Elizabeth Claire Alberts
Ocean Reporter and Investigative Journalist.
Meet Elizabeth
Elizabeth Claire Alberts is a senior staff writer on the ocean desk at Mongabay, an award-winning environmental news outlet. Her primary beat is deep-sea mining, and she also reports on a wide range of ocean-related issues, including overfishing and the impacts of climate change on marine and coastal ecosystems. In 2024–25, she was an Ocean Reporting Fellow with the Pulitzer Center, where she conducted in-depth investigations into the emerging deep-sea mining industry. She is currently based in West Cork, Ireland.
Her Work
Dive into Elizabeth’s work …
Deep-sea mining interests raise alarms among Mariana Trench communities
U.S.-led plans to mine the deep seabed have gained momentum since President Donald Trump signed an executive order that called for the industry’s rapid formation to bolster U.S. national [...]
Challenges Persist in TMC’s Bid To Mine the Deep Sea, Even After Boost From Trump
Standing behind the lectern at the Nasdaq MarketSite Studio in Times Square, New York City, on Sept. 17, 2021, Gerard Barron slammed his palm down on a [...]
A Sales-Pitch Pivot Brings Deep-Sea Mining Closer to Reality
There are at least two versions of the pitch. One casts polymetallic nodules — metal-rich rocks scattered across flat stretches of the deep seafloor — as a [...]
PNG PM Marape rejects deep-sea mining even as provincial authorities try to revive project
NICE, France — James Marape, the prime minister of Papua New Guinea, voiced his government’s rejection of seabed mining at the 2025 United Nations Ocean Conference that [...]
With deep-sea mining plans in limbo, Norwegian companies fold or dig in
BERGEN, Norway — It’s been nearly five months since the Norwegian government paused its controversial plans to launch deep-sea mining in Arctic waters. This proposed industry aims [...]
‘Life is short. Steal a walrus’: why a trainer devoted his life to free Smooshi the walrus
Phil Demers’ lawyer once gave him a stern warning: he should not use his bullhorn megaphone at a protest outside Marineland, the Canadian entertainment park [...]