The Last Days of the Ocean

We’re Pushing Our Seas to the Brink. Can They be Saved? A <i>Mother Jones</i> special report.

Illustration By: Yuko Shimizu

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The Fate of the Ocean



Assaulted by pollution, overfishing, climate change, trash, and noise, our oceans are approaching a point of no return. The health of the world they feed and protect won’t be far behind.

P L U S :

arrowWhales hit the beaches

arrowPolar bears face extinction

The Catch



If America’s fisheries are regulated, how can they be overfished? Because the regulators and the fishermen are one and the same.
P L U S :

arrowThe ocean’s top enemies

arrowA field guide to failing fish

Net Losses



How a football tycoon took George H. W. Bush’s oil company and used it to declare war on the fish that built America.

Navigating the Catch of the Day



Overfishing…mercury…but they taste so good! How to eat fish without fear

Online Exlusives

M O R E    S T O R I E S



Should this threatened fish be an essential part of your healthy diet?



Filmmaker and conservationist Hardy Jones on reasons for hope in a sea of troubles.



Two “ocean champions” say the problems of the ocean are fundamentally political–and so are the solutions.



The editor of Sport Fishing magazine says many recreational fishers are conservationists at heart.



Thought whale hunting was a thing of the past? Think again.



A science journalist evaluates media coverage of the oceans beat.



A Bay Area activist raises awareness about contaminated seafood.



The EPA is supposed to protect our rivers and oceans. However, …



How to distinguish groups doing good from ones that just sound good.

T H E    I S S U E S    E X P L A I N E D

A C T   N O W

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AN IMPORTANT UPDATE ON MOTHER JONES' FINANCES

We need to start being more upfront about how hard it is keeping a newsroom like Mother Jones afloat these days.

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Urgent, for sure. But it's not all doom and gloom!

Because over the challenging last year, and thanks to feedback from readers, we've started to see a better way to go about asking you to support our work: Level-headedly communicating the urgency of hitting our fundraising goals, being transparent about our finances, challenges, and opportunities, and explaining how being funded primarily by donations big and small, from ordinary (and extraordinary!) people like you, is the thing that lets us do the type of journalism you look to Mother Jones for—that is so very much needed right now.

And it's really been resonating with folks! Thankfully. Because corporations, powerful people with deep pockets, and market forces will never sustain the type of journalism Mother Jones exists to do. Only people like you will.

There's more about our finances in "News Never Pays," or "It's Not a Crisis. This Is the New Normal," and we'll have details about the year ahead for you soon. But we already know this: The fundraising for our next deadline, $350,000 by the time September 30 rolls around, has to start now, and it has to be stronger than normal so that we don't fall behind and risk coming up short again.

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