Friday, November 28, 2014

Week in Review: Invasion of the Lionfish, Sea Devil Papparazzi, $25 Billion Dollar Underwater Condominium Planned and much more! If you enjoy, please "LIKE" our page.

1. Hundreds of Lionfish, Caribbean Invasive Species, Found and Sacrificed on Wreck

Lionfish are native to the Pacific and Indian Oceans. These striking fish have recently invaded the Caribbean, and without any natural predators, their numbers are exploding. A genetic study indicates that the entire displaced population originates from 8 individual fish, most likely released from a hobbyist's aquarium.  The video reveals sport divers discovering possibly hundreds of these fish on a single wreck.  Watch Video...

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2. Deep Wreck Reveals Secrets


Michael Lawman is sifting through the sediment from a steamer wreck that sank in 1857. Scientists are searching for microorganisms that could one day help treat cancer and other diseases.

“It’s a different kind of treasure than we usually look for,” Lawman said. “Our interest is in the microorganisms in the ocean and in the seabed itself. Read more...

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3. Barnacles May Hold Clues about How Climate Change Is Affecting Deep Ocean


A recent study published in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences leverages extracted and sequenced barnacle DNA to lend insight into the effect climate change might have upon deep ocean species. Using barnacles as an indicator species, University Marine Biophysics Unit researcher, Yuichi Nakajima discusses the possible future of these unstudied animals. Read more...

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4. Growing Corals

Microfragmenting, a technique used  to quickly grow coral colonies, is being used by Dr. David Vaughan and Christopher Page. Thousands of tiny coral colonies are flourishing in elevated tanks at the Mote Tropical Research library in Florida. The harvest will be used to replace and reseed dying reefs in Florida and elsewhere.  Read more...

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5. "Black Seadevil" Anglerfish Makes Debut in Monterey Recording

Scientists monitoring a recent recording at the Monterey-based MBARI were delighted to see a video rendering of the elusive black sea devil anglerfish on their monitors. The high-definition video shows this fish in great detail and captures its movement and surrounding environment at 1,900 feet below the ocean's surface. Read more...


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6. $25 Billion Dollar Underwater Community Planned in Japan (Shopping Mall, 5,000 Residents and More)

Tokyo University and the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology have combined forces to develop schematics for an ambitious project.  The theory is that about 5,000 people could live and work in a modern-day Atlantis, a sphere 1,500 feet in diameter that would houses hotels, residential spaces, and commercial complexes. The sphere would rest at the surface and sink below during periods of harsh weather.  Read more...



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7. Tracking Tigers

The state of Hawaii funded a study to tag and track the movements of tiger sharks in the waters off Maui. Dr. Carl Meyer from the University of  Hawaii, Institute of Marine Biology, shared his findings this week. Twenty-four large tiger sharks were captured and fitted with tracking devices. Shark swimming patterns differ greatly from swimmers and surfers on all islands but Maui. Additional studies are examining why Maui patterns are aberrant.  Read more...

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8. Whale Numbers Increasing.  Great News!

In 1977, estimates suggested there were fewer than 2,000 humpbacks in the North Atlantic. Concerns were high that the species would not be able to recover. Allied Whale senior scientist Peter Stevick now claims that current populations are closer to 20,000 humpback whales in the North Atlantic.  Read more...

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9. U.S. Government Killing Thousands of Cormorants to Protect Salmon.  Opposition Grows



East Sand Island, Oregon, is home to the largest breeding colony of Caspian terns in the world and nearly 15,000 pairs of double-crested cormorants. Last summer, the United States government  announced a proposal to kill 16,000 double-crested cormorants on the island over a period of four years.  In the process they will also cover up the nesting sites to prevent future generations from breeding.

"They're eating over 6% of the local, commercially valuable wild steelhead," says Ritchie Graves, a NOAA fisheries biologist. This approach, "lethal control"—killing one species of animal to protect another—is becoming common.  Increasing numbers of conservationists are protesting this activity..Read more...

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10. Loving Tuna to Extinction: The Irony of Sushi

This month’s edition of the journal "Marine Ecology Progress" contains a new study: "A Century of Fish Biomass in the Ocean." The results further underline that many species of economically and ecologically important predatory fish are being vastly overfished. It finds that the situation is beginning to improve in some regions, such as the US, thanks to better fisheries management – but says the situation remains dire in much of the developing world. Of special concern are blue tuna, swordfish, shark and grouper.  Many predatory fish have decreased dramatically due to the great demand for sushi lovers worldwide.  Read more...

