Tagged Seals are helping Australian scientists learn a great deal more about places, in the deep oceans of Antarctica, where they themselves can not travel. This summer 7 female Weddell Seals were tagged to help researchers gather information on the changes global warming is having on the oceans. The Weddell Seal is a constant inhabitant of the Antarctic, and they are now being used by an international program monitoring deep diving mammals on both the North and South Pole.

The Seals are fitted with a satellite  transmitter that relays data daily back to the researchers.  The data provides depths of the seals dives, the time they spend under water, and where they are going to eat. But, more importantly, the transmitter also relays vital information about the surrounding oceans; such as water temperatures and salinity of the oceans. So far the salinity of the oceans in the arctic have begun to decline, leaving scientists guessing that melting ice due to global warming is to blame.

However, research is done only in winter, and come spring, the seals molt and the tracking devices fall off. Scientist are planning on several more years of this fascinating seal tagging to help better understand the oceans around us.

You can read the entire article on the Weddell Seal Tagging studies here: http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/04/29/2229776.htm

picture provided by Creative Commons at:  http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/

 (disclaimer: Creative Commons has no affiliation to the AC or the views or thoughts published in this article.)

In December 2007, the Baji dolphin of the Yangtze river was declared extinct. A study has now revealed that the Yangtze finless porpoise might face the same destiny if no protective measures are taken, National Geographic News reports.

A new study has shown that Yangtze river porpoises are dying in part due to exposure to insecticides and mercury. The Yangtze River in China is home to the planet’s last river-dwelling finless porpoises. As a part of the study, researchers also investigated the organs of porpoises living in China’s Dongting Hu Lake (which is connected to the Yangtze River) and found high concentrations of PCBs and other pollutants.

According to study co-author Wang Ding of China’s Institute of Hydrobiology, the Yangtze finless porpoise population has decreased sharply each year during recent decades. He states that pollution, dam construction, fishing and transportation all contribute to the problem.

WWF China has helped maintain a natural preserve for the Yangtze porpoise along an oxbow of the Yangtze River and the Institute of Hydrobiology is running a captive breeding program where a third calf is expected to be born in the summer of 2008. These measures are however far from enough we want to keep the Yangtze river porpoises from going extinct.

“Urgent measures need to be undertaken to save this porpoise. Pollution control is one of the most important, but this will take time and huge efforts by the government and companies,” says Li Lifeng, director of WWF China’s freshwater program.

You can read the full article here:

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/04/080423-yangtze-porpoise.html

A video about the snakehead situation in the Potomac river. In certain areas of the river snakeheads now are established and competing with local fish species such as local bass. Hopefully they will be kept confined to certain parts of the river and won´t spread to other parts of the country. We will just have to wait and see. in the meen time the snakehead is turning into a popular game fish luring sport fishers to the area. For more info see the almost 3 min long video.

Releasing caught snakeheads are illegal and catches should be reported to the local fish and wildlife service.

According to an article published by The Guardian, scientists believe that krill have declined 80 per cent since the 1970s. Why this has happened remains unknown, but it might be due to global warming. According to estimates made by the British Antarctic Survey (BAS), there is roughly 100 million tonnes krill left, while krill harvesting companies place the figure at 400-500 million tonnes. The Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources allows 4 million tonnes of krill to be caught in the Southern Ocean per year. Until now, this number has seldom been reached; in a normal year, less than 20 percent of the permitted 4 million tonnes have been caught.

Today, the emerging interest in health products such as Omega 3 oil and Omega 3 fortified food is causing a boom in krill fishing. A majority of the fished krilled is used to produce Omega 3 oil and other health supplements, or as fish-farm feed. So called “suction harvesting” is now used to meet the demand for krill.

So, why care about a tiny crustacean? The truth is that entire ecosystems depend on krill and krill are also able to help us remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Some species, such as the gigantic Blue Whale, feeds directly on krill. Other species, such as penguins and seals, are indirectly depending on krill since they feed on animals that feed on animals that eat krill.

