GOBI's has a new Coordinator! After 13 years leading GOBI’s efforts, David Johnson is handing over the reins to Dominic Pattinson, who joins us fresh from the OSPAR Commission. We are thrilled to have him on board and look forward to an exciting new chapter in GOBI's adventures. Welcome, Dominic!

Explore the Global Map of Preferential Access Areas (PAAs) for Small-Scale Fisheries on Global Fishing Watch’s Map🌍🐟 globalfishingwatch.org/insights/ask...

🔍 Ask Global Fishing Watch: Our new Preferential Access Area layer helps monitor activity in coastal waters where small-scale fishers have priority access. Developed with @@marineuas.bsky.social @duke-university.bsky.social, it supports transparency and sustainable fishing 🌊 https://bit.ly/47mp7F3

🌊 What is an EBSA—and Why Does It Matter? MGEL researchers co-authored a global synthesis of Ecologically or Biologically Significant Areas (EBSAs) analyzing 338 EBSAs described across 15 regional workshops—covering 75% of the global ocean www.nature.com/articles/s44...

📍New Modeling Reveals Right Whale Communication Patterns How do North Atlantic right whales use sound to communicate? A new study introduces a framework to model upcalls—using a multivariate Hawkes process to separate contact calls from response (counter) calls. www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

📍 Mapping Wildlife in U.S. Offshore Wind Areas (OSW) MGEL-led research presents first monthly maps of 84 marine species across 29 U.S. Atlantic OSW lease areas+10 km buffer—providing a baseline to identify where and when wildlife overlaps with OSW development. 📖 www.frontiersin.org/articles/10....

Huge shoutout to @anacanadas.bsky.social and the MGEL team for this ambitious effort! A massive collaborative dataset, rigorous modeling & timely insight into Mediterranean cetaceans—especially sperm whales. Incredible work presented at #ECSconference2025 🐋🧪 #MarineConservation #MGEL #OceanScience

Post 1: 🌊 MGEL at the 36th European Cetacean Society Conference 🐬 Ana Maria Cañadas Carbó presented MGEL’s work in the Azores (May 2025) as part of ECS’s “Navigating Waters of Change” theme — spotlighting critical marine science in uncertain times. #ECS2025 #MarineConservation #Cetaceans

🧭 From Migration Maps to Policy Impact This global synthesis of marine megafauna movement isn’t just academic—it’s a tool for action. From BBNJ to 30x30, this work supports science-based decision-making across ocean governance. #MarinePolicy #ScienceToAction #BBNJ

The Ocean Biodiversity Information System is turning 25. Amazingly, our lab has been involved with the project for a quarter century. How'd that happen? Congratulations to "Big OBIS" from OBIS-SEAMAP. obis.org/2025/05/21/o...

This study powers the MiCO platform—an open-access system showing how marine megafauna migrate across EEZs and basins. 📍 Use it to visualize species-specific networks 📊 Summarize links between sites & states 🌐 mico.eco

🌊Mapping the Highways of the Sea🌍 New study featuring contributions from MGEL + global partners presents the first cross-taxa global map of marine megafauna migration. Whales, turtles, seabirds & fish connect ocean regions—now, we can map those links. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

📍 New maps show dramatic shifts in North Atlantic right whale distribution (2003–2019) 🐋 Built from MGEL’s monthly models, these maps are now live on the MARCO & Northeast Ocean Data Portals—offering fine-scale insights for ocean planning. 🔗 portal.midatlanticocean.org #SpatialEcology

In March, GOBI and the IUCN High Seas Specialist Group co-hosted a 3-day workshop at Duke University, uniting 30+ global experts to advance ecologically representative ABMTs for the high seas and support #BBNJ implementation. 📚 Learn more: gobi.org/newsletter/

MGEL collaborated in a NOAA-led study that mapped vessel strike risk for North Atlantic right whales using updated whale behavior, vessel data spatial modeling. It helped inform the Biden Administration’s proposal for seasonal vessel speed zones to protect species. Link: doi.org/10.1038/s415...

MGEL researchers co-authored the first global assessment of Preferential Access Areas—a critical but overlooked spatial tool to secure ocean space for small-scale fisheries 📖 Read the study: www.nature.com/articles/s44... #SmallScaleFisheries #OceanGovernance #BlueEconomy

Big thanks to our participants at last week's joint GOBI-IUCN HSSG workshop on 'Building ecologically representative and well-connected High Seas ABMT networks' - 3 days of intense discussions, scientific debate and enthusiastic brainstorming. Read all about it here 👉 tinyurl.com/yczxadkw

Scientists from MGEL, with 20+ partners, created the most comprehensive marine mammal density model for the Northeastern Atlantic These insights help researchers & decision-makers protect key habitats & assess human impact. Report Link Below! ⬇️ seamap.env.duke.edu/seamap-model... #MarineMammals

Scientists from MGEL, with 20+ partners, created the most detailed marine mammal density models for the Mediterranean & Black Seas! 🌊🐬 These high-res models help researchers & decision-makers understand where species are most vulnerable Report Link below! ⬇️ seamap.env.duke.edu/models/Duke/...

Hey ocean scientists who want to put your data into #OBIS but say you don't have the time to figure out Darwin Core and reformat all of your data! Uh, I just tried this, and ChatGPT perfectly formatted a 15 year old data set of mine. Literally just copied and pasted a spreadsheet.