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11. Protected Areas Cover Almost 6% of European Regional Seas

Protected areas cover more than 340,000 square km of coastal and marine ecosystems in Europe, according to the latest data. These areas are vitally important for protecting the continent’s most vulnerable species, habitats and marine life.  Read more...

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12. Will Plastic That Degrades in Three Hours Help Diminish the Gyre Slurry?

Scientists from North Dakota State University have managed to come up with a new plastic that will degrade into small component parts within three hours upon exposure to the sun. Conservationists have been fighting for years to end the use of all single-use plastic, arguing that most "recyclable" plastic end up in landfills.  Changes in behavior, including refusal of single-use plastics, are considered by many to be the best alternative.  Read more...

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Sea Save Foundation is committed to raising awareness of marine conservation. The Week in Review is a team effort produced by the Sea Save staff to provide a weekly summary of the latest in marine research, policy, and news.

Friday, November 21, 2014

Week in Review: Research Tags Become Dinner Bells, Beluga Birth Caught on Video, and More

1. Scientific Research Tags Placed on Fish Can Make them Vulnerable to Predators


Scientists have been using sound-emitting tags to track the long-term survival of fish. Observers are now reporting an ironic twist with this methodology. Seals have learned to use the tags as their "dinner bell" or tool to locate prey, thus shortening the lifespan of tagged fish. This artifact, if proven conclusive, would render the study worthless. Read more here...

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2. Beluga Whale Birth Caught on Video

Video from China captured the unusual sight of a beluga whale giving birth in an aquarium, offering marine biologists an opportunity to study the labor process. Belugas are one of the most common cetaceans kept in aquariums worldwide and are rarely bred successfully in captivity. Watch the video here...



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3. New Marine Reserve Established in Central Africa

A new marine reserve off the coast of the central African nation of Gabon will protect 18,000 square miles of ocean, home to threatened species such as great hammerhead sharks, tiger sharks, whale sharks, manta rays, and leatherback turtles. Commercial fishing is banned in the area. Read more here...





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4. Japan Reduces Whaling Quota


Japan plans to kill 333 minke whales when it resumes whaling in Antarctic waters next year, a reduction from last year's quota of 855. This follows a ruling at the International Court of Justice that the program was unscientific and merely an excuse to continue commercial whaling. Japan will continue its hunt despite a non-binding vote at the International Whaling Commission demanding limits on the program. Read more here...

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5. Fisheries May Collapse Within 30 Years

Saltwater fish may be extinct by 2048 if we do not act now, according to a study published in the journal Science. Loss of ocean biodiversity has accelerated in recent years, threatening entire marine ecosystems due to declining water quality, aglal blooms, dead zones, fish kills, and coastal flooding. But we may be able to reverse the trend if we take action to improve diversity in vulnerable areas. Read more here...

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6. Orcas Captured for Russian Aquarium

A new aquarium being constructed at an exhibition center in Moscow, Russia, will house orcas recently caught off the country's far eastern coast, even as public sentiment is turning against keeping cetaceans in captivity. Read more here...



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7. Cause of Sea Star Wasting Disease Identified

Scientists think they have identified the cause of massive sea star die-offs along the Pacific Coast of the U.S. The culprit appears to be a virus similar to one that affects sea urchins and cockroaches. This commonplace virus has become lethal for unknown reasons. There is good news, however: massive numbers of baby starfish are showing up in some areas of the Pacific Coast. Read more here...

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8. World Parks Congress Aims to Protect 30 Percent of World's Oceans

The World Parks Congress has set an ambitious new target to reserve 30 percent of the world's oceans as marine parks where fishing is banned. Currently only 2 percent of the oceans are protected. China, Russia, Canada, Madagascar, South Africa, and Brazil pledged to increase their marine protected areas significantly. The new target was based on more than 80 scientific studies. Read more here...




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9. Seabirds Dying Along California Coast 

Dead seabirds are washing up on central California beaches, possibly as a result of starvation caused by high ocean temperatures and a lack of zooplankton. The birds, called Cassin's auklets, normally live in the open ocean and are rarely sighted along the coast. Auklets are an "indicator species" that provide a picture of the overall health of the marine ecosystem. Read more here...


