Thriving Oceans

Thought I’d introduce a new feature for Mondays that highlights a few of the previous week’s news and blog posts I found interesting and pertinent to marine life and ocean conservation.  I imagine a few sentences lifted from the piece and a link to the exposition will suffice.  I am also running a similar feature over at http://journowl.com regarding wildlife, habitats, and conservation.

And why not open up the comments  for any recommendations on articles or post you find intriguing (and ocean relevant of course). Obviously I can’t catch them all and this might be a great way to get in touch with some blogs of which we are not familiar, news we may have missed, or photos and videos that are must see.  I’m looking forward to your additions to this week’s The Salty Scoop!

Pacific Ocean garbage patch worries researchers (Aug 27)

“Most of the trash has broken into bite-sized plastic bits, and scientists want to know whether it’s sickening or killing the small fish, plankton and birds that ingest it.”

Stranded belugas in Alaska swim free (Aug 24)

“About 20 beluga whales that became stranded in mud during a low tide over the weekend have apparently freed themselves, bringing relief to biologists who have been closely monitoring their plight.”

Research finds higher acidity in Alaska waters (Aug 24)

“Erosion threatens to topple coastal Alaska villages. Melting ice threatens polar bears. Now, a marine scientist says the state’s marine waters are turning acidic from absorbing greenhouse gases faster than tropical waters, potentially endangering Alaska’s $4.6 billion fishing industry.”

Australian oil well to gush for nearly two months (Aug 23)

“A leaking Australian oil well is likely to pour oil into the Timor Sea for nearly two months before it can be stopped, the operator said on Sunday, as environmentalists expressed grave fears for rare wildlife.”

A National Policy for Our Crowded Ocean (Aug 24)

“When we look out to the blue horizon, the ocean seems like a calm, vast space. But what we see on the surface of the water is deceiving — the ocean is alive with activity and it is crowded with wildlife and industrial uses.”

Canadian Survey Receives Go-Ahead from Court (Aug 27)

“A Canadian court has declined to issue a stay to prevent the vents survey from continuing.The ship has reached the research area, and has begun the planned project, which involves laying bottom-mounted receivers and doing ten days of airgun shots.”

Posted on The Acoustic Ecology Institute News & Science Blog/Feed

Ethical debate: endangered species vs. ecosystems (Aug 23)

“At two different conferences I attended this summer, I heard about a hot new topic in the conservation movement. Biologists studying a variety of organisms, from plants to turtles, are debating this all over the world as we speak.”

Posted by Whysharksmatter on Southern Fried Science

k-pod off false bay and red necked (Aug 28)

“Yesterday was sunny and warm, but today it felt much more like fall - overcast and chilly. As we headed down San Juan Channel aboard the Western Prince there were lots of birds to check out: a pair of bald eagles up in a tree, a great blue heron perched on a kelp bed, and on Goose Island double-crested cormorants, pelagic cormorants, glaucous-winged gulls, and Heermann’s gulls.”

Posted by Monika Wieland on Orca Watcher

Two new worms and an ancient crustacean discovered by cave divers in submarine lava tube (Aug 29)

“A previously unknown species of crustacean and two previously unknown species of annelid worms have been discovered during a cave dive near Lanzarote in the Canary Islands off the coast of northern Africa.”

Posted by William on Fish and Acquatic News

Good news for marine habitat in the States  (Aug 26)

“The last few days have seen a flurry of oceans-related activity in the States. Last week, the U.S. government approved an Arctic fisheries management plan that places a moratorium on commercial fishing in the U.S.’ waters in the Chukchi and Beaufort seas.”

Posted by John D. at Coastal Voices

Weekly Dose of Cute: Baby Fish! (Aug 28)

“Sure adult fish are rarely considered cute. But c’mon - their babies are downright adorable!”

Posted by Christie Lynn on Observations of a Nerd

I just couldn’t resist…the baby puffer is very very cute.

Should we be surprised?  I guess those signs we once saw sporadically posted around our rivers and streams are now a ubiquitous warning.

Scientists detected mercury contamination in every fish sampled in 291 streams across the country, according to a U.S. Geological Survey study released today.

About a quarter of these fish were found to contain mercury at levels exceeding the criterion for the protection of people who consume average amounts of fish, established by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. More than two-thirds of the fish exceeded the U.S. EPA level of concern for fish-eating mammals.

Read more:  All Fish in Streams Contain Mercury

Out of sight out of protection?  Not any longer as technology is enabling scientists to study deep sea coral reef ecosystems and provide protection before commercial bottom trawling, crab pots and energy exploration activities mar the reefs. 

