Marine News Roundup

Welcome to this week's Marine News Roundup. We hope you enjoy these marine-related stories - leave us a comment below and let us know what you think!

Arctic sea ice [Infographic]
Facts, numbers, data, letters on a page; they're not always so easy to understand. Over the past few years data visualisation has become increasingly popular; it's a way to help explain complex data. Here, BBC Earth demonstrate two alternative ways to show how the extent of Arctic sea ice has changed over the past 20 years.

Eating fish reduces risk of Alzheimer's disease
People who eat baked or broiled fish on a weekly basis may be improving their brain health and reducing their risk of developing mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and Alzheimer's disease, according to a study presented today at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).

How Sharks Go Fast
Researchers have discovered what makes the shark almost impossible to outswim. By using an engineering imaging technique, researchers have discovered that as a shark’s tail swings from side to side, it creates twice as many jets of water as other fishes’ tails, smoothing out the thrust and likely making swimming more efficient. Sharks do this by stiffening the tail midswing, a strategy that might one day be applied to underwater vehicles to improve their performance.

Turtle embryos tune in to heartbeats
Turtle embryos tune into each others' heartbeats so they are able to hatch at roughly the same time, say Australian researchers.

Marine reserves get public support
More than 50,000 people are calling on the government today to create a network of marine protected areas (MPAs) for wildlife.

New facilities around the Island  of Man for marine wildlife enthusiasts
Wildlife enthusiasts are to be given access to binoculars and information panels to identify their favourite marine animals and birds at a number of vantage points around the Isle of Man. The project, which involves five different sites around the coastline, has been planned for some time but has now been given a kickstart with a donation from Barclays Wealth.

Sustainable Seafood Coalition
Major seafood businesses who are frustrated with the lack of progress to overturn the practice of discarding edible fish at sea have joined the Sustainable Seafood Coalition. Sustainable Seafood Coalition members have voluntarily decided to sell seafood that is currently underutilised or discarded and to encourage consumers to eat a wider variety of sustainable seafood.

'Monogamy' and 'pair bonding' practiced among certain fish species
Recent research on the mating behaviour of fish has proved that certain species practice the "one husband one wife" rule even when in a school, researchers have recently announced.

Stop badmouthing sharks that bite people
The phrase "shark attack" is sensationalist and damaging – bites by sharks are often investigatory or defensive.  To suggest that shark-on-human encounters should be called predations would be wrong. The way sharks encounter seals is fundamentally different from how they treat humans. The time is right for science to reconsider its use of the phrase "shark attack" on humans. Such language creates a one-dimensional perception of these events and makes protecting threatened shark species more difficult. After all, why care about an animal that wants to eat us?

Killer whale washes up on Point Reyes beach
Wildlife officials are trying to determine the cause of death of a killer whale that washed ashore on a Point Reyes beach. The orca was a male juvenile, about 18 feet long, that had washed up in an isolated area along Driftwood Beach, just north of McClure's Beach. Early necropsy results indicated blood in the blowhole and a blood clot in the head. No determination as to cause of death has been made yet.

Albino ginger seal rejected by family now star attraction at Russian zoo
An albino seal that was rejected by his family for 'being ginger' has become a huge hit with tourists at her new home in Russia.

We're Running Out Of Cod
Cod has played a central role in the cultural history and economic development of New England fishing communities for more than 400 years. In recent decades, however, the story of the humble cod has shifted to one of destruction. Modernised technologies and more efficient fishing methods along with increased competition and toothless regulations have guided the cod industry to the brink of collapse.

Early Humans Were Skilled Deep-Sea Fishermen
Prehistoric humans living more than 40,000 years ago had mastered the skills needed to catch fast-moving, deep ocean fish such as tuna, a remarkable new archaeological find has revealed.

Hong Kong's shark fin traders feel pressure to change
The owner of Shark's Fin City, a dried fin wholesaler in Hong Kong's quarter for all things shrivelled, says there are only a few people who know the truth about sharks, and he's one of them. Like many Hong Kong businessmen who trade in shark fins, Kwong Hung-kwan believes his industry is being targeted by an anti-Chinese conspiracy led by "Western" environmental groups like Greenpeace. Talk of a dramatic decline in shark populations around the world is rubbish, he says, dismissing research showing an eight-fold jump in threatened shark species since 2000.

