February 13, 2026
Your weekly briefing on what’s happening in the world’s rivers and reefs.
River
The Coming Failure of Glen Canyon Dam: As seven US states scramble to cut a Colorado River deal by tomorrow’s federal deadline, this deep dive reveals something almost nobody is discussing — serious design flaws inside Glen Canyon Dam itself that could lead to operational failure. Twenty-five million people depend on this water. (High Country News)
China’s Yangtze Fishing Ban Is Actually Working: A new Science study confirms the “nuclear option” paid off: after China shut down all fishing on the Yangtze in 2021, fish biomass doubled and the critically endangered finless porpoise started recovering. This is the most compelling evidence yet that giving a river a break from extraction can reverse decades of decline. (Phys.org / Science)
The World’s River Deltas Are Sinking Faster Than the Sea Is Rising: In a study published in Nature, satellite radar mapped 40 major deltas across five continents and found that nearly half are subsiding faster than ocean levels are climbing. The Mekong, Nile, Ganges, and Mississippi deltas are among the worst. The ground beneath those landscapes is literally disappearing. (Virginia Tech News / Nature)
Cambodia’s $1.2B Canal Mega-Project Threatens Coastal Marine Life: A 180-km canal linking the Mekong River to the sea in Kep province could smother coral and seagrass beds with sediment and displace the fishing communities who depend on them. A reminder that what happens upriver doesn’t stay upriver. (Mongabay)
Reef
More Than Half the World’s Coral Reefs Have Now Bleached: A global analysis of 15,000+ reefs confirms 51% suffered moderate or worse bleaching during the Third Global Bleaching Event. The ongoing Fourth Event, which started in 2023, is tracking worse. This explains why your favorite reef may look very different the next time you visit. (Science Daily / Nature Communications)
Abandoned Fishing Devices Are Polluting the Galápagos Marine Reserve: Industrial tuna fleets dump tens of thousands of fish aggregating devices into the eastern Pacific each year. When they drift into the Galápagos, they shed plastic, smother coral, and entangle sea turtles and sharks. Even the most “pristine” marine reserve on Earth isn’t safe from ocean trash. (Mongabay)
Panama Bans Shark Exports to Protect Marine Ecosystems: Healthy shark populations, healthy reefs: that’s the logic behind Panama’s new ban on exporting endangered sharks, like the hammerheads. The government is pairing enforcement with satellite monitoring and investing in eco-tourism alternatives for affected fishers. Policy and science working together. (Newsroom Panama)
Sustainable Travel
Royal Caribbean’s Mega Water Park vs. the World’s Second-Largest Reef: Royal Caribbean wants to build its “biggest, baddest” resort in Mahahual, a tiny Mexican port town sitting right next to the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef. The plan: 21,000 daily cruise visitors, water slides, and a huge ecological footprint on an already stressed reef system. A federal judge has halted the project. This story is the sustainable-travel debate in a nutshell; mass tourism vs. the ecosystems that make these destinations worth visiting in the first place. (WLRN / NPR)
What did we miss? Share your news items for the week in the Comments.
Great video, thanks for sharing!