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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We’re falling behind our online fundraising goals and we can’t sustain coming up short on donations month after month. Perhaps you’ve heard? It is impossibly hard in the news business right now, with layoffs intensifying and fancy new startups and funding going kaput.

The crisis facing journalism and democracy isn’t going away anytime soon. And neither is Mother Jones, our readers, or our unique way of doing in-depth reporting that exists to bring about change.

Which is exactly why, despite the challenges we face, we just took a big gulp and joined forces with the Center for Investigative Reporting, a team of ace journalists who create the amazing podcast and public radio show Reveal.

If you can part with even just a few bucks, please help us pick up the pace of donations. We simply can’t afford to keep falling behind on our fundraising targets month after month.

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