The lure of deep sea mining in the Pacific and Indian oceans could mean the destruction of species only just discovered on the ocean floor

Before the late nineteenth century, most people believed the deep sea was a barren wasteland, unable to support life even in its simplest form. After several expeditions by naturalist Charles Wyville Thompson, the world came to realise life not only exists, but prospers in the depths of the ocean. His three-year voyage on the HMS Challenger produced detailed illustrations of alien-like sea cucumbers, ethereal jellyfish and strange corals all thriving at 3,000 fathoms below.

Hundreds of thousands of juvenile land crabs are being threatened by an oil spill on Christmas Island, in the Indian Ocean.

Visitors to this city’s burial ground learn more from the dead, particularly about the whale shark and other endangered sea creatures.

The 12-year-old “fish cemetery” of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) has become a field school all year round, even to the curious, according to Westly Rosario, chief of the agency’s National Integrated Fisheries Technology Development Center here.

The 8th of June is World Oceans Day, our annual chance to celebrate all things marine! Coordinated by The Ocean Project and The World Ocean Network, World Oceans Day encourages us to consider everything that the oceans provide us with — from oxygen to climate regulation, food to pharmaceuticals and of course, the breath taking beauty of this underwater wonderland.