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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DONALD TRUMP & DEMOCRACY

Mother Jones was founded to do things differently in the aftermath of a political crisis: Watergate. We stand for justice and democracy. We reject false equivalence. We go after, and go deep on, stories others don’t. And we’re a nonprofit newsroom because we knew corporations and billionaires would never fund the journalism we do. Our reporting makes a difference in policies and people’s lives changed.

And we need your support like never before to vigorously fight back against the existential threats American democracy and journalism face. We’re running behind our online fundraising targets and urgently need all hands on deck right now. We can’t afford to come up short—we have no cushion; we leave it all on the field.

Please help with a donation today if you can—even just a few bucks helps. Not ready to donate but interested in our work? Sign up for our Daily newsletter to stay well-informed—and see what makes our people-powered, not profit-driven, journalism special.

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