastic debris cleanup.

Environment

Ocean Bridge Diaries: Alex Ritz

This experience was key to developing our understanding of what citizen science is

840 words
4 minutes

oceans

Science & Tech

Encouraging tech innovations to safeguard ocean health

Part one of Canada’s Ocean Supercluster: A six-part series

854 words
4 minutes

Wildlife

Death of a whale

When one of the few remaining females of reproductive age in the southern resident population of North Pacific killer whales was found dead near Comox B.C. in 2014, an investigation was launched. The results highlight the challenges of protecting our most iconic marine mammals.

2341 words
10 minutes

An eelgrass meadow, a type of seagrass found in the northern hemisphere including in Boundary Bay, British Columbia shown here at low tide. (Photo: Katie Tjaden-McClement)

Environment

Protecting Canada’s hidden “meadows of the sea”

Collaborative research is uncovering the secrets of coastal seagrass beds to help keep them healthy

1185 words
5 minutes

Ten years after the release of her seminal book Sea Sick, Alanna Mitchell again plumbs the depths of the latest research on the health of the world’s oceans — and comes up gasping

Environment

“There’s no coming back from this:” Why the global ocean crisis threatens us all

Ten years after the release of her seminal book Sea Sick, Alanna Mitchell again plumbs the depths of the latest research on the health of the world’s oceans — and comes up gasping

4426 words
18 minutes

Environment

Microplastics are turning up in Arctic ice

The discovery of microplastics in ice cores from Lancaster Sound highlights plastic pollution’s disturbing reach

872 words
4 minutes

pollution

Ocean Bridge Diaries: Jasveen Brar

Ocean Bridge Diaries: Danielle Moore

Ocean Bridge Diaries: Vanessa Fladmark

Touring exhibit drives home problem of ocean plastic

British Columbia

People & Culture

Seafood chef Ned Bell works to bring sustainability into the kitchen

Bell is the special guest at the upcoming Vancouver GeoGala, an ocean conservation-themed fundraiser for The Royal Canadian Geographical Society

870 words
4 minutes

Environment

Ocean Bridge Diaries: Jay Matsushiba

“The Edge of the World” became a meeting place, where the edges of my world collided with another

1041 words
5 minutes

Environment

Ocean Bridge Diaries: Dax Justin

The people and landscapes of Haida Gwaii opened my eyes to the fact that we all rely on the ocean

1588 words
7 minutes

Glass sponge reef in B.C.'s Hecate Strait

Wildlife

B.C.’s glass sponges “cough” to unclog blocked pores

New research reveals these unique animals evolved a way to rid their systems of excess sediment — but the sponges may be having trouble keeping up with human activity in their habitat

665 words
3 minutes

Wildlife

Tiny shrimp may be stirring up the oceans

New research suggests that swarms of migrating crustaceans have a big impact on ocean mixing

427 words
2 minutes

Environment

Kim Elmslie, Campaign Director, Oceana Canada with MP Fin Donnelly

Environment

Canada bans import and export of shark fins

The ban is one of several significant and long-awaited changes to the federal Fisheries Act that passed Tuesday, including new provisions to rebuild depleted fish stocks

903 words
4 minutes

Ocean Bridge participant Hannah Kosick holds colourful microplastics picked up on T’aalan Stl’ang. (Photo: Conner McDowell)

Environment

Canada to ban single-use plastics by 2021

Ban on plastic bags, cutlery, straws, stir sticks and more announced as part of federal government strategy to combat plastic pollution

781 words
4 minutes

Three long-finned pilot whales swim in a cerulean blue sea

Environment

Canada announces ban on industrial activities in marine protected areas

Oil and gas extraction, mining, dumping among prohibited activities in ecologically sensitive areas set aside for conservation

805 words
4 minutes

Environment

Reflections on water, the “lethal, limitless, life-giving frontier”

A pioneering deep-sea explorer shares thoughts on the nature and meaning of water

375 words
2 minutes

Environment

Opinion: It’s time for Canada to stand up for sharks

Why I’m sponsoring a bill to ban the importation of shark fins to Canada

509 words
3 minutes

whales

Whales under threat in noisy Atlantic waters

New fishing rules aim to protect Gulf of St. Lawrence right whales

Federal government announces new measures to protect endangered North Atlantic right whales

New research offers insight into the skin care routine of bowhead whales

Articles

A bright iridescent orange-and-blue coloured sea slug (nudibranch) is laying eggs on top of a sea sponge

Wildlife

What is a nudibranch? Meet the “high fashion models” of the ocean depths

The naked truth about nudibranchs, in British Columbia and beyond

1144 words
5 minutes

A wall of colourful sponges and anemones in the American Bank Marine Protected Area

Environment

“Treasure of the Gulf of St. Lawrence” designated a Marine Protected Area

Canada’s newest Marine Protected Area, Banc-des-Américains (American Bank), protects 1,000 square kilometres of important marine habitat off Quebec’s Gaspé Peninsula

814 words
4 minutes

People & Culture

Our best photos of 2018

A look back at the most awe-inspiring and thought-provoking visuals we published this year

810 words
4 minutes

Environment

Fisheries Minister Jonathan Wilkinson on the future of Canada’s oceans

The new Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard sits down with Canadian Geographic for an exclusive interview on a range of topics, from salmon to whales to ‘last ice’