Ocean Sentry
Rising ocean temperatures due to global warming have already been linked to coral reef deaths, destructive storms, shifting species distributions and harmful algal blooms. Now, a team of Australian researchers is adding a new and similarly daunting concern to that list: the spread of disease in “habitat-forming” seaweeds that are …
July, 2011
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15 July
Loss of top animal predators has massive ecological effects
“Trophic Downgrading of Planet Earth,” a review paper that will be published on July 15, 2011, in the journal Science, concludes that the decline of large predators and herbivores in all regions of the world is causing substantial changes to Earth”s terrestrial, freshwater, and marine ecosystems. The paper claims that …
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14 July
EU plans to prevent a future without fish
Fish populations are being depleted to such an extent that Europe”s children face the prospect of a future where they will see fish only in pictures and not on their plates, according to a senior European Union official. Maria Damanaki, European Commissioner for Fisheries, made the comment as she outlined …
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11 July
Huge demand for fish empties British waters in just six months
Britain”s coastal waters are so overfished that they can supply the nation”s chip shops, restaurants and kitchens for little more than six months of every year, research has shown. Overfishing has caused so much damage to fish stocks across Europe that the quantity landed each year to satisfy the public …
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10 July
Is ocean garbage killing whales?
Millions of tonnes of plastic debris dumped each year in the world”s oceans could pose a lethal threat to whales, according to a scientific assessment to be presented at a key international whaling forum this week. A review of research literature from the last two decades reveals hundreds of cases …
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8 July
More than half of tuna species at risk of extinction, say conservationists
IUCN study shows three species are threatened with extinction, while two more will be under threat without action to help them Five out of the eight tuna species are at risk of extinction, conservationists warned today, as they called for urgent action to tackle over-fishing. The latest assessment for the …
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4 July
Plastic garbage detected in Pacific fish
After a detailed study of marine life in the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre, a group of graduate students from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego found evidence of plastic waste in more than 9 percent of the stomachs of fish collected during their voyage.They concluded that fish …
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4 July
Warming ocean could melt ice faster than thought
Warming air from climate change isn”t the only thing that will speed ice melting near the poles-so will the warming water beneath the ice, a new study points out. Increased melting of ice in Greenland and parts of Antarctica has been reported as a consequence of global warming, potentially raising …
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2 July
Coral sea paradise faces ruin from mining
One of Australia”s richest men, Clive Palmer, is buying nickel laterite ore for his Yabulu refinery from an Indonesian company that is defying a ban and mining in Raja Ampat, the world”s most ecologically diverse marine environment. An investigation by the Herald has discovered that as well as threatening the …
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1 July
Feds Set High Fishing Quotas for Atlantic Bluefin Tuna, Allowing Continued Harm to Ravaged Species
The National Marine Fisheries Service today announced the highest limits allowable under international law for the U.S. catch of Atlantic bluefin tuna, a magnificent species ravaged by overfishing. The catch limits follow recommendations of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas, which has failed to effectively regulate bluefin …
June, 2011
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29 June
Greenland ice melts most in half-century: US
Greenland”s ice sheet melted the most it has in over a half century last year, US government scientists said Tuesday in one of a series of “unmistakable” signs of climate change. “The world continues to warm,” the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said in a briefing paper for reporters….
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29 June
Cutting fishing could buy time for coral reefs
Stopping people fishing around Caribbean coral reefs by designating them legally protected marine reserves could help some of them survive the effects of a changing climate by more than 50 years. That”s the conclusion of a study to find out how best to protect coral reefs as coral bleaching events …