So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish

Dec 27, 2024 | 450 words, about 2 minutes

Where the Rivers Run Pink

Non-native pink salmon have swarmed Norway’s rivers, prompting a relentless—and potentially fruitless—fight to beat back the invaders.

Oct 8, 2024 | 5,200 words, about 26 minutes

The Owls Who Came From Away

Over the past 80 years, one of the most resilient and hearty owls has practically engulfed a continent. Not everyone is pleased.

Jul 2, 2024 | 3,500 words, about 18 minutes

In Graphic Detail: Cigarette Butt Research Is Lighting Up

As the world’s beaches and oceans have become one giant ashtray, research has accelerated on what many are calling a global crisis.

Oct 19, 2023 | 350 words, a quick read

The Republic of Cows

When habitat loss is one of the biggest issues facing wild animals, why has Alaska given an entire uninhabited, remote island to feral cattle?

Aug 15, 2023 | 5,600 words, about 28 minutes

I Dare You to Stop Proliferating Fossil Fuels

The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty helped us not kill each other and all life on Earth. Can we follow the same steps to avoid mutually assured climate destruction?

Apr 18, 2023 | 2,100 words, about 10 minutes

How to Stop Cigarette Butt Litter

In many places around the world, littering is usually accidental, with one glaring exception: cigarette butts. Maybe we need to add a little secret sauce to anti-littering campaigns.

Mar 7, 2023 | 2,500 words, about 12 minutes

The Hatchery Crutch: How We Got Here

From their beginnings in the late 19th century, salmon hatcheries have gone from cure to band-aid to crutch. Now, we can’t live without manufactured fish.

May 31, 2022 | 4,000 words, about 20 minutes

Declared Extinct, The Yaghan Rise in the Land of Fire

The Indigenous people of Tierra del Fuego were once relegated to historical oblivion. Now, archaeologists are helping them pursue deeper stories about their ancestors.

Apr 5, 2022 | 7,200 words, about 36 minutes

Declarado extinto, el pueblo yagán se levanta en la Tierra del Fuego

Los pueblos indígenas de Tierra del Fuego alguna vez fueron relegados al olvido histórico. Ahora, arqueólogos los ayudan a buscar historias más profundas sobre sus antepasados.

Mar 31, 2022 | 8.200 words, about 36 minutes

Plight of the Pajarada

In Patagonia, seabirds and artisanal hake fishers have a long-established relationship. Industrial fishers, not so much—and it’s not good for the birds.

Aug 10, 2021 | 8 min 50 sec

A Short History of Aquaculture Innovation

For over a century, aquaculturists have tinkered with every part of aquatic animals’ lives, from genetics to diet to where they grow best.

Aug 24, 2020 | 3,000 words, about 15 minutes

The Wonderful, Transcendent Life of an Odd-Nosed Monkey

The island of Borneo is the only home of the proboscis monkey, an endangered primate that is surprisingly resilient.

Apr 21, 2020 | 5,400 words, about 27 minutes

We’re Temporarily Changing Our Publishing Schedule

Due to the current pandemic, we’ve had to make some changes.

Mar 20, 2020 | 300 words, a quick read

Smashing Urchins for Kelp

As they wait for sea otters to return to Haida Gwaii waters, Parks Canada and the Haida Nation take matters into their own hands to foster a healthier ecosystem under the waves.

Mar 5, 2019 | 3 min 30 sec

In the Kingdom of the Bears

The human-bear bond is ancient, but across the northern hemisphere, only a few societies remember the art of neighboring bears.

Oct 9, 2018 | 6,700 words, about 34 minutes

For Oceans Day, 15 Stories from Five Seas

Around here, every day is Oceans Day.

Jun 8, 2018 | Interactive map

From Prejudice to Pride

In the 20th century, Japanese anthropologists and officials tried to hide the existence of the Indigenous Ainu. Then the Ainu fought back like their cousins, the bears.

Oct 10, 2017 | 6,300 words, about 31 minutes

One Man’s Junk

For 40 years, John has been collecting our garbage off the beach. Here’s where you can visit it.

