A hermit crab on the shore with a plastic cup for a shell.

The Anthropocene

Preview

Plastic bottles and other marine debris cover a rocky beach in Curacao.

Marine Plastics Overview

Are you a student researching marine plastics or someone looking to reduce their plastic use? This overview dives into everything to know.

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Featured Content

The Line Islands are one of the most remote places in the Pacific Ocean.

Expedition to the Line Islands

measuring a fish

Really Small Fry: Shifting Baselines in Marine Fish Stocks

Three gray fish swim in front of a large coral head.

How Laws Around the World Help Improve Ocean Health

Cleaning up abandoned fishing nets

Upcycled Ocean Plastic

Freshly cut dorsal fin from a scalloped hammerhead shark held by fisherman with knife.

Shark Finning: Sharks Turned Prey

Are You An Educator?

At Smithsonian Ocean, we have lesson plans, activities, and resources to help you engage your students in the wonders of our oceans.

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The Anthropocene Articles

The Line Islands are one of the most remote places in the Pacific Ocean.

Expedition to the Line Islands

Human activity is increasing in the Arctic marine environment due to climate change. To help the most vulnerable areas, the Global Marine Program of IUCN, along with partners, is convening a series of workshops aimed at enhancing ecosystem-based management and identifying biologically or ecologically important or vulnerable habitats. Burgerbukta, a bay in Svalbard, Norway, is being managed for ecosystem protection.

The Sant Ocean Hall: Life at the Poles Exhibit

The shell of a sea slug

A Microscopic Identity Crisis

An underwater photo of coral recovering from a bleaching event.

A Pleasant Surprise: The Recovery of Bleached Panamanian Corals

A photo of an oyster cage, out of the water, covered in sea squirts.

Alaska Vulnerable to Invasive Species from Warmer Waters

A whale shark swims with a diver off the coast of East Africa.

The Big Five of the Ocean: Exploring the Waters of East Africa

A Hawaiian petrel in flight

4,000 Years of Marine History through the Eyes of a Seabird

A walrus sits on top of ice.

The Cultural Icescapes of the Arctic

An Atlantic wolffish hiding on Cashes Ledge off the New England coast.

Exploring a Unique Biodiversity Hotspot In the Gulf of Maine

On average, Arctic sea ice has decreased by four percent per decade since the late 1970s.

Sea Level Rise

Hawaiian monk seals are among the wildlife found within the Papahānaumokuākea World Heritage Site.

Backbone of Biodiversity at Risk

a fish swimming in blue water

Visit the Line Islands with Reef Ecologist Dr. Stuart Sandin

Banner Credit

Shawn Miller, flickr