Rare turtle turns up in Auckland waters
A Department of Conservation ranger has rescued an endangered olive ridley turtle from a south Auckland beach. The stranded turtle was found floating in the water at Kariotahi Beach, on the Awhitu Peninsula near Waiuku, by a local resident while she was horse riding. The turtle is an adult male and there are no signs of external injury. Marine scientist Dan Godoy says the turtle had goose barnacles on its shell which indicated it had been floating for sometime and was unable to dive for food. "That's usually due to an illness that could be caused by the ingestion of marine debris such as plastic." Godoy says the turtle will be x-rayed and that will show whether it is the victim of marine pollution.
Humpback whale numbers are increasing but so are strandings
Humpback whale numbers are increasing but so are strandings
The annual Humpback whale migration begins in May as the mammals
make their way up the West Australian coast from the food-rich Southern Ocean to
breeding grounds in warm northern waters. But, experts say an increasing number are not surviving the journey. Of the 14 Humpback whales to die along WA's coast already this season, most
have been young. The Department of Environment and Conservation (DEC) says calfs are showing signs of malnutrition. There has been a marked increase in sick and dying Humpback whales in recent
years. The reason for the increase in deaths could also simply be because of a growing
population. The DEC and a team of researchers from Murdoch University have begun taking
blubber samples from a number of the dead whales to try to find out why they are
dying. Whales are sensitive to their environment and when there is an imbalance, they can act
as an early warning sign.
Divers pal up with friendly dolphin Billy
A friendly dolphin has been playing with divers after turning up alone in Plymouth Sound.
Billy, as it has been nicknamed, was first spotted during a commercial diving course off Fort Bovisand on Friday. Over the weekend, Billy was spotted again in Whitsand Bay.
A friendly dolphin has been playing with divers after turning up alone in Plymouth Sound.
Billy, as it has been nicknamed, was first spotted during a commercial diving course off Fort Bovisand on Friday. Over the weekend, Billy was spotted again in Whitsand Bay.
The Ocean Giants documentary showed dolphins and whales using complex thought and planning to communicate, rear their young, overcome apprehension and feed. Stephen Fry began the narration of Deep Thinkers by telling us that bottlenose dolphins have one of the biggest brains in the animal kingdom, and that they are thought to be one of the most intelligent animals. Scientists believe that we should be able to 'talk' with bottlenose dolphins within five years. The documentary showed a captive dolphins experiment. A two-way mirror had been placed in the dolphins' pool. The dolphins were shown taking a keen interest in themselves, moving their heads to look at themselves at different angles. Only humans, great apes and elephants were previously known to be so self-aware. Human babies usually take about two years to reach that level; about the same time as they learn empathy.
Cornish fisherman finds rare slipper lobster
A rare slipper lobster has been discovered by a Cornish fisherman six miles (10km) east of Falmouth. The lobster, normally found in warmer waters, is one of only a few recorded in the UK since records began back in 1758. It was caught by St Mawes fisherman John Hayse on his boat who discovered it sitting on one of his crab pots. Staff at Blue Reef Aquarium are looking after 12cm (4.7ins) long Popeye, who has orange eyes and a dark brown body. The crustacean uses specially adapted plates on its head to burrow in search of food and to escape would-be predators. Historically, records of slipper lobsters in UK waters have been extremely rare. However, in the past decade sightings have risen.
