Ocean Sentry
Fishermen barely eking out a profit because of overfishing of their target stock, shrimp, are now surviving by selling their bycatch (the low-value fish also caught in the large, indiscriminate nets). Although good for the fishermen, scientists warn that the prolonged trawl fishing along certain areas will lead to an …
August, 2010
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12 August
Gulf of Mexico ‘dead zone’ overlaps BP spill zone
This year”s low-oxygen “dead zone” in the Gulf of Mexico is one of the largest ever, about the size of Massachusetts, and overlaps areas hit by oil from BP”s broken Macondo well, Louisiana scientists report. The area of hypoxia, or low levels of oxygen, covered 7,722 square miles (20,000 square …
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11 August
4,500 Animals Killed in BP Spill … And Counting
As BP moves to permanently seal the blown-out well that unleashed 5 million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico, the focus is turning to the toll of the disaster. It should be said that the true and total toll will not be known for some time, until scientists …
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5 August
Human noise pollution in oceans leading fish astray
Rising amount of human noise pollution in the ocean could lead fish away from good habitat and to their death, according to new research. Baby tropical fish rely on natural noises to find the coral reefs where they can survive and thrive. But the new study said that exposure to …
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3 August
Mediterranean most threatened sea on Earth
The Mediterranean Sea”s exquisitely rich mix of flora and fauna is more threatened than marine life anywhere else on Earth, according to a landmark scientific survey released Monday. In none of the other 20-odd ocean areas examined during the decade-long study does biodiversity face as bleak a future. Habitat loss, …
July, 2010
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28 July
Marine Biodiversity Threatened, Study Finds
Warming ocean waters, coupled with direct human actions such as pollution and overfishing, may threaten the rich diversity of life under the sea, a new U.S.-Canadian study suggests. Researchers looked at how various factors have influenced the distribution of a spectrum of species — from seagrass to squid to sharks….
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28 July
Plankton, the base of the ocean’s food web, steadily declining
The foundation of the marine food web is being threatened as a new Canadian study reveals that phytoplankton – tiny microscopic organisms – have been steadily declining over the past six decades. For the first time using both historical records and recent oceanographic data, a team from Dalhousie University found …
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28 July
The Steve Irwin visits Barcelona!
The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society”s flagship, the Steve Irwin, is docked at El Maremagnum in Barcelona, Spain. The ship arrived on July 25 and will be docked until the end of August. Sea Shepherd has just completed the successful Operation Blue Rage in Mediterranean where 800 critically endangered bluefin tuna …
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27 July
Lawsuit Filed to Protect Gulf’s Whales and Turtles
The Center for Biological Diversity today filed a lawsuit against Interior Secretary Ken Salazar for failing to assess possible impacts on the Gulf of Mexico’s endangered whales and sea turtles of a large oil spill resulting from drilling. Government approval of drilling has long operated under the assumption that the …
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22 July
China’s oil spill doubles in size
China struggles to keep its oil spill under control and to prevent it from seeping into international waters. China”s oil spill has doubled its original size and is now more than 165 square miles. This oil spill has been declared as China”s worst reported and environmental groups are trying to …
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19 July
Coral reefs suffer mass bleaching
The phenomenon, known as coral bleaching because the reefs turn bone white when the colourful algae that give the coral its colour and food is lost, has been reported throughout south east Asia, the Indian Ocean and the Pacific. Divers and scientists have described huge areas of previously pristine reef …
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19 July
Experts fear long oil effect on marine life, food chain
Scientists studying the massive BP oil spill fear a decades-long, “cascading” effect on marine life that could lead to a shift in the overall biological network in the Gulf of Mexico. With some 400 species estimated to be at risk — from the tiniest oil-eating bacteria to shrimp and crabs, …