petnoyer | June 13, 2007Press release from Ocean Conservancy.....
San Francisco, CA -- Responding to concerns by scientists and conservation groups, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) affirmed protections for critically endangered leatherback sea turtles in California waters. NMFS denied a proposed exempted fishing permit application (EFP) that would have enabled the expansion of the drift gillnet fishery into current conservation areas.
Drift-gillnets are mile and a half long nets that target swordfish, tuna and thresher sharks. The drift-gillnet fishery has been subject to a seasonal area closure to…
cmcclain | June 12, 2007 Today Oceana published a report showing that three trawl fisheries, calico scallops, rock shrimp and royal red shrimp, pose an increased threat to South Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico deep-sea habitat.
Calico scallops are smaller and less expensive than bay scallops. Because calico scallops are harvested in vast quantities they are not shucked by hand but are steamed to open their shells. Calico scallop meat can be identified by its whitened edges which have been partially cooked by the steaming. Because of their size, taste, and quality they are generally cheaper.
Rock and Red shrimp are…
cmcclain | June 11, 2007
It is no secret that the U.S. military has used the ocean as trashcan for munitions in the past. Peter discussed at the Old DSN how federal lawmakers were pressing the US Army to reveal everything it knows about a massive international program to dump chemical weapons off homeland and foreign shores. "The Army now admits that it secretly dumped 64 million pounds of nerve and mustard agents into the sea, along with 400,000 chemical-filled bombs, land mines and rockets and more than 500 tons of radioactive waste - either tossed overboard or packed into the holds of scuttled vessels."…
cmcclain | June 11, 2007 For those in the area, the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute will hold its annual open house from noon to 5 p.m. June 30 at 7700 Sandholdt Road in Moss Landing.
We will all be there, staff, scientists, and engineers, explaining our deep-sea research and discoveries. You will be able to see deep-sea animals and oceanographic instruments, try hands-on science activities and learn about careers in the ocean sciences. Exhibits will include MBARI's robotic deep-sea vehicles: the remotely operated vehicles Ventana and Tiburon, autonomous underwater vehicles and a benthic rover, a bigger…
cmcclain | June 7, 2007
An undescribed species of Lamellibrachia, some with their red plumes extended out of their tubes. Image from NOAA Ocean Explorer and courtesy of AquaPix, Erik Cordes, Expedition to the Deep Slope 2006.
cmcclain | June 7, 2007
Welcome to our blog entry for the Carnival of the Blue on World Ocean Day, wherein we contemplate the question of the ocean as a glass half-empty or a glass half-full. Together, we see our modern culture as a blind man wandering down a forking path with a divining rod, flipping a Ying-Yang coin with a Devil on one shoulder and an Angel on the other. The blind man never knows what to do exactly, just to keep moving forward.
Deep Sea News looks forward before we step there, to examine two different paths through the ocean future. I will assume that mankind is basically evil, the ocean is…
petnoyer | June 7, 2007 I like to look at the bright side. Tell me 90% of sharks are gone from the ocean, and my mind will spin the problem like a puzzle until there's light at the end of the tunnel. If 90% of sharks are gone, then 10% of sharks are still swimming, right?
Take away 90% of the cats in my neighborhood and I guarantee the feline population (n = 100) will bounce back in two years, even with a low mean kitty litter (r1 =5) and high mortality (r2 =0.4). Why worry about ocean life? They live in 2/3 of the world. We live in just a little bit. Mako sharks have 12-14 pups. Whale sharks have hundreds. If we…
cmcclain | June 7, 2007Not exactly deep-sea or even marine but worth posting. Below is a picture of man picking through the rubbish in the Citarum, the most polluted river in the world, near Jakarta. More can be read here. In some places the oceans and shores are not any better.
cmcclain | June 7, 2007
Tomorrow is World Ocean Day, and to celebrate, The Nature Conservancy is featuring an article on a haven for sea turtle and shark breeding on Andros Island in the Bahamas. This area, discovered last summer, could help influence Bahamian officials to establish more marine protected areas around the Bahamas.
They have also pulled together some of previous marine features, including a photo essay, "A Day in the Life of the World's Oceans," and information on Hawaii's coral reefs.
Click here for more on World Ocean Day.
