Basking sharks have surprised researchers by leaving the cold waters of the north Atlantic during fall and head down to Bahamas and the Caribbean.

“While commonly sighted in surface waters during summer and autumn months, the disappearance of basking sharks during winter has been a great source of debate ever since an article in 1954 suggested that they hibernate on the ocean floor during this time,” said Gregory Skomal of Massachusetts Marine Fisheries. “Some 50 years later, we have helped to solve the mystery while completely re-defining the known distribution of this species.”

Basking Shark

Basking sharks are notoriously difficult to study for several reasons. They feed exclusively on plankton which means you can’t catch them using traditional rod-and-reel methods and they disappear down to deep waters for extended periods of time. During the part of the year when they do stay close to the surface, they are only found in cool waters teaming with plankton where the underwater visibility is close to zilch.

This situation has led to a lot of speculation about their life style and where they actually spend the winters. Despite being the second largest fish in the world, the basking shark is remarkably elusive and mysterious.

What finally solved the puzzle was the aid of new satellite-based tagging technology and a novel geolocation system which made it possible to track the basking whales as they commenced their annual migration. Data sent out from the tags unveiled that basking sharks migrates to warm tropical waters in fall. Their migrations have been able to go undetected until know since the sharks travel at depths of 200 to 1,000 meters and sometimes remain at those depths for weeks or even months at a time.

Skomal said he and his fellow researchers were absolutely surprised when they first received a signal from the tagged sharks coming from the tropical waters of the western Atlantic, since virtually everyone assumed basking sharks to be cool-water dwellers found in temperate regions only.

This new breakthrough show just how little we still know about even the largest marine animals inhabiting the world’s oceans. The basking shark can reach a length of 10 metres and weigh up to seven metric tons, yet it has managed to spend every summer in the Caribbean without anyone noticing it.

You can find more information in the report published on May 7 in Current Biology.

This year, fishermen in the southern ocean of Australia report seeing more tuna than in 20 years. They report not only bigger catches, but also that the average tuna is about 20% lager than previous years.

Australian Tuna Association chief executive Brian Jeffries says: “There’s a lot more fish out there than there has been in the past 10 years and the fish are bigger in that period.”

This leads some to believe that the tuna population is recovering and that it has been doing so since 2006 when it was discovered that Japanese boats were catching 40,000 tonnes of southern blue fin tuna illegally each year and had been doing so for at least 20 years. The discovery lead to a crack down on Japanese illegal fishing and the illegal fishing in the region has, although still preset, dramatically dropped since 2006.

Is the tuna population in the Southern Ocean starting to recover, or is this just a sign of an imminent collapse – similar to the good years that preceded the cod collapse in the Atlantic? Only the future can tell.

A group of scientists from the Catalyst One expedition has discovered three previously unknown coral reefs 35 miles of the coast of Florida. The coral reefs consist mainly of Lophelia coral and are located at a depth of 450 metres (1475 feet).

Lophelia pertusa is a cold-water coral famous for its lack of zooxanthellae. The well known coral reefs found in warm, shallow waters – such as the Great Barrier Reef – consist of reef building corals that utilize energy from the sun by forming symbiotic relationship with photosynthesising algae. Lophelia pertusa on the other hand lives at great depths where there isn’t enough sunlight to sustain photosynthesising creatures, and survives by feeding on plankton.

The deep-sea reef habitat formed by Lophelia pertusa is important for a long row of deep water species, such as lanternfish, hatchetfish, conger eels and various molluscs, amphipods, and brittle stars. The reefs that we see today are extremely old, since Lophelia reefs typically grow no more than 1 mm per year. Unfortunately, these deep reefs are today being harmed by trawling and oil extraction.

The Catalyst One expedition will submit its newly acquired information to the South Atlantic Fisheries Management Council to provide further data for the proposed Deep Coral Habitat Area of Particular Concern (HAPC).

The Catalyst One expedition is a collaboration between the Waitt Institute for Discovery, the Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute at Florida Atlantic University, and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute. It combines the scientific expertise of Harbor Branch’s senior research professor, John Reed, with Woods Hole’s high-tech operations skills and Waitt Institute’s modern autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs).

In order to reach these great depths and efficiently explore substantial areas, the expedition used REMUS 6000 AUV vehicles capable of carrying two kinds of sonar and a camera. With this type of equipment, each mission can last for up to 18 hours and provides the researchers with mosaic pictures of the bottom, pictures that can then be pieced together to form a detailed, high-definition map.

