After years of carefree Slip, Slop, Slapping, beach goers and reef lovers have recently discovered that their chemical sunscreen was somehow poisoning their favourite aquatic playgrounds. To protect its coral reefs and the economy depending on them, the state of Hawaii was recently first in history to ban oxybenzone and octinoxate; two chemical UV-filters widely...
In my lifetime, our planet has lost about half its coral reefs. From dynamite fishing to coastal pollution, predator invasions and lethal marine heat waves...these ecosystems are retreating everywhere after thriving for millions of years. Today, we know that the chemicals in our sunscreens are an additional source of...
Long gone is the time when we covered ourselves in mud or olive oil to protect our skin from UV-rays. Today, sunscreens are made in the lab and available everywhere at any price and texture. The down side is? Whether you pick the cheap 5L tub or a fancy mist...
This time last year in the Seychelles, the lethal heat wave associated to the 2015/6 El Niño was weakening after several months of deadly impacts on the reefs. P4O was in the field, monitoring coral-bleaching impacts on a restored reef engineered by the NGO Nature Seychelles. Juvenile damselfish taking shelter in a bleached...
Committing for a 2-months volunteering experience, we were determined to make the most of our time on “Cousin” as the locals call it. Nature Seychelles – the conservation NGO managing the island – was running a volunteer program at the time, offering training in island conservation. This tiny speck...