Friday, March 25, 2016

Week in Review: A Japanese Fleet Killed 333 Whales for 'Research'

1. A Japanese Fleet Killed 333 Whales for 'Research'



On Thursday, four ships returned to Japan after killing 333 whales in the Antarctic. 333 is the maximum number of kills allowed under Japan's program for scientific research. In 2014, the United Nations International Court of Justice ordered Japan to halt the program after concluding that research claims couldn't justify the number of kills. After that ruling, Japan created a new plan to kill 4,000 whales over 12 years which was not accepted by the International Whaling Commission. Japan moved forward with the hunting in late 2015. After 4 months in the Antarctic, 333 minke whales were caught, 207 of which were pregnant. According to a Speaking of Science article this week, " Minke whales are indeed the most common baleen whales in the ocean, and they're not endangered. But some conservationists point to a steady decline in the animal's numbers over the course of the past few decades as a warning against even this "sustainable" whaling". Read more...


2. Ecuador Creates Galapagos Marine Sanctuary to Protect Sharks

A group of hammerhead sharks swims over a sandy bottom with garden eels at Darwin Island.
Ecuador has announced that it has established a new marine sanctuary in the Galapagos Islands. The area of the sanctuary, approximately the size of Belgium,  will include 15,000 square miles of water around the most northern islands. This means that 32% of the waters around Galapagos will not be protected from fishing and other extractive industries. The Galapagos waters are home to over 34 different species of sharks. Scientists estimate that around 100 million sharks are killed every year across the globe, this sanctuary will help preserve a portion of that population. Environment minister, Daniel Ortega Pacheco states that, "these pristine waters around the Galapagos archipelago are precious not just for Ecuadorians but for the whole balance of our ocean systems Shark populations in steep decline around the world come here to rest and breed and we want to guarantee complete sanctuary for them". Read more...

Interesting fact from a 2015 economic study, the tourism value of a shark over its lifetime in the Galapagos is US $5.4M while a dead shark brings in less an $200 USD 

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3. US is Tightening "Dolphin-Safe" Tuna Rules

After years of tuna trade misconduct, the US has decided to enforce requirements on tuna products. The more strict "dolphin- safe" rules will require that tuna boats keep more paperwork and undergo training in dolphin-safe tuna fishing. Because schools of tuna tend to gather and swim with some species of dolphins, may fisherman will locate tuna by tracking dolphins. Then they will circle them with nets to get the tuna underneath. The intent of these additional requirements is to maintain high standards for the dolphin-safe label. Read more...

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4. Fish Bond When They Eat the Same Food

Fish bond when they eat the same foodThis week, an article was published in the scientific journal Behavioural Ecology and Sociobiology that revealed some interesting fish behaviors. The scientists  found that for some fish it makes more sense to swim with those that share their taste in food than with members of their own species. It is possible that chemical cues, including amino acids, play a role in creating familiarity and group bonds between members of different species. Previous research has shown that amino acids in the skim mucus of fish are very similar to those found in their food.    Read more...

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5. Massive Network of Robotic Ocean Probes Gets Smart Upgrade

Scientists have started a project to continue exploring the Southern Ocean with a new generation of automated probes. Periodically, the probes will dive to depths of 2,000 meters to measure the temperature and salinity of the water. The US $21M Southern Ocean Carbon and Climate Observations and Modeling Project (SOCCOM) will continue this data collection with advanced probes to monitor several indicators of seawater chemistry and biological activity in the waters around Antarctica. This project will track the carbon dioxide levels in the water which will help scientists develop climate change models.  Read more...