Of course tomorrow you can expect something special from Peter and I.
cmcclain | June 5, 2007 If you live anywhere near the Southern California coast, you are aware they are being invaded by the Humboldt squid. In Ventura County they are hauling in boat loads. Two things bug me about these posts.
1. Most of the articles refer to the Humboldt Squid as the Giant Squid, a common name reserved for Architeuthis species. The common name for Dosidicus gigas, other than the Humboldt Squid, is the Jumbo Squid. You can even call them the Red Devil.
2. Its this quote "'They are gnarly; they've got more teeth than Jaws,' said Jeff Grodin, owner of Oxnard's Capt. Hook's Sportfishing, where…
cmcclain | June 5, 2007
Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute (HBOI) will be switching hands. HBOI was found by Seward Johnson, heir to the Johnson & Johnson fortune, in the mid 1970's. The campus is located a couple hours north of Ft. Lauderdale. A colleague of mine from Alabama referred to HBOI as the Woods Hole of the south. You probably don't know HBOI but you will definitely recognize their submersibles (above), the Sealink I & II. Yes there is two of them. Unfortunately, I can't tell them apart any better than Mary Kate and Ashley. The subs are unique in that they have 360 degree view through the…
cmcclain | June 5, 2007The Haida Indian nation and the Canadian government have signed an agreement to set up BC's Quenn Charlotte Islands as a marine protected area (MPA). The MPA will allow for protection of Bowie Seamount or in the Haida tongue as Sgaan Kinghlas (Supernatural Being Looking Outward), by far a better name. The 55km by 24km seamount rises up from the 3,000 meter deep seafloor to come within 25 meteres of the surface. The top of the seamount is quite productive and a feeding ground for Steller Sea Lions
petnoyer | June 5, 2007Penguins populations on South Africa's Robben Island are feeling the pinch as climate change redistributes sardine and anchovy populations away from their nesting grounds. New York Times runs a nice story on the issue here.
Conservation groups are calling the penguins a "canary on the coal mine", i.e. a first indicator of trouble in the deep sea from the combined effects of climate change, commerical fishing, and ocean pollution.
Alison Boyer described deep diving behavior in Emporer Penguins during Megavertebrate Week.
cmcclain | June 4, 2007
This Friday is World Ocean Day and to get the week going I thought I would start with a practical "what can I do post". Peter already discussed why plastic is a bad thing for the ocean. I will focus on what you can do to reduce your plastic waste and consumption. Let's face it...you and I my friend are both lazy. Potentially if you're reading this then you're an American, like I, and even lazier than the rest of the world. We need things easy and spelled out for us. So here is a list.
No plastic grocery bags. Obviously the easiest one and the one you already know about. Ask for paper…
petnoyer | June 4, 2007This just in. It's National Oceans Month.
That's like 30 World Ocean Days (June 8) all rolled into one.
(Can't touch this...)
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/05/20070531-6.html
In the press release, President George W. Bush reminds us of the good progress we've made under his administration (e.g. Northwest Hawaiian Islands Monument, Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Reauthorization Act of 2006) then he goes on to advocate for secure navigational freedoms and more investment in offshore aquaculture.
OK. Now that you marked your calendar, how do we celebrate a…
petnoyer | June 4, 2007Two interesting new articles are available from the American Geophysical Union publications. The first requires a brief ocean geography lesson, the second documents newly identified features off the Pacific coast of Mexico.
Walczowski, W and J Piechura. 2007. Pathways of the Greenland Sea warming. Geophysical Research Letters. http://www.agu.org/pubs/crossref/2007/2007GL029974.shtml
The Fram Strait between Greenland and Svalbard Islands is the only deep-water connection between the Arctic Ocean and the world ocean, so this high latitude pass is critically important for heat, mass, and salt…
petnoyer | June 3, 2007
Couldn't wait until next Friday to share this promotional shot for the International Polar Year at MSN's Photoblogs.
cmcclain | May 31, 2007 Over at National Geographic you can read all about Fish Trap! a great piece of equipment designed right here at MBARI.
If that is not enough for you then head over to NPR where you can catch an listen to NPR's On Point discussing Deep Ocean Ecology with Katrin Linse (part of the recent expedition to survery deep Antarctic biodiversity), Lisa Levin (a deep-sea biologist from Scripps), Tim Shank (a deep-sea biologist from Woods Hole), and Claire Nouvian (author of the The Deep).