A tough early life turns out to be a good thing for a fish, according to scientists at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary — Following a 10-day search in Antarctic waters, the Greenpeace ship Esperanza confronted Japan’s whaling fleet in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary and immediately engaged in a high speed chase over hundreds of miles through fog and increasingly rough seas. The factory ship Nisshin Maru has now been driven out of the hunting grounds and all whaling has stopped -- for now.

The loss of deep-sea species poses a severe threat to the future of the oceans, suggests a new report publishing early online on December 27th and in the January 8th issue of Current Biology, a publication of Cell Press.

Levels of a climate cooling gas will change as carbon dioxide increases, affecting food webs along the way, said Dr Michael Steinke at a Science Media Centre press briefing today.

Carbon dioxide increasing in the atmosphere may affect the microbial life in the sea, which could have an impact on a major food source, warned Dr Ian Joint at a Science Media Centre press briefing today.

Tel Aviv University Professor (and alumnus) Hudi Benayahu, head of TAU's Porter School of Environmental Studies, has found that soft corals, an integral and important part of reef environments, are simply melting and wasting away. And Prof. Benayahu believes this could mean a global marine catastrophe.

For the first time in history, the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species includes ocean corals in its annual report of wildlife going extinct.

Before the worst mass extinction of life in Earth’s history – 252 million years ago – ocean life was diverse and clam-like organisms called brachiopods dominated. After the calamity, when little else existed, a different kind of clam-like organism, called a bivalve, took over.

Voyage to the bottom of the sea, or simply look along the bottom of a clear stream and you may spy lobsters or crayfish waving their antennae. Look closer, and you will see them feeling around with their legs and flicking their antennules – the small, paired sets of miniature feelers at the top of their heads between the long antennae.

Giant squid washed up in Tasmania. The squid, measuring about six metres long, was found last night on Ocean Beach by a member of the public.

Australian researchers have studied and documented the effect of the "sundried tide", a force of nature that can silently wipe out coral reefs.

World Wildlife Fund announced its opposition to a plan by Planktos, Inc. (OTCBB: PLKT) to dump iron dust in the open ocean west of the Galapagos Islands. The experiment seeks to induce phytoplankton blooms in the hopes that the microscopic marine plants will absorb carbon dioxide. The company is speculating on lucrative ways to combat climate change.