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6. "Burnt Hot Dog" Sea Cucumbers


'Burnt Hot Dog' sea cucumbers raise red flags for threatened global fisheriesSea cucumbers are one of the key species in the ocean ecosystem and they are particularly vulnerable to pollution and overfishing. One species of cucumber, Holothuria edulis aka "Burnt Hot Dog" sea cucumber, was recently studied to understand the critical importance of this species. According to the team of researchers at the California Academy of Sciences,  there is an urgent need to increase fisheries management and protections for ecologically important sea cucumber. Dr Iria Fernandez-Silva notes that " sea cucumbers look goofy, move slowly, and barf up their guts when startled, but these invertebrates are superstar ocean cleaners that are hugely important to marine ecosystems".    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.

Sunday, March 20, 2016

Week in Review: SeaWorld is Ending its Killer Whale Program

1. SeaWorld is Ending its Killer Whale Program

This Thursday, SeaWorld announced that it is finally ending its orca program. SeaWorld currently has 29 killer whales ranging from 1 to 51 years old. Those whales will remain in captivity but will be placed in "new, inspiring natural orca encounters". Although SeaWorld has not released a formal statement to respond to exactly why it has chosen to end their program, it is likely due to the documentary Blackfish. Between the legal battles and the 60% decrease of the stock price, SeaWorld has seen drastic financial challenges in the last 3 years. Blackfish directed a number of societal pressure towards SeaWorld and in the past they stated that "SeaWorld has been listening and we're changing. Society is changing and we're changing with it".  Read more...

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2. How Plants Can Help Track Climate Change

Geographer describes how plants help track climate change
Professor of geography, Mark D. Schwartz, of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee has determined that the start of growing seasons have started a week earlier than it did 50 years ago. Schwartz used a combination of plant data, air temperature records, and satellite imagery to model how climate change impacts spring and fall. According to Schwartz, "plants on the ground can tell us more and give insight into questions that satellites can't".  Read more...

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3. Dolphin Count Reveals Homebody Habits

Dolphin count reveals homebody habits

This week, an article was published in Frontiers revealing the homebody habits of dolphins. The study is the latest in a long line of research done by scientists at Murdoch University Cetacean Research Unit (MUCRU). The goal of the program is to help provide more baseline data on the northwest's dolphins to develop conservation and protection strategies. The article reports on the Australian snubfin, humpback, and Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins. The scientists and volunteers at MUCRU surveyed the dolphin areas multiple times and it appeared that the same individual dolphins were in the same areas year after year.  Read more...

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4. Southern Right Whale Recovery in Doubt After Being on Brink of Extinction

A southern right whaleSouthern right whales were hunted to the brink of extinction at the start of the 20th century. Approximately 35,000 to 41,000 southern right whales were estimated to have been killed in New Zealand between 1827 and 1980. Oil was extracted from its blubber and used to street lamos as well as food. Since that point, the population has only recovered to 12% of its original size. A study recently published in the Royal Society Open Science journal reported that it would take at least six decades for the population to fully recover and, by that time, it would likely be impacted by climate change.  Read more...

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5. Can a Long-Dead Reverend Help Save Amazonia's Freshwater Dolphins?

An Amazon River pink dolphin.

During a 2007 survey, 116 groups of pink river dolphins and 220 groups of gray river dolphins were found in the Amazon River between Colombia and Peru. This was an increase from previous population totals taken in 1993 and 2002. Why is this the case? What conservation practice is helping these species? Well, these data points may be a result of the variables in the observation techniques. This is a challenge tracking the population sizes of all species. Rob Williams, a marine mammal scientist at the University of St Andrews, and team developed a way to review survey data incorporating a flexible statistical approach developed by the English Presbyterian minister, Reverend Thomas Bayes, in the 1750s. After processing the possibly problematic survey data, Williams and team reported that there is a 75% probability that the gray dolphin population was stable or increase and an equal probability that the pink dolphin numbers declined.   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.