Seal pup rescued after sheltering in oil boat
A two-week-old grey seal pup returned to the oil supply boat after he was put back in the sea. The pup is being treated at the Highland Seal Hospital near John O'Groats after surviving a marathon 100-mile journey. Named Viking, he was rescued after crew on the Subsea Viking found him sheltering on the boat, 120 miles north-west of Shetland, last week. The seal, which still had his fluffy yellow coat grey seals are born with, had clambered aboard and made himself at home on the platform used to launch remote-controlled vehicles.

Marine News Roundup

Welcome to the fortnightly Marine News Roundup, gathering together the best of the marine news stories from the past two weeks!

Act Now to Save 'the Most Important Fish in the Sea'
Atlantic menhaden, often called “the most important fish in the sea,” have reached a turning point. These fish play a critical role in the marine food web as prey for striped bass, bluefish, tuna, whales, porpoises, seabirds, and other wildlife. But the essential role menhaden play in the marine ecosystem is now at risk. The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) has taken a historic first step to restore the menhaden population by laying out a plan that could significantly increase the number left in the ocean, finally taking into account the needs of their predators.

Kraken lair? Paleontologist identifies giant sea monster's bone heap.
Scientists have uncovered the lair of an ancient sea monster similar to the legendary Kraken, which has appeared countless times in myths and stories, notably in the 2010 film, 'Clash of the Titans.' Evidence for the kraken and its gruesome attacks comes from markings on the bones of the remains of nine 45-foot (14 meter) ichthyosaurs of the species Shonisaurus popularis, which lived during the Triassic, a period that lasted from 248 million to 206 million years ago. The beasts were the Triassic version of today's predatory giant squid-eating sperm whales.

Florida's wildlife officials encouraged by sea turtle nest count
The populations of two of the three species of sea turtles that nest in Florida are growing and the number of nests of the third – the iconic loggerhead – seems to have stabilized after a substantial and steady decline since 1998. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission this week released the results of its annual nest count. The survey is not the total number of nests in the state, but only on targeted beaches where turtles are known to nest year after year. The good news for green turtles, which are on the federal endangered species list, is that the survey showed a record high annual nest count in Florida this year. It is the most ever counted since the survey began 22 years ago. Leatherback turtles' nests numbered high as well, with the count falling just shy of the previous high mark two years ago. Leatherbacks also are on the federal endangered list.

Target commits to 100% sustainable, traceable fish by 2015
The second largest discount retailer in the U.S. has announced that it will sell only sustainable, traceable fish by 2015. Minneapolis-based Target Corp. operates 1,762 stores, many of which are converting to incorporate PFresh markets that sell fresh and frozen foods, including fish. In 2010, Target stopped selling farmed salmon, Chilean sea bass and orange roughy due to various sustainability issues. It currently sells 50 different brands of fish certified by either the Marine Stewardship Council or the Global Aquaculture Alliance.

Mysterious outbreak killing Arctic Alaska ringed seals
A mysterious and potentially widespread disease is thought to have contributed to the deaths of dozens of ringed seals along Alaska's Arctic coast. Scores more are sickened, some so ill that skin lesions bleed when touched. The animals are an important subsistence food for Alaska Native hunters and their families, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has proposed listing them as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act.

Man 'surfs' great white shark
Doug Niblack was trying to catch another wave before going to work when his longboard hit something hard as rock off the Oregon coast and he found himself standing on a thrashing great white shark. Looking down, he could see a dorsal fin in front of his feet as he stood on what he described as 10 feet (three metres) of back as wide as his surfboard and as black as his wetsuit. A tail thrashed back and forth and the water churned around him. Niblack estimated that he was standing on the shark for no more than three or four seconds. The dorsal fin caught his board and dragged him for about a metre by his ankle tether. In six years of surfing, Niblack said he had seen sharks in the water, but never so close. He said he had been dreaming about sharks, but was planning to go back out to surf. When he does he will take a waterproof video camera his roommate gave him. He has also put a sticker on the bottom of his board to ward off sharks – a shark with a red circle and a slash over it.

'Whale war' kicks off as Japan sends strengthened fleet to Antarctica
As the Steve Irwin approached the equator last week, word that Japan would be sending a strengthened whaling fleet to Antarctica next month reached the bridge of the old Aberdeen-built customs vessel. The crew of activists on board cheered, as their veteran leader, Captain Paul Watson, resigned himself to his eighth "whale war" among the icebergs and 100mph winds of the Southern ocean. Watson, on what is nearly his 350th voyage in nearly 40 years defending whales and other marine wildlife at the helm of Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, is sending three ships to intercept, chase and harass the Japanese. He promises "aggressive non-violence", while the Japanese, still smarting from last year's humiliation when their fleet took only a fifth of its planned whale catch, say they will heighten security and take an armed government fisheries patrol vessel.

