News Releases

May 02, 2017

WCS STUDY: Some – But Not All – Corals Adapting to Warming Climate

May 2, 2017 – A new WCS study reveals evidence that some corals are adapting to warming ocean waters – potentially good news in the face of recent reports of global coral die offs due to extreme warm temperatures in 2016. The study appears in the latest issue of Marine Ecology Progress Series.

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April 19, 2017

Experts Plan Conservation Roadmap for Shark and Ray Hotspot

April 19, 2017 – Marine experts and conservationists from the WCS (Wildlife Conservation Society), TRAFFIC, the Indian Ocean Commission (IOC), regional governments, and other groups have produced a status report and roadmap for protecting sharks and rays in the southwest Indian Ocean, one of the last remaining strongholds for these ancient creatures in the world’s oceans.

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March 22, 2017

Lack of Staffing, Funds Prevent Marine Protected Areas from Realizing Full Potential

March 22, 2017--Marine protected areas (MPAs) are an increasingly popular strategy for protecting marine biodiversity, but a new global study demonstrates that widespread lack of personnel and funds are preventing MPAs from reaching their full potential. Only 9 percent of MPAs reported having adequate staff.

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February 28, 2017

Hudson Canyon Added to U.S. Government’s Inventory For Potential National Marine Sanctuary Sites

February 28, 2017–WCS (Wildlife Conservation Society) applauds the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for its recent decision to add the Hudson Canyon—the East Coast’s largest submarine canyon—to the inventory of sites now under consideration for National Marine Sanctuary status.

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January 19, 2017

WCS Applauds New International Agreement to Protect Polar Regions

January 19, 2017 – WCS (Wildlife Conservation Society) commends the International Maritime Organization and partners for the development and implementation of the “Polar Code,” a binding international agreement that will help ensure the safety of mariners operating in polar waters, and the protection of both the Arctic and Antarctic’s marine environment from the risks of vessel activities.

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January 12, 2017

Profitable Coral Reef Fisheries Require Light Fishing

January 12, 2017 – Fishing is fundamentally altering the food chain in coral reefs and putting dual pressures on the valuable top-level predatory fish, according to new research by the Wildlife Conservation Society, Lancaster University, and other organizations.

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January 09, 2017

Massive Genetic Study of Humpback Whales To Inform Conservation Assessments of Ocean Giants

January 9, 2017 – Scientists have published one of the largest genetic studies ever conducted on the humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) for the purpose of clarifying management decisions in the Southern Hemisphere and supporting calls to protect unique and threatened populations, according to WCS (Wildlife Conservation Society), the American Museum of Natural History, Columbia University, and other organizations.

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January 06, 2017

GREAT START FOR 2017: WCS Applauds U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management For Denying Seismic Survey Permits in Mid- and South Atlantic Waters

January 6, 2017 –WCS (Wildlife Conservation Society) commends the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management for today’s announcement on the decision to deny six permit applications for airgun seismic surveys in the Mid- and South Atlantic waters of the eastern United States.

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December 21, 2016

WCS Applauds President Obama’s Protection of Offshore Areas from Oil and Gas Drilling

WASHINGTON (December 21, 2016) – WCS applauded President Obama’s decision to withdraw offshore areas in the Atlantic and Arctic Oceans from future oil and gas development, including the Hudson Canyon off the coast of New York.

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December 14, 2016

Scientists Studying Dolphins in Bangladesh Find the Bay of Bengal a Realm of Evolutionary Change

December 14, 2016 – Marine scientists have discovered that two species of dolphin in the waters off Bangladesh are genetically distinct from those in other regions of the Indian and western Pacific Oceans, a finding that supports a growing body of evidence that the Bay of Bengal harbors conditions that drive the evolution of new life forms, according to a new study by the American Museum of Natural History(AMNH), WCS (Wildlife Conservation Society), and the cE3c - Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes (Universidade de Lisboa).

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