If you want to learn more about krill and hear different experts explain their view on the current situation, read the full article at The Guardian: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/mar/23/fishing.food

Connect to a piece of seaweed, were some fish eggs that are laid in Florida and the Caribbean catch a ride in the Gulf Stream to the coast line of Rhode Island. When they hatch they stand little to no chance to surviving as soon as the water cools down starting in th Fall. But a group of divers found them on an annual basis. For apporxmatley 25 years the New England Aquarium Dive Club has been doing this. In the Fall, about 200 divers were sent out to rescue as many juvenile fish as possible. Each year the fish that were rescued are donated to different aquariums and fish keepers.

With 70 people last year, the group caught their first lionfish. Usually the gruoup will catch 30 to 40 different fish. Butterflyfish are usually the most common kind found. This year the club was held in the conjunction. With there being warmer water, children and snorklers got involved as well. Al Bozza, the New England Aquarium Dive Club director, described this year’s rescue as a family event, and pointed to the education opportunity for children.

To read more about this get ahold of the Aquarium Fish International Janurary Issue.

A federal judge on Wednesday refused to stop Oregon and Washington from trapping and killing California sea lions at Bonneville Dam this spring to keep them from gobbling endangered salmon.

The Humane Society of the United States filed a lawsuit against the plan and asked for a preliminary court injunction to stop it.

Humane Society attorneys argued that culling sea lions won’t significantly benefit threatened salmon and steelhead runs. Shooting the animals would harm Columbia River kayakers and others who have relationships with individual sea lions, they said

But U.S. District Judge Michael Mosman rejected the injunction request. The judge agreed that it appears somewhat arbitrary to crack down on sea lions when fishing kills more salmon listed under the Endangered Species Act. But initial evidence indicates that sea lions do “very serious” harm to endangered and threatened salmon, Mosman ruled.

“It’s a rather remarkable thing to say that (destroying) an individual animal will cause irreparable harm,” Mosman said early in the hearing. He later called the Humane Society’s evidence of damage “far less weighty” than the government’s.

State officials said they could begin trapping sea lions as early as Tuesday, targeting animals that have been seen eating federally protected fish at the dam.

The plan authorizes capturing and killing up to 85 sea lions a year for five years. But the states’ goal is to capture 30 this year, with first priority given to relocating the animals to captive environments such as Sea World and the St. Louis Zoo.

About 20 slots have been found so far, said Guy Norman, director of the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Vancouver office. Only about four weeks remain in the spring chinook’s journey upriver to Bonneville, Norman said.

“Our No. 1 step is to relocate as many sea lions as we can,” he said. “Whether we will get to lethal means this year is unknown.”

Anglers and biologists have grown increasingly frustrated with sea lions that feast on salmon gathering to climb Bonneville’s fish ladders. Last year, crews counted sea lions eating more than 4 percent of the salmon run, although biologists suspect they probably ate more.

Sea lion numbers have surged from about 1,000 animals in the 1930s to about 238,000 now along the West Coast. Fishery managers say it doesn’t make sense to let sea lions eat salmon while the Northwest restricts fishing and spends billions to try to help the fish recover.

Humane Society officials said the killing of sea lions at Bonneville Dam would be the first government-led killing since at least 1994, when Congress beefed up protection of marine mammals.

Other sea lions probably will take the place of the captured sea lions, they argued. Getting rid of 30 sea lions would save about 2,100 endangered or threatened fish, far fewer than fishing takes.

A decisive hearing on the lawsuit will be held as early as mid-May — when sea lion trapping probably will be finished for the year.

Sharon Young, a Humane Society field director, said the government should back off in the meantime. “We’re hoping they will not start shooting while the court is still hearing arguments.”