Mississauga bans shark fin products
Mississauga councillors unanimously adopted a bylaw Wednesday that bans the possession and sale of shark fin products in the city. The decision makes Mississauga the largest city in Canada to ban the controversial products, the consumption of which has pushed many of the world’ shark species to the brink of extinction. The move came a day before a Toronto council committee was to address the issue, and following introduction of a ban in Oakville in July. At the municipal level, much of the debate revolves around whether cities have the jurisdiction and the ability to enforce such a ban. Mississauga Councillor Pat Mullin says cities certainly have the jurisdiction but adds there are issues to be worked out regarding enforcement.

Endangered Sea Turtles Drowning In Shrimp Nets, Groups Sue For More Protection
Several wildlife protection groups are suing the federal agency that regulates fishing in U.S. waters, claiming the government isn't doing enough to protect endangered sea turtles from drowning in shrimp nets. The lawsuit filed in Washington claims the National Marine Fisheries Service violates the Endangered Species Act by letting some shrimpers operate without required turtle excluder devices on their nets and exempting some shrimping from the requirement. The gear is required on many shrimp trawls in federal and state waters, but some kinds of trawls and other nets are exempt under certain conditions. A Louisiana law passed in 1987 makes it illegal for state wildlife agents to enforce turtle excluder device regulations in state waters.

Rare dwarf sperm whale sighted off Cornwall coast
A dwarf sperm whale was spotted in Mounts Bay off Penzance, where it was caught on camera swimming just off the shore. It's the first ever recorded sighting of the species off the coast of the UK . A video, posted on YouTube, shows the 3 metre mammal circling the bay in shallow water. There are no official figures for dwarf sperm whale population because they usually stay in deeper waters, feeding off fish and crustaceans on the sea floor.

Amazing animal-inspired inventions!
A BBC Earth blog looking at some of the amazing things animals can do and how we've learnt from nature...

Humpback Whale-inspired Hydroelectric Turbines:

In the search for more renewable sources of energy, scientists have turned to one of nature’s most wonderful creatures for ideas. The Humpback Whale’s amazing agility is down to its slightly odd flippers. The unusual bumps on the leading edge of the whale’s flippers give it incredible manoeuvrability for an animal so big. Scientists over at WhalePower realised the potential of this oddity in a number of different technologies and have applied bumps to hydroelectric turbines, ventilation fans, irrigation pumps and wind turbines. The gains in efficiency are massive. Compared to smooth fins, the bumpy humpback’s fins have 32 per cent less drag and an 8 per cent increased lift in their movement through air and water. The efficiency gains are huge enough, potentially 20 per cent, to make the likes of wind power a source of energy fully competitive with alternatives.

People have always campaigned to save the whales and now they could save us energy!

Friction reducing Sharkskin:

American hero Michael Phelps may just owe a debt of gratitude to sharks. Phelps swam to his record eight gold medals at the Beijing Olympics wearing a revolutionary new swimsuit based on a study of sharkskin. The suit increases a swimmer’s speed by reducing drag through water by up to 4 per cent more than the next swimsuit. Sharkskin is covered in tiny ‘teeth’, varying in shape and positioning, that regulate the flow of water around the body. Researchers are now developing ‘sharkskin’ coatings for ship's hulls, submarines, aircraft fuselage, and even swimwear for humans.

