Whales can die a slow death when tangled in fishing gear

Posted on May 22, 2013 by Bob Berwyn
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North Atlantic right whales. Photo courtesy NOAA.

New study measures effects of entanglement

By Summit Voice

FRISCO — Stray fishing gear has long been a problem in the ocean, and a new collaborative study shows exactly how whales struggle when they get wrapped up in abandoned lines. By carefully tracking tangled whales, the scientists documented how the predicament hinders whales’ ability to eat and migrate, depletes their energy as they drag gear for months or years, and can result in a slow death. (more…)

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Biodiversity Is commercial fishing altering ocean food webs?

Posted on May 15, 2013 by Bob Berwyn

New study shows how the diet of pelagic birds has changed over time

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Studying isotopes in the bones of pelagic seabirds helped researchers track changes in thePacific ocean food chain. Bob Berwyn photo.

By Summit Voice

FRISCO — Some in-depth biological detective work suggests there have been drastic changes in open-ocean food webs since the onset of industrial fishing, with potentially significant implications for threatened seabirds.

The key to detecting the changes was analyzing the bones of Hawaiian petrels. The crow-sized oceanic birds range widely over the northeast Pacific, and their diets integrate food webs from that vast area. What the petrels have eaten is recorded in the chemistry of their bones. By extracting protein from bones and feathers and studying stable isotopes of carbon and nitrogen in the protein, the scientists were able to assess the birds’ diet and how it changed over centuries. (more…)

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Climate: Parts of western Atlantic reach record-high temps

Posted on April 27, 2013 by Bob Berwyn

NOAA documenting shift in marine species as water warms

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Looking down the East Coast from Cape Cod toward Long Island from the International Space Station. Visit this NASA Earth Observatory page for more information.

By Summit Voice

FRISCO — With sea surface temperatures at a 150-year high off off the mid-Atlantic and New England coastlines, scientists are document significant shifts in the distribution of commercially important marine species, with as-yet uncertain consequences for the entire ecosystem.

Those temperatures reached a record high of 57.2 degrees in 2012, exceeding the record high set in 1951. The average sea surface temperatures in the region — extending from the Gulf of Maine to Cape Hatteras, North Carolina — has typically been lower than 54.3 degrees during the past three decades, according to a NOAA advisory. (more…)

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Global warming threatens Atlantic cod stocks

Posted on April 23, 2013 by Bob Berwyn
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Atlantic cod are facing climate change pressure.

New study to take close look at climate impacts to commercially important cod fishery

By Summit Voice

FRISCO — With Atlantic cod already moving into waters around Spitsbergen — into Arctic cod territory — fisheries biologists are keeping a close eye the commercially important species to determine the consequences of climate-related migrations. Specifically, researchers want to how how the fish are responding to warmer and more acidic water, and at which stages of life the changes are most dangerous to them.

In the next two and a half years, biologists from the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, together with scientists from Kiel, Bremen, Düsseldorf and Münster, will study all life stages of the fish and their genetic patterns: from spawn and the development of the larvae, through the juvenile fish and their favorite food, the copepod, to the mature parent fish. (more…)

Filed under: biodiversity, climate and weather, Environment, global warming, Marine biology, ocean conservation | Tagged: , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Study: comprehensive ocean monitoring network needed

Posted on April 16, 2013 by Bob Berwyn
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Scientists say managing ocean resources requires better monitoring. Bob Berwyn photo.

‘To date, there have been few attempts to track biodiversity broadly in the ocean’

By Summit Voice

SUMMIT COUNTY — With the world’s oceans facing serious global warming threats, U.S. researchers say it’s high time to establish a national effort to monitor marine biodiversity.

Humans depend on the ocean for food, medicine, transportation and recreation, yet little is known about how these vast ecosystems spanning 70 percent of the Earth’s surface are functioning and changing. (more…)

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New species found in threatened New Guinea lagoon

Posted on March 4, 2013 by Bob Berwyn
Crinoid on the reef of Batu Moncho Island, Indonesia.

Crinoid on the reef of Batu Moncho Island, Indonesia. Photo courtesy Alexander Vasenin via Wikipedia and the Creative Commons.

