FILE - In this Sept. 7, 2012 file photo, the research vessel Ocearch has set her anchor as the crew begins their search for great white sharks on the Atlantic Ocean, spending two to three weeks tagging sharks and collecting blood and tissue samples off the coast of Chatham, Mass. After tagging the sharks real-time satellite tracks the shark each time its dorsal fin breaks the surface, plotting its location on a map. Researchers in Massachusetts say great white sharks in the Atlantic Ocean are venturing offshore farther, with more frequency and at greater depths than previously known. The findings were published Sept. 29, 2017, in the scientific journal Marine Ecology Progress Series. (AP Photo/Stephan Savoia, File)
October 06, 2017 - 4:32 AM
BRUSSELS - A global conference organized by the European Union aimed at better protecting marine life has raised more than $7 billion.
During the Our Ocean conference that concluded Friday in the Maltese capital of Valletta, the EU committed $645 million to improve marine governance. Representatives from businesses, 112 countries and others pushed the total up to the unprecedented level.
The Our Ocean conference has accumulated some 8.7 billion euros ($10.2 billion) since it started in 2014 but the 2017 commitments exceeded expectations.
The conference focuses on funding and leading projects as varied at combating plastics pollution to countering illegal fishing and looking at the effects of climate change.
News from © The Associated Press, 2017