With only spines attached, shark fins come ashore
Despite recent measures to crack down on the practice of shark finning, Costa Rican fishermen and environmentalists believe that foreign fleets are once again using methods to evade Costa Rican fishing laws and regulations.  In recent months, three Taiwanese ships landed shark fins attached only to the shark’s spine at the public dock in Puntarenas. The sharks’ flesh was shaved away from the sharks’ spines, leaving only skeletons attached to full fins. Last year, the Costa Rican Agriculture Ministry (MAG) and the Costa Rican Fisheries Institute (Incopesca) barred foreign fleets from unloading at private docks. Instead they must land at public docks, where inspectors can enforce the law. A public backlash begun nearly a decade ago helped ban the practice of shark finning in Costa Rica. However, shark fishing remains legal in the country. Today Costa Rican regulations stipulate that only three authorized cuts can be made when shark fishing: the head, the entrails and a partial cut to allow the bending of the fin. Yet recent cases in Puntarenas have shown that the law has left grey areas that fishermen exploit. The Taiwanese boat Wang Jia Men was the first ship discovered using the new practice of landing only skeletons. According to Incopesca Executive Director Luis Gerardo Dobles, it was the first time that the fisheries institute had seen the new tactic. An Incopesca inspector let the ship unload and reported that 36 sharks had landed without full carcasses. When members of the Pacific Coast Fishermen’s Union found out, the ship had already been allowed to sell the fins. The union, made up of Costa Rican fishermen, strongly opposes the practice.

Global warming: A tipping point for phytoplankton?

An elaborate lab experiment done by a San Francisco State University research team shows that warmer increasingly acidic oceans may fundamentally change the role some phytoplankton have in capturing carbon from the atmosphere. The study published this week in the journal Global Change Biology suggests that at least one species of ubiquitous phytoplankton - Emiliania huxleyi- forms incomplete or hollow coccoliths in high carbon and high ammonium conditions, resulting in less carbon sinking to the ocean floor. The results suggest in the future there will be overall lower amounts of calcification and overall lower amount of transport of carbon to the deep ocean. To measure the impacts of warmer temperatures and increasing acidification, the scientists raised more than 200 generations of Emiliania huxleyi in the lab, adjusting carbon dioxide levels and the type of nitrogen in the phytoplankton’s seawater bath. Changes to this massive carbon sink could have a critical effect on the planet’s future climate, especially as atmospheric carbon dioxide levels continue to rise sharply as a result of fossil fuel burning and other human activities. The shell-building capacity of the phytoplankton could also be inhibited by thickening layers of warm water that prevent upwelling of nitrate-rich water. Emiliania huxleyi typically use nitrates to make proteins, but this form of nitrogen may be in shorter supply as ocean temperatures change. At the same time, the warmer temperatures favor bacteria that turn recycled nitrogen from surface waters and the atmosphere into ammonium, and acidification inhibits the bacteria that turn ammonium into nitrate. The study is the first to look at the intertwined effects of ocean acidification and changes in nitrogen on phytoplankton like Emiliania huxleyi. It’s also one of the first studies to observe these effects continuously over a long time scale, “so the responses of the phytoplankton are likely what we’ll see in the ocean itself”.

Scientists Seek A Break In Aquaculture's Fish-Eat-Fish Chain

Aquaculture, one of the fastest growing sectors of agriculture in the US, combats the global dilemma of depleting wild fish populations. But a new report from the group Food & Water Watch says factory fish farms risk the health of other, stable species swimming in the sea. One of the biggest problems? The fish food. It takes about three pounds of feeder fish to produce one pound of farmed salmon. And we need more fish to keep up with a hungry, growing, human population. But feeding more salmon depletes the ocean's smaller fish. Wild-caught, carnivorous fish like salmon chow down on smaller fish and crustaceans because those delectable treats are high in protein and fat - essential nutrients to a fish. Farmed fish need the same nutrients but get it as a blend of various nutritional ingredients - all targeted to increase the efficiency of a fish's growth and its health. Researchers are looking into new fish feed using renewable sources, such as biofuel co-products, poultry by-products, soybeans and so on. Finding alternative sources of fat and protein to supply aquaculture could help provide fish with the necessary nutrients without depleting the ocean.

On ocean's floor, death is not the end
On the dark, cold floor of the ocean, death is not the end. Dead organic material settles to the bottom, where, like compost in a garden, it is converted into nutrients, including nitrate and phosphate. Coastal winds help complete the circle of life, lifting clear, cold, nutrient-rich water into the sunlit shallows. The upwelling promotes a population explosion of phytoplankton, the microscopic plants that form the base of the marine food web.