Sep 7, 2017 | 3 min 30 sec

Eau Canada

We have the longest coastline in the world and the best stories (sorry).

Jun 30, 2017 | Interactive map

Plastics Without Borders

The theme of World Oceans Day is plastic pollution prevention. From the shores of Vancouver, British Columbia, to the floor of the Baltic Sea, here’s a map of stories that tackle the issue.

Jun 8, 2017 | Interactive map

A Wall Worth Building: Making Clam Habitat Great Again

On the Pacific Northwest coast, indigenous groups are reinvigorating the ancient practice of clam gardening.

Jan 26, 2017 | 4 min

The Secret Language of Salmon Skin Coats

From keeping one dry to securing a life partner, these ancient garments served many purposes.

Dec 27, 2016 | 650 words, about 3 minutes

Saving Birds from Oil Spills

Some sources insist that most birds affected by an oil spill will die prematurely, even if they’ve been carefully cleaned. Two experts weigh in on why the effort of treating oiled animals is still worthwhile.

Nov 8, 2016 | 3,700 words, about 18 minutes

Attack of the Cartographic Land Octopus

Far from just a way to avoid getting lost, maps have also been used as a means of persuasion.

Sep 16, 2016 | 550 words, about 2 minutes

It’s a Bird, It’s a Mask, It’s Puffin Man!

The past and future are in full flower on Kodiak Island as an indigenous culture reclaims its artistic roots.

Jun 27, 2016 | 850 words, about 4 minutes

On the Trail of Whales

Forget the engines: shore-based whale watching takes off.

May 24, 2016 | 1,100 words, about 5 minutes

The Right to Roam

Scotland’s liberal access laws make life a whole lot better for everyone.

Apr 5, 2016 | 3 min 30 sec

Who Controls the Coast?

Squabbling over some of the world’s most valuable territory, the shoreline, is ultimately a very human thing to do.

Apr 5, 2016 | 3,100 words, about 15 minutes

The Race for Arctic Oil

Oil companies have always looked north for vast oil fields, and they won’t stop any time soon.

Feb 8, 2016 | Infographic

How Ecosystems Got a Keystone

One day in 1963, ecologist Bob Paine started plucking sea stars off rocks and tossing them into the sea. His study helped show how a species may be small in number but significant in its impact.

Nov 6, 2015 | 3 min 45 sec

What Happens When a Seal Woman Gets Angry?

No sea is without its mythical creatures, and in the North Atlantic reside the seal people. They entice humans. Trouble ensues.

Sep 28, 2015 | 450 words, about 2 minutes

[Pirate] Talk Is Cheap

Pirate dress, however, is a bit of an investment.

Sep 18, 2015 | 750 words, about 3 minutes

Intermittent Streams: Nature’s Vanishing Act

Around the world, creeks, rivers, and streams that flow sporadically are common, and these temporary waterways—wet or dry—are fundamental to ecosystems.

Sep 9, 2015 | 3 min 30 sec

Embracing the Weirdness of Waterless Waterways

The drought in California has created an obsession with water, but sometimes, no water is just fine.

Sep 9, 2015 | 3,700 words, about 18 minutes

Book Review: The Western Flyer

Whatever happened to the boat that starred in John Steinbeck’s The Log from the Sea of Cortez?

Aug 12, 2015 | 500 words, about 2 minutes

Old Coast, New Coast: Sausalito, California

Where the marginalized, the outsized—and the at times fictionalized—characters of the San Francisco Bay area lived, circa the 1960s.

May 11, 2015 | 550 words, about 2 minutes

Fearless

What happens when island raccoons live free of predators? A lot. And it’s not good.

Apr 22, 2015 | 4 min 15 sec

Back Home in the New Jersey Meadowlands

Old becomes new again after a lifetime of experience away.

Apr 22, 2015 | 450 words, about 2 minutes

Bandits on the Beach

What island raccoons tell us about fear.

Apr 22, 2015 | 3,900 words, about 19 minutes