The Second World Ocean Assessment was released last week. This report is the major output of the secondy cycle of the Regular Process for Global Reporting and Assessment of the States of the Marine Environment, including Socioeconomic Aspects. If you didn´t read it yet, find it in the link below!

Over 20 years, a research team has compiled a body of data that for the first time allows for a comparison of the diversity of eukaryotes – organisms with a cell nucleus. Sediment samples from depths of 4000 to 8350 meters, the cultivation and sequencing of populations found exclusively in the deep sea, and finally molecular analysis using high-throughput techniques are yielding a comprehensive picture of biodiversity in the deep sea.

Researchers, investors and NGOs called for more investment in blue-carbon projects to meet the growing demand at the 8^th Annual World Ocean Summit Virtual Week, held by The Economist Group. Ocean ecosystems are vital for a thriving planet and governments and private-sector investors are increasingly keen to invest in seagrass meadows, mangrove swamps, tidal marshes and other important ocean ecosystems that reduce and store CO2 emissions.

A new study used Automatic Identification System (AIS) satellite data from Global Fishing Watch to describe and characterize the spatial characteristics of African and foreign industrial fishing activities within the African EEZs. The authors said the AIS system can be utilized to help detect and characterize unreported activities in these EEZs.