Dolphins 'decompress like humans'

Scientists have found tiny bubbles beneath the blubber of dolphins that have beached themselves. The bubbles were discovered by taking ultrasound scans of the animals within minutes of stranding off Cape Cod, US. The team's findings help confirm what many researchers have long suspected: dolphins avoid the bends by taking long, shallow decompression dives after feeding at depth. If human divers ascend too quickly, dissolved nitrogen forms bubbles in the body, causing decompression sickness. But marine mammals such as whales, dolphins, and seals are highly adept at dealing with the pressures of the deep. They slow their hearts, collapse the tiny air-filled chambers in their lungs, and channel blood to essential organs - like the brain - to conserve oxygen, and limit the build-up of nitrogen bubbles in the blood that happens at depth. However, even marine mammals ascending from the deep must rid themselves of the gas that has built up in their tissues, or risk developing the bends. If dolphins come up too quickly, there is evidence that they "grab another gulp of air and go back down again," in much the same way a human diver would "re-tank and re-ascend" to try to prevent the bends. But there's one place they can't do that - "sitting on the beach".

'Criminal' penguin caught on film

A "criminal" stone-stealing Adelie penguin has been captured on camera by a BBC film crew. The team, filming for the documentary Frozen Planet, spent four months with the penguin colony on Ross Island, Antarctica. The footage they captured shows a male penguin stealing stones from its neighbour's nest. The birds build their stone nests to elevate and protect their eggs from run-off when the Antarctic ice melts. Males with the best nests are more likely to attract a mate, so, in a colony of half a million penguins, the best stones are highly prized. Each male adelie penguin builds its nest just out of "pecking distance" of its neighbours. The film crew managed to capture a remarkable sequence, with one penguin repeatedly returning to its nest to add stones, apparently unaware of the fact that his neighbour would steal a stone every time his nest was unattended.

Toxic Seaweed Poisons Coral Reefs on Contact

“Attack of the killer seaweed” may sound like a cheesy horror flick, but for many coral species, murderous multicellular algae have become real-life villains. A new study of reefs in the South Pacific suggests that some algae can poison coral on contact. This chemical warfare may be increasing the pressure on struggling reef communities worldwide, researchers say. Along the reefs dotting Fiji, overfishing has pitted corals against algae in a battle royale. On swaths of coastline where fishing is restricted, corals such as the tall and branching Acropora millepora rule. But where Fijians spear lots of herbivores such as bird-beaked parrotfish, few fish remain to prune back the region’s seaweeds, a blanket term for many types of big algae. These algae then creep in, extending their tendrils over close to 60 percent of the ocean bottom and turning waters a sludgy green. Such “seaweed-covered parking lots” aren’t unique to Fiji either. Recent studies have hinted that this ocean greenery may be carrying out a subtle chemical war on sensitive reefs. To investigate this covert struggle, researchers strung eight different species of Fijian seaweed across growing corals, including A. millepora colonies. True to the researchers’ suspicions, many of these algal species seemed to wield a poison touch. In less than 2 weeks, the test coral often began to discolor and even die where it rubbed against the seaweeds. Faux seaweeds made of plastic had no such effect.

Hearing the Repertoire of a Very Fearsome Fish

Everyone knows that piranhas have razor-sharp teeth, but they have another distinguishing characteristic: They make noise. Until now, however, scientists have never understood why. Now, using a hydrophone to record underwater sounds, researchers from the University of Liège in Belgium say they have found an answer. These are sounds made during fighting, charging and frontal display,” said Eric Parmentier, a morphologist at the university and an author of a new study on the noises, published in The Journal of Experimental Biology. It was previously thought that piranhas produced a single barking call. But the researchers also recorded a drumlike sound, made when the fish fought for food, and a croak the fish’s jaws produced when it snapped at another piranha. Dr. Parmentier and his colleagues also discovered that piranhas make the barking and drumming sounds by rapidly contracting a muscle attached to the swim bladder. The contractions occur 100 to 200 times a second and cause the bladder to vibrate. The moment the contractions stop, the vibration stops, as the swim bladder itself is unable to vibrate on its own. Researchers are discovering that many types of fish produce sound because it is a good way to communicate underwater. At least 100 fish families are known to produce sound - "sound travels faster in the water than in the air".

And finally...

Farting Fish

Flatulence might be rude to us humans, but for herring, it's a survival strategy. Herring have a secret, and funny, way of communicating with each other - by farting. They just have to hope neighboring predators aren't listening in...

That's it for now - the Marine News Roundup will be back in two weeks.

Focus on: Marine Conservation Society

The Marine Conservation Society (MCS), "is the voice for everyone who loves the sea"; they are the UK charity for the protection of our seas, shores and wildlife. They work to secure a future for our living seas and to save our threatened sea life before it is lost forever. Their work ensures that the sea’s rich wildlife can be restored, fish stocks grow more plentiful, and our beaches and seawater become cleaner. They depend entirely on the generosity and enthusiasm of their supporters to continue to care for our seas, shores and wildlife.