“Rarely do scientific expeditions produce solid results this quickly,” says Dr Shirley Pomponi, executive director of Harbor Branch. “This is a big win for the resource managers tasked with protecting these reefs and proof that cutting edge technology combined with the seamless teamwork of the three organisations involved in Catalyst One can accelerate the pace of discovery.”

You can find more information about the Catalyst program at the Waitt Institute for Discovery.

http://waittinstitute.org/wid/catalyst/

http://waittinstitute.org/wid/news/catalyst1.html

A ROV (remote operated vehicle) owned and operated by the oil company Shell have caught video of a very rare squid while filming a mile and a half (two and a half kilometers) underwater on the drilling site known as Perdido in the gulf of Mexico. The squid known as a Magnapinna squid has a unique look due to the fact that it has “elbows” on its arms. Little is known about these enigmatic squids that can grow to be between 5 to 23 feet (1.5 to 7 meters) long.

See video – See pictures

A total of four species of these squids have been found so far but there are likely more species still waiting to be discovered.

Magnapinna pacifica was the first species to be described and was described in 1998 by Michael Vecchione of the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and University of Hawaii biologist Richard Young based on juvenile squids. Michael Vecchione and Richard Young later released a report that showed that Magnapinna squids are common in deep sea areas around the world. (Below about 4,000 feet (1,219 meters).)

The second species, M. talismani, was described in 2006 and the year after a third species M. atlantica was described. Both these species have been found in the Atlantic.

The last known species has yet to receive a scientific name.

Is the scary looking Atlantic Wolffish, Anarhichas lupus, on the brink of extinction? Today, The Conservation Law Foundation (CLF) and others filed a scientific petition with the federal government of the United States, seeking endangered species protection for this intimidating eel-like creature. If the petition is successful, the Atlantic Wolffish will be the first marine fish to receive endangered species protection in New England.

The Atlantic Wolffish, also known as the Seawolf, is primarily found in cold parts of the Atlantic, but can also be encountered in warmer locations, such as the north-western Mediterranean Sea and the Bay of Biscay. Along the North American coast, it is found as north as the Davis Strait between mid-western Greenland and Baffin Island, and as far south as New Jersey. It is however uncommon south of Cape Cod, New England. In order to survive the cold temperature of its northern habitat, the Atlantic Wolffish has developed a natural anti-freeze that prevents its body from freezing.

The CLF petition cites federal and independent scientific studies that show a dramatic decline of Atlantic Wolffish during the past two decades. According to federal statistics, commercial fishermen are now landing 95% less Atlantic Wolffish than in 1983. Back in the early 1980s, commercial fishermen landed about 1,200 metric tones of this fish per annum, which can be compared to the mere 64.7 metric tons of Atlantic Wolffish landed last year. The Atlantic Wolffish has also worried the scientific community by virtually disappearing from the scientific research trawls carried out twice a year off the coast of New England.

”Based on all available science, Atlantic wolffish are rapidly headed toward extinction in New England’s ocean waters,” said Peter Shelley , CLF Vice President and Senior Attorney. “The dramatic decline in wolffish is a troubling indication that while there is some good news about marine species like haddock and sea scallops that have been successfully restored, our ocean’s long term health continues to hang for other species by a precarious balance. Key species like the wolffish and endangered whales remain in serious jeopardy.”

The main threats against the Atlantic Wolffish are commercial fishing (including by-catch) and habitat degradation, with a major part of the habitat degradation being the result of commercial fishing since it is carried out using trawls and dredges. “Absent some action to reduce or eliminate the destruction of seafloor habitat in the few remaining areas of United States waters that harbor remnant populations of the Atlantic wolffish, it is probable that it will be faced with extinction in those waters in the near future,” says marine scientist and co-petitioner Dr Les Watling.

The Atlantic Wolffish is listed as a Species of Concern by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS).

A Greater Weever (Trachinus draco) has been found in a stretch of the Thames estuary in Great Britain. The species, which is native to the Eastern Atlantic, the Mediterranean, and the Black Sea, is one of many signs of the improving health of the Thames estuary.

The weever was found after a two-year investigation carried out by the Environment Agency and Zoological Society of London and is the 60th new species found in the Thames since 2006. “The diversity and abundance of fish is an excellent indicator of the estuary’s health”, says Environment Agency Fishery Officer Emma Barton.

