Ocean Sentry
The first link between salmon farms on the British Columbia coast and elevated levels of sea lice on juvenile Fraser River sockeye salmon has been demonstrated by new research published today. While there has been speculation that lice from captive salmon has been transferred to wild salmon, the new study …
February, 2011
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9 February
Scientists warn of damage to deep seabed
Human activities are affecting large areas of the deep seabed, according to a recent study – and trawling the seabed for fish is the most extensive. More regulation is needed before the ocean floor suffers even more widespread damage, the scientists say. Better data on human activities – where they”re …
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7 February
Chemicals kill Mexico coral reefs
A new study links the contamination of a giant aquifer under Mexico”s Riviera Maya to the loss of up to 50 percent of coral reefs in the Caribbean since 1990. The Journal of Environmental Pollution released a study stating that pharmaceutical, pesticide, and other chemical run-off from highways have infiltrated …
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4 February
Arctic fisheries catches 75 times higher than previous reports: UBC research
University of British Columbia researchers estimate that fisheries catches in the Arctic totaled 950,000 tonnes from 1950 to 2006, almost 75 times the amount reported to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) during this period. Led by Prof. Daniel Pauly, the research team from UBC’s Fisheries Centre and …
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4 February
Oysters are becoming ‘functionally extinct’ as 85% of reefs disappear around the world
Oyster reefs around the world are disappearing so fast that more than 85 per cent have been lost to disease and over-harvesting, according to a study. The mollusk is disappearing from its natural habitat and is now “functionally extinct” in many places due to over-exploitation, scientists believe…
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1 February
No fish will be left to catch, expert warns Bangladesh
No hilsa, not even fish will be left to catch in the Bay of Bengal, an expert has warned as the Bangladesh government prepared to issue 30 fresh licences for fishing, a media report said Tuesday. The government will award the licences without any survey of the already dwindling reserve. …
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1 February
Fish consumption reaches all-time high
The contribution of fish to global diets has reached a record of about 17 kg per person on average, supplying over three billion people with at least 15 percent of their average animal protein intake. This increase is due mainly to the ever-growing production of aquaculture which is set to …
January, 2011
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21 January
How non-native shrimp transformed the ecosystem at Montana’s Flathead Lake
A recent study highlights how the introduction of the opossum shrimp in the 1960s and 1970s created a ripple effect in Flathead Lake that continues today. It”s a thorough survey of how a single wildlife management decision can change an entire ecosystem. The opossum shrimp, mysis diluviana, is a seemingly …
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19 January
World-renowned Chefs Join Call to Boycott Bluefin Tuna
Two of the United States’ leading chefs have joined the Center for Biological Diversity’s campaign to save bluefin tuna, one of the world’s most imperiled fish. Alice Waters, owner of Chez Panisse, in Berkeley, Calif., and Dan Barber, owner of Blue Hill in Manhattan, have signed a pledge not to …
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18 January
BP’s SA plan could impact whales: groups
Southern Right whales, Humpbacks, the Great White shark and Southern Bluefin tuna could be at risk after the federal government gave BP permission to explore for new oil reserves, environment groups say. The embattled energy giant has been granted four permits to explore for oil and gas in the Ceduna …
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17 January
Plastic fragments in Med create risk to food-chain
In the Mediterranean there are around 250 billion microscopic pieces of plastic floating around. This creates a biological risk that echoes up the food-chain according to research supported by green campaigners. Water samples taken in July off France, northern Italy and Spain to a depth of 10 to 15 centimetres were analysed …
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15 January
Study finds how sea urchins affect coral reefs’ growth
An 18-year-old study has found that overfished reef systems have more sea urchins-organisms that in turn eat coral algae that build tropical reef systems. According to the study of Kenya”s coral reefs by the Wildlife Conservation Society and the University of California at Santa Cruz, reef systems closed to fishing …