Saturday, March 12, 2016

Week in Review: Shark Fin Soup: A Dangerous Delicacy for Humans and Sharks Alike

1. Shark Fin Soup: A Dangerous Delicacy for Humans and Sharks Alike

Caudal (tail) fins.
This week, The Guardian published an account written about shark fin sales and soup in Hong Kong. The author, Lauren Smith, shares her account of Hong Kong before the Chinese New Year and how prevalent the sale of shark fins were for the celebration. Although shark fin soup was an ancient custom dating back to the Song Dynasty (970- 1279), the dish gained popularity in the late 1980s when China's upper and middle classes expanded. Those groups were eager to showcase their new wealth and used shark fin soup as one way to do so. According to Smith, the Hong Kong fin trade is dominated by the blue shark, 17% of the overall market, and also consists of mako, thresher, tiger, silky, dusky,  bull, oceanic white tip, sandbar, and hammerhead sharks. Although the trade and practice has been banned by many countries, the Hong Kong demand still exists and the trade continues internationally. People who have decided to stop eating shark fin soup attribute the decision to environmental or health impacts. A recent study showed that a percentage of shark fins from Chinese cities contained mercury and methylmercury in concentrations that were unsafe for human consumption. That being said, one trader told Smith that his fin sales had increased by 90% over the Chinese New Year period. Shark finning is still prevalent and Sea Save looks forward to the upcoming CITES conference to help continue safeguarding many of the shark species Read more...

On the topic of shark finning, Kerala High Court in India put a ban on the export of shark fins. The government identified the drastic impact that this trade was having on the shark populations. Although the export is banned, there is not ban on capturing sharks and domestic consumption of sharks. Read more...
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2. This Mind Bogging Study Shows Just How Massive Sea Level Rise Really Is

A recent study published in the journal Earth Systems Dynamics discusses how we could possibly head off the predicted sea level rise. Their idea is extreme and the scale is massive.  The scientists proposed to pump excess seawater more than two miles into the air to the top of the Antarctic ice sheet where it would freeze. What are the problems here... well, the energy and engineering required to actually perform this concept. It is unlikely that geoengineering will be able to counter the rising sea level because every millimeter of sea level rise is around 360 billion tons of ocean water. Right now the earth sees an increasing rate of 3 mm per year!  To read more details on this fascinating theory, click here...

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3. New Zealand Supports Fiji 



This week, New Zealand's Major General Tim Gall visited Fiji to meet with Disaster Management Minister Inia Seruiratu and RFMF Commander Rear Admiral Viliame Naupoto. Since February 21st, New Zealand has deployed almost 500 individuals, two ships, and six aircrafts the help Fiji recover from the cyclone. Read more... 

Also interested in helping Fiji? Help us get 100% of your donation directly into the hands of families in need. You donate and all of the funds go to our partners in Fiji for distribution. All donations are tax deductible. Donate here 
Current Partners:

Nai'a - Dive Fiji & Beyond
Worldwide Dive and Sail

The picture on the right is of the Nai'a tourists who insisted on helping rebuild the local town after it was devastated from Winston.




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4. The Horrific Way Fish Are Caught for Your Aquarium

Have you ever been into one of those fancy hotels with the giant, full wall aquariums and looked at all of the beautifully colored fish? Have you ever wondered how they got there? Well, National Geographic published a story this week that reveals how this is done- with sodium cyanide! That's right, 90% of saltwater aquarium fish imported to the US are caught using cyanide. Fish collectors in the Philippines, Sir Lanka, and Indonesia will dissolve the highly toxic chemical into spray bottles and then spray the fish in the reef to stun and catch them. Not only done the cyanide cause the fish to suffer but, introducing this toxin into the underwater ecosystem kills the coral which is a solid base of the marine food chain. The law in the US called the Lacey Act makes it illegal to import any wildlife caught contrary to another country's law but, no US agencies currently test imported fish for cyanide. A new petition call on the National marine Fisheries Service, US Customs and Border Protection, and US Fish and Wildlife Service to begin to require testing and certification of imported tropical fish. Read more...

