Belize blue water lagoon
Credit:Oceana

In the last several weeks, Oceana and its allies won five important victories that will help protect biodiversity and increase abundance in our seas:

1. Belize bans offshore oil drilling in country’s marine waters, home to the largest barrier reef in the Americas.

Belize made history in late December when it signed into law a moratorium on offshore oil drilling in the entirety of Belizean waters, which contain the second largest barrier reef system in the world (and largest in the Western Hemisphere). This decision was the culmination of more than 10 years of campaigning by Oceana and its allies, and by the tens of thousands of Belizeans committed to stopping drilling in their barrier reef. The Belize Barrier Reef—a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1996—is home to nearly 1,400 species and is critical to the livelihood of more than half of Belize’s population due to its central role in Belizean tourism and fishing.

2. Chile bans bottom trawling in 98 percent of its […]