Author Archive for Celia

DNA Helps Scientists Trace Shark Fins

Groundbreaking new DNA research has, for the first time, traced scalloped hammerhead shark fins from the burgeoning Hong Kong market all the way back to the sharks’ geographic origin. In some cases the fins were found to come from endangered populations thousands of miles away, which points the way to a better protection of these sharks from the international trade.

Oregon No Longer Permits Driftnets

A vote on December 11 decided that the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission will no longer issue commercial fishing permits for drift gillnet gear used to target swordfish and thresher sharks in waters off the Oregon coast. These expansive driftnets are known to ensnare and drown dolphins, sea lions, endangered sea turtles and other animals.

This decision means that the State of Oregon will no longer provide necessary State permits to Oregon-based fishermen wishing to use this gear, effectively ending this indiscriminate fishery in Pacific waters off Oregon.

Steller Sea Lion Numbers Still Declining In Some Areas

Researchers from NOAA’s Alaska Fisheries Science Center have published the results of their 2009 count of Steller sea lion pups in Alaska, which shows improvement in some areas and further decline in numbers in others.

Timor Sea Oil Spill Aftermath

Hundreds of fishermen and seaweed farmers are seeking compensation for their losses from West Atlas oil rig leak.

First High Seas Marine Protected Area in Antarctica

The Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) approved the new high seas marine protected area south of the South Orkney Islands in the Antarctic Peninsula Region. The Commission further agreed to a work plan to create networks of high seas MPAs across 11 other high priority areas in the Southern Ocean by 2012.

Legal Effort to Protect Endangered Blue Whale Underway

The National Marine Fisheries Service, the agency charged with the stewardship of the U.S.’s living marine resources, may be sued for failure to implement the 1998 Blue Whale Recovery Plan. Friends of the Earth, Pacific Environment and the Center of Biological Diversity have joined the notice of intent to sue submitted by the Environmental Defense Center last week.

New Robots Will Help Fill in Gaps and Enhance Ocean Knowledge

Scientists at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego have been awarded a total of nearly $2.5 million to develop a new breed of ocean-probing instruments and design and develop the systems necessary to control the movement of those autonomous underwater explorers (AUEs). These “Miniature Robotic Ocean Explorers” are intended to plug gaps of knowledge about key ocean processes and trace fine details of fundamental oceanographic mechanisms that are vital to tiny marine inhabitants.

Nomura’s Jellyfish Threatening Japanese Fishing Industry

Scientists believe climate change and its oceans warming are to be blamed for jellyfish overpopulation, expanding their ranges and appearing earlier in the year.

Multinational Effort to Protect the Gulf of Mexico’s Ecosystems and Marine Life

Scientist in the U.S., Cuba and Mexico are working together on a multinational plan to protect the Gulf of Mexico’s ecosystems and marine life.

Study Shows Human Interaction Alters Dolphin Behavior

Researchers are studying the impacts human behaviors, as innocent as they may be, can have on bottlenose dolphins.

In a paper published in the Journal of Marine Animals and Their Ecology, Antonella Arcangeli from the Accademia del Leviatano, Rome and ISPRA, Dipartimento Difesa della Natura, Rome, Italy and Roberto Crosti from the School of Environmental Science, Murdoch University, Perth, Western Australia present their findings of interactions between bottlenose dolphins and a dolphin-watching tour boat in Bunbury, Western Australia.