“The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council is pushing the proposal to protect the region, about the size of West Virginia, in depths down to 2,500 feet and below, creating the largest deep water coral protected area off the Atlantic Coast.” AP

In a world of overfishing, bycatch, and declining ocean health, I know this is hard to believe but this is one of those rare cases where protections are being instituted prior to the development of a potential problem. Go figure!

According to the USGS:

The Atlantic cruises will examine deep coral ecosystems off Florida and North Carolina. The Gulf cruise will involve returning to deep coral sites visited in previous years as well as exploring new target locations on the West Florida Slope and a deep ship wreck. The primary research objectives are to examine and classify deep coral reef habitats and their associated fauna and compare them with non-reef environments.

The program has integrated a diverse group of collaborators, including scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), University of North Carolina Wilmington (UNC-W), UNC Chapel Hill, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ), and the Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS).

Read more:  Protection plan deep-sea coral reefs considered

As the weekend rolled to an end and the inevitable Monday workday loom overhead, I moseyed on to the bedroom and turned on the radio. Expecting to encounter a little paranormal lullaby, I was incredibly surprised to find the guest host of Coast To Coast AM, George Knapp, tackling the overfishing crisis.  In his interviews with Rupert Murray (The End of the Line) and Rick Moonen (RM Seafood), George brought this important topic of conservation concern to an international audience.  Since Coast to Coast AM is broadcast on over 500 United States affiliates alone, I was elated  to hear the notion of sustainable seafood practices being promoted to millions and perhaps recruiting some listeners to ultimately make informed and responsible meal decisions.

 And sprinkled throughout their conversations was a discussion, or warning if you will, about a vanishing act recently perpetrated by Alaskan King salmon.  Well, after a little online digging I managed to come up with an AP report (Aug. 2, 2009) on CBS News describing the failure of king salmon to return to a number of Alaskan rivers…again.

“One Alaska river after another has been closed to king fishing this summer because significant numbers of fish failed to return to spawn. The dismally weak return follows weak runs last summer and poor runs in 2007, which also resulted in emergency fishing closures.” AP

And as the salmon continue to vanish from our waters year after year, we are left speculating whether the problem is ocean currents, food availability, bycatch, aquaculture, or overfishing.  Yet over the last decade, ” the incidental number of king salmon caught has skyrocketed, reaching over 120,000 kings in 2007.” AP

Hmmm!  Perhaps a connection?  Instead of embarking on another version of the blame game and debating whether (or to what degree) the lack of salmon returns is caused by natural phenomena, such as changing ocean currents, river conditions or available prey, or human activities, we need to institute a little fisheries management tough love. 

For in the end bycatch may not be the only culprit, but as opposed to the actions of Mother Nature, it is the factor that we can definitely control.  And of the 120,000 kings killed in pollock trawl nets in 2007, an estimated 78,000 adults would have returned to the rivers of western Alaska.

AP Article: King Salmon Failing to Return to Spawn

An eternity, perhaps not quite, but that’s my perception of time when thinking back to my Hawaiian excursion in mid-June.  And finishing up a home movie chronicling our adventure, complete with contemporary Island music from the likes IZ for instance, just gets me in the mood for some white sandy beaches and clear salty waters.  So why not share a few things I came across while swimming over the reefs of Maui.

Obviously such a post lends itself infinity as the amount of pictures and video I have is substantial… notice I did not mention anything about quality.  But with that said, using a digital underwater camera is  a goldmine for someone who needs to cull through the blurs to find a few gems. 

Of course I need to start the ball rolling with a Hawaiian green sea turtle.  It is by far my wife’s favorite marine creature and I am always left in awe at the range of colors found on their carapace.  By the way, did you see our Hawaiian green sea turtle video footage?  And even in today’s world of rampant conservation information,  I was left in shock to discover people clamoring to touch and harass this amazing species (And yes members of our party spoke up immediately to inform the culprits and end their activities). I guess that’s why we need to continue spreading the word.

Hawaiian Green Sea Turtle

A juvenile yellowtail coris (Coris gaimard), which is the first one I have run across in Hawaii

A raccoon butterflyfish (Chaetodon lunula)

A Slate or Red pencil urchin (Heterocentrotus mammillatus) and a black sea urchin (Echinothrix diadema)

A cushion seastar (Culcita novaeguineae)

Whitemouth moray eel (Gymnothorax meleagris)

An Arc-eye hawkfish (Paracirrhites arcatus)

The Hawaiian Day Octopus (Octopus cyanea) and a female bird wrasse (Gomphosus varius)