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5. Biologists Demonstrate How Satellite Data on Fishing Can Help Protect Ocean Biodiversity


This story is another example of one of our favorite themes- the marriage between conservation and technology! The study, lead by UC Santa Barbara's Douglas McCauley, uses information from the Automatic Ship Identification Systems (AIS) to help manage sustainable futures for fish and fishermen across global oceans. AIS will help keep track of where fishing takes place  and reduce collisions between whales and ships, to intelligently zone the ocean to keep wildlife safe, and monitor seabed mining operations. With the UN's commitment to manage biodiversity in 64% of the oceans, tools like this will help enforce the conservation standards.  Read more...



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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, March 5, 2016

Week in Review: Cyclone Winston- Urgent Need For Relief in Fiji

1. Cyclone Winston: Urgent Need For Relief in Fiji

On February 20th, Fiji was hit by the category five system named Cyclone Winston. Although the entire country has been impacted, Fiji's remote communities on the outer islands are in dire conditions. Individuals on the islands are in need of food, water, and emergency shelter. According to a Suva-based rec Cross aid worker, " up to 90 per cent of the houses have been destroyed". The United Nations estimates that 120,000 Fijians are in urgent need of shelter and Fiji's National Disaster Management Office (NDMO) has established 960 evacuation centers.   Read more... 

Interested in directly helping the victims? Help us get 100% of your donation directly into the hands of families in need. You donate and all of the funds go to our partners in Fiji for distribution. All donations are tax deductible. Donate here 

Current Partners:

Nai'a - Dive Fiji & Beyond
Worldwide Dive and Sail

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2. Food Scarcity Cause by Climate Change Could Cause 500,000 Deaths by 2050

polar bears: Climate change game launched
Yes, this is a very shocking and grim headline. This week, a study was published in the journal The Lancet revealing that climate-related impacts on agriculture could create some drastic public health issues. Climate change has the potential of inducing an overall global decline in food availability which would lead humans to eat less produce and meat. The researchers, led by Marco Springman of Oxford University's Oxford Martin Programme on the Future of Food, developed a model to simulate the effects of climate change on food production and consumption. Assuming the sever climate change scenario, the dietary changes would translate to about 529,000 deaths that would not have occurred if there were no climate change. To read the full details of the study, click here...

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3. Indonesia Sinks 30 Boats to Fight Illegal Fishing

Last week, Indonesia reported that they had sunk 30 impounded foreign and local fishing boats. The fisherman on these boats were caught illegally fishing in Indonesian waters. Among the 30 vessels, 11 were from Vietnam, 8 from Malaysia, 7 from the Philippines, and 3  from Indonesia. So far, Indonesia has scuttled 151 vessels for illegal operations.   Read more...


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4. Scientists Unraveling Mystery of Rare Whales off Madagascar

Omura's whale mother and calf. (B. Andrianantenaina)Salvatore Cerchio, scientist at the New England Aquarium, went to Madagascar more than a decade ago to study coastal dolphins. To his surprised, his research plans changed and shifted to studying the rare Omura's whale. Cerchio has studied the feeding and breeding behavior of these mammals. Cerchio remarks on these unique whales stating, " they spend their entire lives in the tropics, That is really unusual and special because the tropics are difficult to make a living in...The fact we are seeing them feeding- and getting data on what they are feeding on - is a great opportunity to learn about an ecosystem and how the species fits into that ecosystem". Read more...

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5. What the Deepest Spot in the Ocean Sounds Like


Researchers used a hydrophone that was placed seven miles (11.3km) down - further than the height of Everest - from the surface of the water - in a trough called Challenger Deep to eavesdrop in the depths

The Mariana Trench is the deepest part of the world's ocean. Scientists recently released a study about the sound at that extreme depth. You may imagine that the Mariana Trench is an eerily silent location but, it is actually quite noisy. The team of scientists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Oregon State University, and the US Coast Guard spent three weeks listening to the area. They sent a hydrophone down to Challenger Deep and heard sounds of ships, whales, and an earthquake!  Read more...



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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.