Science team explores little-known reef ecosystem

By Summit Voice

SUMMIT COUNTY — An idyllic tropical lagoon threatened by pollution from a tuna cannery is a Pacific Ocean biodiversity hotspot, according to researchers from Nova Southeastern University, who recently surveyed the ocean off Papua New Guinea.

The study found numerous new species of marine life, including sea slugs, feather stars  and amphipods. There was more variety of these indicator species found than there is along the entire length of Australia’s 1,600-mile Great Barrier Reef, said Jim Thomas, a researcher at Nova Southeastern University’s National Coral Reef Institute in Hollywood, Florida.

“In the Madang Lagoon, we went a half mile out off the leading edge of the active Australian Plate and were in 6,000 meters of water,” said Thomas, Ph.D., a researcher at Nova Southeastern University’s National Coral Reef Institute in Hollywood, Fla.

“It was once believed there were no reefs on the north coast of Papua New Guinea since there were no shallow bays and lagoons typical of most coral reef environments. But there was lots of biodiversity to be found.” (more…)

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Great white sharks get more protection in California

Posted on February 28, 2013 by Bob Berwyn
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Great white sharks may get full protection under the California Endangered Species Act. Photo courtesy Terry Goss via Wikimedia and a GNU Free Documentation License.

Candidate status under the state’s endangered species act bans any take

By Summit Voice

SUMMIT COUNTY — Just a few decades after Jaws, there’s been a sea change in public attitudes about sharks, as people recognize the importance of the ocean’s apex predators.

Along with other recent shark conservation measures, the shift is reflected by the efforts to list great white sharks under the California Endangered Species Act. Starting March 1, great whites will have additional protection as a candidate species under the act.

While there is still some scientific debate about whether California’s great whites need protection, the California Fish and Game Commission has ruled that the sharks may be warranted for listing and will get all the protection of the act until a final listing decision is made. (more…)

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Oceans: Shipping lane adjustments may help reduce whale strikes off the coast of California

Posted on January 4, 2013 by Bob Berwyn
Gray whale breaching, NOAA photo

Gray whale. Photo courtesy Merrill Gosho/NOAA.

Maritime authorities seek to protect marine mammals, ease shipping flow

By Summit Voice

FRISCO — Whales off the busy California coast will get a bit more breathing room, as the International Maritime Organization will adjust several shipping lanes, including  routes that cross three national marine sanctuaries.

“This is a win-win situation, backed by NOAA research, that allows for enhanced protection of endangered whales and natural resources while at the same time increasing maritime safety,” said William J. Douros, west coast regional director of NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries. “We are pleased with the shipping industry and the IMO’s decision to support the proposed amendments.” (more…)

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Oceans: NOAA rethinking sea turtle protection measures

Posted on December 2, 2012 by Bob Berwyn
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One of the biggest impacts to sea turtle populations comes from commercial fishing operations. Photo courtesy NOAA.

New data on bycatch prompts federal fisheries managers to drop requirements for turtle excluder devices

By Summit Voice

SUMMIT COUNTY — Federal fisheries managers and biologists continue to grapple with sea turtle conservation — specifically with preventing the bycatch of turtles in commercial fishery operations.

The highly touted turtle excluder devices may not be as effective as hoped in certain types of fishing operations, NOAA biologists said as they announced that they are withdrawing a proposed rule to require turtle excluder devices (TEDs) for skimmer trawls, pusher-head trawls, and wing-net trawls in the southeast shrimp fisheries. (more…)

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Oceans: Feds to consider de-listing Puget Sound orcas

Posted on November 27, 2012 by Bob Berwyn

The National Marine Fisheries Service will consider a petition to de-list Puget Sound orcas. Photo courtesy NOAA.

Right-wing property rights group files nuisance petition

By Bob Berwyn

SUMMIT COUNTY — An anti-environmental property rights groups has successfully petitioned the National Marine Fisheries Service to reconsider its Endangered Species Act listing for Puget Sound’s resident orcas, more formally known as southern resident killer whales.

Puget Sound orcas have had endangered status since 2005, when federal biologists listed them due to threats from pollution, habitat destruction and over-collection by the marine aquarium industry. Puget Sound orcas are one of a few populations to feed extensively on salmon; they have a unique dialect; and previous studies have shown they are genetically unique. (more…)

Filed under: biodiversity, endangered species, Environment, Marine biology, ocean conservation | Tagged: , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

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