I have been volunteering for the MCS for more than nine years now, helping on the committee of the Plymouth Local Group by organising regular beach cleans, Seasearch dives and meetings and organising fundraisers with donations from local businesses. They are a brilliant charity to volunteer for and I would encourage anyone reading this blog to get involved somehow.

The MCS run many different projects and campaigns that you can join in with. They have an annual Beachwatch event each September, where they encourage people to clean their local beaches, both on land and underwater. They use the results of these beach clean surveys to tackle marine litter at source, at local, national and international levels.

Related to this, they run Litter Campaigns, such as "Don't Let Go!" and "No Butts on the Beach". They also encourage people to Go Plastic Bag Free and to Bag It and Bin It, Don't Flush It. They also produce the Good Beach Guide, a guide to Britain's cleanest beaches.

The MCS run Fishonline, the buyer's guide to sustainable seafood. Fishonline is an in-depth guide to the fish types available to UK fishmongers, chefs and retailers, designed to complement the Good Fish Guide web pages that help consumers make a truly informed choice in seafoods. The Good Fish Guide is designed to help you make the best choice at the fish counter. It helps you choose fish from well-managed stocks and fish caught using methods that minimise damage to marine wildlife and habitats.

You can report Wildlife Sightings to the MCS, including jellyfish, basking sharks and marine turtles. You can even report active beach sewers on UK beaches. The MCS are campaigning for Marine Reserves and you can vote online to add Your Voice to their campaign to safeguard our seas.

The MCS works with Government, industry and the public to campaign for cleaner seas and beaches, better wildlife protection and sustainable fisheries. If you want to support the MCS, you can become a member, donate to an MCS appeal, adopt a turtle, leave a legacy, or fundraise for the MCS. Your company can support the MCS, you can volunteer and take other action and you can even make your own collection box to collect donations.

Involving people in the fight for ocean recovery is core to the MCS' work, so whether you join them, donate or support one of their many projects and campaigns, you can help our seas and wildlife recover.

Marine News Roundup

Welcome to this week's Marine News Roundup... As always, feel free to comment and let us know what you think!

"Fears in Miami That Port Expansion Will Destroy Reefs"
Miami's Department of Environmental Protection is on the verge of granting a final permit to the Army Corps of Engineers which will allow them to conduct 600 days of blasting to deepen, widen and dredge its port to accommodate supersize freighters. At the same time, environmentalists are attempting to protect threatened coral reefs and acres of sea grass that they say would be destroyed by the expansion.

"Happy Feet finally set free"
Following last week's story following "Happy Feet's" rehabilitation and journey to the Antarctic, we are pleased to report that Happy Feet the penguuin has now been released, about 700 kilometres south of New Zealand's South Island. He needed "some gentle encouragement" to leave the safety of his crate and is now expected to complete the 2,000 kilometer journey South to his Antarctic home. He has been fitted with a satellite tracker and microchip and his progress can be followed online.

"Dogger Bank to get special marine protection"
The UK section of the Dogger Bank is home to a fantastic array of sea life and habitats and has been submitted by the Government to the European Commission. It now has candidate Special Area of Conservation (cSAC) status, with over 12,000 square kilometers of species rich sandbank having become a marine protected area to safeguard the important sea life and habitats. This is the largest European Marine Site to be submitted by any Member State for protection and links up with the existing sites in Germany and the Netherlands. Candidate SAC status means that the site must be protected from damaging activities to ensure its features are conserved.

"Unbelievable photo of shark spotted along San Diego's coastline"
A two-mile stretch of coastline at Casa Reef in La Jolla, San Diego was shut down last week after several people reportedly spotted a twelve-inch dorsal fin in the water in an area close to a seal colony. The area was reopened on Thursday because lifeguards, patrolling the area since the early morning, found no evidence of a shark. This was the third confirmed shark sighting along San Diego's coastline in a week and it is believed that this shark was a 10-12 foot Great White.