I have recieved permission to use this news article from Scott Learn at scottlearn@news.oregonian.com

Just 50 years ago, the Thames River was declared biologically dead. High amounts of pollution from industrialization and mass urbanisation, had literally killed the river. Now, after nearly 2 decades of conservation efforts, the Thames River is slowly making a come back; with over 120 species of fish now calling the Thames River their new home. One new comer stands out from the rest, the short-snouted seahorse. Scientifically defined as the Hippocampus hippocampus, the short-snouted seahorse was first discovered in the Thames back in 2006. However, the Zoological Society of London kept this rare finding under wraps, awaiting legislation’s decision to put the species under the protection of the Wildlife and Conservation Act of 1981.

So what makes this little seahorse so special? The short-snouted seahorse has previously only been found in deep waters around specified locations, and off the coast of France, Spain, and in the Mediterranean. The presence of these seahorse in the Thames River is a sign that the water quality is greatly improving, and that the Thames River will indeed make a come back as a flourishing and diverse community of underwater inhabitants.

For more information and the complete article on the Thames River Seahorse Findings; and to sneek a peak at this fabulous little finding visit:

 http://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/pfk/pages/item.php?news=1659

For reasons unknown, massive groups of Humboldt Squid have left their native waters in South America and can now be found all the way up to Alaskan waters. The Humboldt Squid is most commonly found between Tierra del Fuego at the southernmost tip of the South American and the U.S. state of California. Recent findings do however suggest that the species is spreading north into the waters of Oregon, Washington, British Columbia and even Alaska.

The Humboldt Squid can reach a size of 2 meters (7 feet) and weigh 45 kg (100 pounds). Due to its impressive size, it is known under names such as Jumbo Squid and Jumbo Flying Squid. In Spanish speaking parts of South America, it is called Diablo Rojo which means Red Devil. The creature is equipped with 10 arms and a really sharp beak. It is known for its aggressiveness, but research suggests that these animals are only aggressive during feeding time. During feeding frenzies, they have no problem retorting to cannibalism. When not feeding, they seem to be fairly docile.

If you want to learn more about this aggressive predatory squid and its newfound wanderlust, KQED has devoted the Season 2 Web Premiere of the program QUEST to the Humboldt Squid (Dosidicus gigas). QUEST is a TV, radio, web, and education series that explores science, environment and nature in Northern California. You can find the episode here: http://www.kqed.org/quest/blog/2008/03/26/quest-season-2-web-premiere-the-fierce-humboldt-squid/

According to Wildlife Extra, 12 different specimens of the endangered Giant freshwater stingray were caught in over the course of just 3-4 months last year. The findings where made in both the Ban Pakong and the Maeklong Rivers, and one of the specimens was a young stingray measuring no more than 12 cm (4.7 inches). This might be a sign that the Giant freshwater stringray is somehow managing to combat the dangerous pollutions that are contaminating its habitat.

The specimen that received most attention was of course the enormous stingray caught by Tom Parker from Coventry whilst on a guided fishing tour to the Ban Pakong River. After being measured and photographed, the rare fish was fortunately released back into the wild. The Giant freshwater stingray had a wingspan of 2.4 meters (7.9 feet) and weighing it turned out to be impossible for the fishing party.

A research project has now been launched by Dr Terry Bertozi of the Evolutionary Biology Unit of the South Australian Museum in Adelaide, Australia and the fishing company FishSiam in order to find out more about the elusive Giant freshwater stingray.

You can learn more reading the full article at Wildlife Extra: http://www.wildlifeextra.com/giant-stingray930.html

Stingrays have flat bodies that make it possible for them to stay hidden in under layers of sand at the bottom until an unsuspecting animal ventures close enough to become lunch. Some stingrays grow really huge, as the one in the article, but others can be kept in normal hobby aquariums. It is very important to provide them with a suitable substrate in the aquarium to allow them to carry out their natural habits. You can learn more about a few species of stingray that can be kept in aquariums here: http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/predatory/sting.php

A video about the problem Asian carp causes.

part 1

part2