CONSERVATION NEWS

The small South Pacific island nation of Niue recently launched a first-of-its-kind sustainable funding initiative that enables anyone to sponsor a square kilometer of its ocean waters — a sanctuary for humpback whales, sea snakes and gray reef sharks.

Earlier this year, three zebra shark pups became the first endangered sharks ever to be bred in captivity for the purpose of being released into the wild. They're part of a bold plan to bring sharks back from the brink of extinction.

The Indonesian government has granted six species of threatened “walking sharks” the highest level of protection — a move experts hope will lead to the conservation of other sharks, whose numbers have plummeted due largely to the shark fin trade.

As 2022 draws to a close, Conservation News is revisiting some of our most significant stories of the year. As experts warned that the time to turn the tide on marine protections is dwindling, conservationists and governments came together to advocate for oceans.

Protecting nature starts with science. Here’s a roundup of recent research published by Conservation International experts.