Canada soon to complete world’s largest ocean observatory
If everything goes according to plan, the world’s largest ocean observatory will be ready for use by late September, except for the instruments at one node which won’t be installed until next year.
Artificial reef to be created off the coast of Australia
An Australian frigate will be sunk off Terrigal on the New South Wales Central Coast to form an artificial reef.
Koi crime wave in East Yorks, UK
Twelve thefts of exotic fish and pond equipment have been reported over a three-week period across Hull, East Yorks.
Humberside Police Community Support Officer Sam Gregory said all the evidence suggests the culprits are using the Internet to seek out their targets.
Secret documents unveiled at this week’s IWC meeting (Killing baby whales)
Of the 679 whales Japan reported killing during the hunt of 2008/2009, 304 were female. 192 of them were pregnant and four were lactating.
The Big Five is now the Big Seven in South Africa
South Africa is officially adding the whale and the shark to the iconic Big Five group; turning it into the Big Seven.
Good news for Florida freshwater turtles
Florida will soon have the strictest conservation law for the harvest of imperilled freshwater turtles in the U.S. The new legislation pertains to all freshwater turtles on Florida’s imperilled species list plus species that look similar to the imperilled species, which include common snapping turtles and cooters.
Indonesia getting ready to sink illegal fishing boats
Indonesia is getting ready to sink foreign boats carrying out illegal fishing in Indonesian waters.
“We are glad the House`s Commission IV supports us in this,” Marine Resources and Fisheries Minister Freddy Numbery said at a meeting with the House commission this week.
More mutant lobsters
Nova Scotia is not the only place with odd looking lobsters; the original Scotland also has some strange colour morphs dwelling in its waters.
If you visit the rock pool at Deep Sea World in North Queensferry, you can for instance encounter one electric blue lobster with white markings and one pitch-black lobster adorned with vivid orange colours that contrast beautifully against the dark areas. Picture here
It’s raining fish and frogs
A number of Japanese citizens living in the Ishikawa Prefecture have made some strange observations during the last few days.
Orange-and-yellow lobster mutant found in Canadian waters
A rare orange-and-yellow lobster has been found off the coast of Prince Edward Island in Canada. Instead of the drab colours normally sported by lobsters, this female specimen boosts a spotted orange-and-yellow pattern. According to specialists, she’s one in about 30 million.
Anglers claiming: Otters are killing of the fish stocks
The European River Otter (Lutra lutra) which was once almost eradicated from British waters is beginning to make a come-back thanks to improved environmental care and the reintroduction of captive-bred specimens.
A record breaking 50 basking sharks tagged in Irish waters
Scientists tagging sharks off the Irish coast have tagged a surprisingly high number of Basking sharks this year: 50 specimens in just three days.
Craggy hull resists barnacles; makes toxins superfluous and may save ship owners millions
North Carolina State University engineers have created a non-toxic ship hull coating that resists the build up of barnacles.
Vandenberg sunk in 1 minute and 54 seconds
As reported earlier here and here, the retired 523-foot military vessel “Gen. Hoyt S. Vandenberg” was scheduled to be sunk this month to become an artificial reef off the Floridian coast, and we can now happily report that everything has gone according to plan.
Stingray mass death in U.S. Zoo
Eleven of the 18 freshwater stingrays living at the U.S. National Zoo died over the holiday weekened, together with two arowanas. All dead fishes were residents of the zoo’s Amazonia exhibit; a 55,000-gallon (208,000 L) aquarium designed to replicate a flooded Amazon forest. Zoo officials are now suspecting low oxygen levels to be […]