"Hawksbill Sea Turtles Not Extinct In Eastern Pacific"
Until recently, scientists had assumed that the Hawksbill Sea Turtle was functionally extinct in the eastern tropical Pacific. However, a group of researchers in Central and South America are now saying this is not the case. The new findings, published this month in Biology Letters, show that Hawksbills went undetected because they are "living among in-shore mangrove estuaries rather than the coral and rocky reefs for which they [were] previously known to inhabit". The researchers believe that conservation efforts will be easier than for turtles in the ocean, although the turtles' mangrove habitats are also close to human populations, putting them at greater risk for destruction and habitat degradation. The habitats are under pressure from fishing, tourism, development and other human activities.

"Sharks likely to get more protection"
State fishery managers will recommend at this week's Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission meeting in Naples that anglers can catch more sea trout but need to kill fewer sharks. The state regulatory board also begins reviewing a budget for the next fiscal year that proposes to institute a 10 percent cut ordered by the Florida Legislature. In fishery matters of interest to the Florida Keys, the FWC board on Thursday will hear staff proposals on protecting sharks. Tiger sharks and three species of hammerhead sharks (great, smooth and scalloped) all should be added to Florida's no-take list, which now includes 22 shark species, says the recommended action. A series of seven statewide workshops on sharks, including one in Key West, found widespread support for adding the four shark species to the protected list. Two other shark proposals, to require use of circle hooks in shark fishing, and to ban chumming from shore, did not get endorsed by FWC staff. Encouraging reports on the spotted sea trout fishery could lead to a year-around recreational season on the Gulf of Mexico food fish. The agency also will recommend extending the season for the "small" commercial fishery on sea trout. The FWC meets from Wednesday through Friday at the Naples Grande resort.

"Sardine fishery growing sustainably"
The South Australian sardine fishery has been developing quickly since 1991, but has not harmed the surrounding ecosystem, according to a seven-year study by the South Australian Research and Development Institute (SARDI). The fishery is Australia’s largest by weight, with around 30,000 tonnes harvested annually. Most of this goes to feed farmed tuna but is increasingly destined for human consumption. “This study shows that South Australia’s pelagic marine ecosystem is in good health. The evidence suggests that the precautionary approach to management that the sardine fishery has taken, is achieving its goal of ensuring ecological sustainability,” said Associate Professor Tim Ward, who has led the SARDI Wild Fisheries research team since 1998.

"Shark Savers congratulates California Senate for banning the shark fin trade"
The California state Senate has passed a historic bill to protect all shark species from the environmentally destructive shark fin trade. AB 376 makes it unlawful for any person to possess, sell, offer for sale, trade, or distribute a shark fin. The bill was sponsored by Monterey Bay Aquarium and the Asian Pacific American Ocean Harmony Alliance and supported by a diverse coalition of organizations that included Shark Savers and thousands of individuals. The bill passed the Senate by a vote of 25 to 9 and now moves to Governor Jerry Brown to be signed. Opposition was raised on the grounds that the bill was discriminatory to Asian communities but polls have indicated 70% of the Asian American community and 76% of California voters supported the shark fin ban. A companion bill, AB 853, was also passed that allow sales of shark fin until 1st July 2013 for all fin stock on-hand prior to January 1st 2012. Sharks are essential to the health of our oceans and maintain balance within the marine ecosystem and the AB 376 bill represents a fantastic step towards protecting sharks.

"Giant crabs make Antarctic leap" Scientists have found a large, reproductive population of King crabs in the Palmer Deep on the edge of Antarctica, probably as a result of warming in the region. The researchers believe the crabs may have been washed in during an upsurge of warmer water, and have warned that the crabs are likely to profoundly change the ecosystem of the area as the population spreads. It is estimated that they may be around 1.5 million King crabs in the basin and that they have been there for about 30-40 years. The species cannot tolerate water colder than 1.4 degrees Celcius but the seas there get warmer as you descend, and the crabs were only found below 850m. The crabs are voracious crushers of sea floor animals and local extinctions of other species are expected.

"Blind Cave Fish Tell Time On Biological Clocks"
How do animals that have evolved for millions of years underground, completely isolated from the day-night cycle, still "know" what time it is? A new study has attempted to tackle this question by investigating a species of cavefish, Phreatichthys andruzzii, which has lived isolated for 2 million years beneath the Somalian desert. The study has found that this cavefish has an unusual circadian clock; it ticks with an extremely long period (up to 47 hours) and is completely blind. The circadian clock is a highly conserved physiological timing mechanism that allows organisms to anticipate and adapt to the day-night cycle. The cavefish have given scientists a unique opportunity to understand how profoundly sunlight has influenced our evolution.