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Be sure to "LIKE" http://facebook.com/SeaSave to ensure our "Week in Review" is delivered to your newsfeed every Thursday. 

Sea Save Foundation is committed to raising awareness of marine conservation. The Week in Review is a team effort produced by the Sea Save staff to provide a weekly summary of the latest in marine research, policy, and news.

Saturday, November 15, 2014

Rethinking Muir, Putting Shrimp on Treadmills, Public to Monitor Poachers from Laptops and More

1. Satellite-to-Laptop Technology to Target Fish Poachers

Conears. Future versions will show near-real-time data so that immediate action can be taken if fishing is happening servationists and the general public will soon be able to track large fishing vessels anywhere in the world using a global surveillance system. A prototype of the system, which uses Google's mapping software and servers, was unveiled this week, displaying movements of 25,000 fishing vessels from the past two illegally.  Read more here…


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2. Putting Shrimp on Treadmills - Really?

Recent media stories have spotlighted research that involved running shrimp on treadmills and questioned why taxpayer dollars are being wasted on "exercising shrimp." Now David Scholnick, the marine biologist who put shrimp on a treadmill, is speaking out. David and his colleagues were studying how changes in the oceans could affect marine organisms' ability to fight infections - an important question whose answer has a direct impact on us, because the health of marine organisms is closely related to the safety of the seafood we eat. (And the treadmill cost just $50.) Read more here...

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3. John Kerry Weighs in on Climate Change in New York Times Op-Ed

The Internet is a virtual beehive of buzz about the Obama and Xi Jinping joint climate change announcement. John Kerry makes his thoughts known: "We need to solve this problem together because neither one of us can solve it alone. Even if the United States somehow eliminated all of our domestic greenhouse gas emissions, it still wouldn’t be enough to counteract the carbon pollution coming from China and the rest of the world. Likewise, even if China went down to zero emissions, it wouldn’t make enough of a difference if the United States and the rest of the world didn’t change direction." Read more here...

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4. Whale Deaths from Human Interactions Threaten Populations

Fishing gear entanglements, vessel strikes, and other human interactions were responsible for a quarter of known whales deaths in the North Atlantic over a five-year period, according to a recent study. These deaths threaten the recovery of whale species that are already struggling, such as the North Atlantic right whale. Even one animal lost can be devastating for the population. Read more here…


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5. Rethinking Muir? Shifting Baselines Have Gone Too Far

Mainstream environmentalists are questioning the vision of John Muir. Some are saying that his relentless campaign to protect large wild areas is outdated and no longer practical, and that current population trends make the idea of setting aside wild land "impractical." Efforts would be better spent in the development of urban parks and roadways. If this is the paradigm shift regarding our national parks, what chance do we have to protect our oceans? Read more here...


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6. Crabs in Survival Mode

The increasing acidification of the ocean and rising temperatures have more of a direct impact on intertidal species. By testing metabolic rates and thermal tolerance, studies have shown crabs are under more pressure to simply stay alive, leaving less time or energy for growth or reproduction. Read more here...





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7. Fish in American Waters Rebound



The Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch Program has reported that Atlantic haddock and nearly two dozen species of Pacific groundfish, including snapper, Dover sole, and dogfish, are rebounding. The recovery is likely the result of the U.S. management system and the passage of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act in 2007, which established management fishery councils and catch limits of threatened stocks. The lesson: we can restore marine populations and protect our oceans if we have the will to take meaningful action. Read more here...

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8. Future of Barrier Reef - Hot Topic; Scientists Divided

Next week, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) members will convene to discuss ecosystem management. This gathering only occurs once every ten years. The list of topics to be discussed is long, but perhaps the most controversial is the quality of the current management of the Great Barrier Reef (GBR). Once considered the crown jewel of marine protected areas, the GBR is experiencing degradation. Scientists do not agree on the extent of the damage, nor how the reef should be managed. Read more here...