Clothing Sheds Microplastics Into Sea
Washing a fleece jacket may add to the fog of microscopic plastic floating in the oceans, according to a new study. Researchers report that the majority of these plastic particles probably washed off synthetic fabrics. Although stories of large chunks of plastic trash trapped in the guts of seabirds are devastating, most plastic pollution in the oceans takes the form of tiny, even microscopic, fragments. In the 1990s, researchers started tracking the amounts of these particles and searching for possible sources, such as the plastic beads used as scrubbing agents in face cleaners and soaps. The particles' shapes and sizes indicated they were fibers of synthetic fabrics. They found that polyester made up about three-quarters of the plastics; the rest consisted of polyamide, polypropylene, and acrylic, a composition that matches that of textiles. So the researchers analyzed the water drained from frontloading washing machines after throwing fleece jackets, blankets, and synthetic business shirts into them. In one wash cycle, they found, a single piece of clothing shed more than 1,900 tiny fibers. The scientists also determined that the chemical composition of their coastal plastic samples matched that of microscopic plastic found in treated discharge they collected from two wastewater treatment plants in Australia. They concluded that plastic fragments from synthetic fabrics most likely flow from wastewater treatment plants down to the seashore, and perhaps out to sea.
West African Fisheries Decline Steeply as Government Fails to Act
The Senegalese Maritime Economy Ministry has failed to save its country’s diminishing fish stocks. This week, it slashed the biological recovery period of commercial fisheries because of pressure from national industrial lobbyists. The recovery period is vital because it gives fish populations time to regenerate between fishing intervals. Cutting the amount of time between fishing periods means fisheries don’t have a chance to recover before being fished again. Millions of Senegalese depend on the fish caught off shore for their basic protein needs, but because the West Africans waters are becoming increasingly overfished by European trawlers. Many species, including Thiof - the traditional Senegalese delicacy - are now threatened with extinction. Greenpeace has called on the Senegalese government to reconsider its decision, and reinstate the two month moratorium on commercial fishing.
Warning over 'extremely worrying plans' to close coastguard stations
Rural Affairs Secretary Richard Lochhead has reiterated his condemnation of "extremely worrying plans" to close or downgrade Scottish coastguard stations. Mr Lochhead said the plans suggest any key incident involving North Sea oil platforms would be managed by senior officers in the Maritime Operations Centre (MOC) which will be based in the Southampton and Portsmouth area. He said this is a departure from existing, well-established procedures which allow multi-agency teams, including MCA managers, police and oil company representatives, to be based at the Aberdeen MRCC at short notice and coordinate the response from there.
Birds Caught in Fishing Lines Dying by the Thousands
While it's no secret that keeping up with the world's demand for seafood puts terrible strain on ocean ecosystems, it turns out that fish aren't the only species feeling the pinch from overfishing. On the heels of a recent study which found that fishing nets and hooks in the U.S. kill around 4,600 sea turtles every year off the U.S. coast alone, a new report suggests that seabirds are fairing even worse. According to researchers, the fishing industry may be responsible for inadvertently killing up to 320 thousand birds annually. And the problem is so bad, it could soon drive some bird species to extinction. Although there may be no way to ensure that birds, protected or otherwise, won't continue to be killed in fishing lines and nets, wildlife experts say that there are measures the industry can take to reduce the numbers. By making some small changes, like weighing down the nets or even just trawling at night, experts say that bird deaths could be minimized.
Scientists discover reef overfishing point
Fishermen and scientists questioning how many fish can be sustainably taken from a reef believe they've quantified the tipping point. In a report released today, researchers have demonstrated how overfishing can generate a predictable sequence of events that lead to the collapse of reef ecosystems.
It also offers targets in order to keep fisheries sustainable. As "fish biomass" - the number and weight of fish living on a reef - declines due to fishing, a number of tipping points are crossed, from which it is increasingly harder to return. The study shows that in well-protected areas, there are typically 1000 to 1500 kilograms of reef fish per hectare of coral reef. As this is reduced below 1000 kilograms, early warning signs such as increased seaweed growth and urchin activity begin to show up.
The researchers found that between 300 and 600 kilograms of fish per hectare was the "maximum sustainable yield". When fish stocks dropped below 300 kilograms/hectare the reef was in real trouble. The loss of hard corals, which had been thought of as a warning sign, was actually the last stage in the collapse of a reef, the study found.
That's it for this week - as always, please feel free to post a comment and let us know what you think!
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