Flowing through London and several other urban areas, the Thames has a long history of being heavily polluted. In the so called ‘Great Stink’ of 1858, pollution in the river was so severe that sittings at the House of Commons at Westminister had to be abandoned.

So, should we fear this semi-new addition to the Thames estuary? No, there is no need to panic. This fish can deliver a very painful sting and should be handled with care, but the sting is rarely dangerous to humans – especially not if you seek medical attention.

The Greater Weever has venom glands attached to both of the spines on its first dorsal fin, and to the spines of the gill cover. The spines are equipped with grooves through which venom is driven up if the spines are pressed. A person that receives a sting from a Greater Weever can develop localized pain and swelling, and the result has – in a few rare cases – been fatal. Fortunately, there are several things you can do to make the situation less dangerous for a stung victim.

· If the wound bleeds, allow the wound to bleed freely (within reason of course) to expel as much venom as possible.

· Soak the affected limb in warm water because the toxin produced by the Greater Weever is sensitive to heat. There is no need use extremely hot water it and risk scalding the skin, because the toxin will deteriorate at a temperature of 40° C / 104° F.

· Seek medical attention.

The pain is normally at its most intense during the first two hours after being stung and even without treatment, the severe pain normally goes away within 24 hours. It is however possible for some pain to last for up to two weeks, and it is also possible for the spine to break off and get stuck inside the stung limb where it can continue to cause problems until it is removed.

I usually don’t like to write about rumours and speculations but sometimes they are interesting enough to warrant a few rows here in the news section. There is a growing speculation and fear among tuna fisherman that tuna fishing will be strictly regulated or banned before the end of the year.

The speculations state that a complete ban on Tune fishing in the entire Atlantic Ocean will be announced in November during the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tuna meeting in Morocco. This would be a result of plummeting tuna populations and increased pressure from environmental organisations. American fishermen are believed to be among those supporting a complete ban which might be true as the US have a very small tuna fishing industry. The only exception from the ban would be sport fishing.

There is also a rumour that the tuna fishing ban won’t be limited to the Atlantic but that a global tuna fishing ban might be close to being announced. It is unclear whether the ban would include all tuna species or only the blue fin tuna but the later seems more likely.

Personally I find the announcement of a global or even an Atlantic tuna fishing ban very doubtful even if I would appreciate the imitative. (Despite the fact that I love grilled tuna) A tuna fishing ban in the Mediterranean seems more likely but might also meet more resistance due to large fishing operations present there. It is also doubtful if such a ban would be respected in the Mediterranean as the fishermen there have a history of breaking the rules such as in this incident I reported about earlier this year.

What do you guys think? Will we see a Tuna ban before the end of the year? Is one needed?

picture provided by: NOAA Ship DELAWARE II

Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution has developed a new Right Whale listening buoy for the Massachusetts Bay. The buoys are designed to recognize the distinctive call of the Atlantic Right Whale which migrates throughout the bay. When heard, the buoys emit a signal to a web-site and marine warning system that lets ships know that the whales are in the shipping lanes; thus, they are able to avoid collisions with the endangered species.

These 50 ton ocean wonders were hunted to near extinction, leaving their numbers today, at less than 400 whales. During the winter and spring months the Right Whales gather at the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary; near the Boston Harbor. Over 1,500 vessels pass through this area, and collisions with the whales are the leading cause of the animals deaths each year.

The 10 buoys are placed strategically along the inbound and out going shipping lines. Each buoy has a 5 mile radius of listening and alerts analysts of the whale calls its hearing. This gives the workers time to inform ship captains that the whales are in the area they are headed, with time to avoid accidents. The warning call remains in effect for a 24 hour period after the Right Whales have been detected, to further protect them during times where they are being non-vocal. Ships must slow to 10 knots and post whale/sea turtle look outs during an alert.

The buoy alert system is expected to stay operational for the next 40 years while the Liquefied Natural Gas terminal is expected to stay in business. Hopefully, but protecting the whales now, during this vital time in their attempt to reestablish their numbers, they will still be around for future generations.

You can here the whales live through the public alert website at : http://listenforwhales.org

for the complete article about how buoys are being used to protect the endangered North Atlantic Right Whales visit science daily at: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080428104518.htm