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9. United Nations Conservation Conference Votes to Protect More Species

Thirty-one species of migratory animals, including polar bears, whales, sharks, rays, and gazelles, were granted protection status by the UN Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals after intense negotiations in Quito, Ecuador. The list includes a record 21 species of sharks, rays, and sawfish. More than 900 experts from 120 countries were involved in the talks. Read more here…
 

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10. Thousands of Dead Fish Baffle Rio

Dead fish have been washing up in Rio's polluted Guanabara Bay, worrying fishermen, locals, and sailors set to compete there in the 2016 Olympics. Twenty tons of dead fish and four sea turtles have already been removed. Some point the finger at state petrochemical giant Petrobras, but the likeliest culprit is high water temperatures. Read more here...


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11. Maine Shrimp Depletion



For the second year in a row, Maine regulators have canceled shrimping season. Conservationists have long proclaimed the ills of shrimping practices, citing trawling destruction and obscene by-catch waste as reasons to consider other menu items.  Now shrimp are facing another challenge, warming waters. Numbers of these crustaceans have plummeted sharply over the last three years, and scientists are pointing fingers at climate change. Read more here...

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12. Melting Arctic Ice



Jennifer Francis was one of the first scientists to associate Arctic ice loss and worldwide colder winters. “There's only about half as much sea ice coverage in the Arctic now as there was only 30 years ago,” Francis says. “It's been disappearing at an amazing rate.... One of those regions where the ice is disappearing the fastest is [in] Barents-Kara Sea.” A new study published in Nature Geoscience supports this hypothesis. Read more here...

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13. Slavery Meets Overfishing

While slow progress is being made in an industry plagued by forced slavery and abuse, lack of oversight and poor enforcement are key factors in another major problem: overfishing. Incredibly, China is flexing its economic muscle and openly flaunting regulations. Should China be forced to adhere to the laws, it would have a great environmental impact. Read more here...



Be sure to "LIKE" http://Facebook.com/SeaSave to ensure our "Week in Review" is delivered to your newsfeed every Thursday. 

Sea Save Foundation is committed to raising awareness of marine conservation. The Week in Review is a team effort produced by the Sea Save staff to provide a weekly summary of the latest in marine research, policy, and news.

Friday, November 7, 2014

Week In Review: Russia & China Block Protection of Antarctic Waters, Missing BP Oil Found, & More

1. Russia and China Block Proposal for World's Largest Marine Protected Area

A proposal to set up the world's largest marine protected area in Antarctica did not earn the support of Russia or China at the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources meeting. The proposal was created to help conserve and manage the ecosystem of the waters surrounding Antarctica, an area with one of the least damaged ecosystems in the world currently. Read more here...

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2. Scientists Employ Penguin Spy

To study the notoriously shy Emperor penguins, scientists have built a robotic baby penguin to assist in their research. The remote controlled robot so closely resembles a real penguin that the Emperor penguins don't scurry away in fear as they normally do when a foreign species approaches them. In fact, it was noted that the adult penguins talked to the baby robot as if it were a potential mate for their own chicks. Read more here...




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3. Robots Deployed on Fish Tracking Mission

Three marine robots have been sent out by the Marine Biologists Association and the National Oceanography Center to track fish activity in Marine Protected Areas. The robots are equipped with a range of sensors to collect information on the physical properties of the waters as well as a GoPro to capture images and video of marine life. The goal of the project is to understand the migration, residency, and movement of fish in their use of Marine Protected Areas. Read more here...

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4. FOUND: Missing BP Oil

Th 2010 BP Deepwater Horizon disaster spilled millions of barrels of oil that has never been found until now. Researchers have tracked the fate of a significant amount of the oil to the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico. Between 4% and 31% of the oil is believed to be located here, and the remainder is still missing. Read more here...

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5. Unseasonably Warm Waters Bring Unlikely Creatures

As the waters along the Pacific coast experience warm temperatures of historic highs, a bizarre assortment of marine creatures has been found. An endangered green sea turtle typically inhabiting the Galapagos was caught in San Francisco, a Hawaiian ono found in Southern California, and giant sunfish have been spotted in Alaska. The water temperatures are 5 to 6 degrees warmer than average, and the oddball weather is being blamed on changes in wind pattern.  Read more here...



Be sure to "LIKE" http://facebook.com/SeaSave to ensure our "Week in Review" is delivered to your newsfeed every Thursday. 

Sea Save Foundation is committed to raising awareness of marine conservation. The Week in Review is a team effort produced by the Sea Save staff to provide a weekly summary of the latest in marine research, policy, and news.