Average of annual maximum thermal stress, measured in Degree Heating Weeks (DHW), during 1985–2006. Significant coral bleaching was reported during periods with average thermal stress above 0.5°C-weeks, and was especially widespread in 1995, 1998, and 2005. Thermal stress during the 2005 event exceeded any observed from the Caribbean in the prior 20 years, and […]
By Louise Gray, Environment Correspondent 7:00AM GMT 03 Dec 2010 The species rely on tiny shellfish when they go out to sea and feed before returning to rivers like the Tay in Scotland or the Test in Hampshire. However these sea snails are in danger from ocean acidification. A United Nations report by the University […]
By Michelle Esteban Dec 2, 2010 at 5:10 PM PST ISSAQUAH, Wash. — More than 30,000 local Coho salmon have mysteriously disappeared. They didn’t return to the Ballard Locks or local hatcheries, and local fish specialists can’t figure out what happened. This year’s Coho salmon run is so low that the Issaquah Salmon Hatchery has […]
By Richard HarrisNovember 29, 2010 When the BP oil well blew out earlier this year, the 4 million barrels that flowed into the sea didn’t simply vanish. There’s growing evidence that a good portion of it sunk to the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico, where some of it remains. To get to the […]
Of the many important results published during Desdemona’s second year of blogging, one stood out: a BioScience paper titled “Untangling the Environmentalist’s Paradox: Why Is Human Well-being Increasing as Ecosystem Services Degrade?” This question is central to the Desdemona Thesis. Essentially, the authors of this paper (Ciara Raudsepp-Hearne, et al.) challenge us to reconcile the […]
By Staff WritersNov 27, 2010 Paris (AFP) – Fishing nations opted Saturday to leave catch limits for eastern Atlantic bluefin tuna virtually unchanged despite concerns that the species is perilously close to collapse. Annual quotas for the sushi mainstay will be trimmed from 13,500 tonnes this year to 12,900 tonnes in 2011, the 48-member International […]
By Severin Carrell, Scotland correspondent, www.guardian.co.uk Monday 22 November 2010 17.54 GMT Trawlermen from Shetland have admitted illegally catching more than £37m worth of mackerel and herring during a long-running plot to sidestep the strict quotas introduced to protect against overfishing. Six trawler skippers today pleaded guilty at the high court in Edinburgh to falsifying […]
The Daily TelegraphNovember 24, 2010 12:00AM COMMERCIAL tuna fishermen have been accused of using whale sharks as giant lures to increase their catch. Whale sharks naturally attract schools of fish and Greenpeace has accused the industry of setting their nets around the gentle giants after it obtained photos showing a juvenile whale shark being hoisted […]
By John Vidal, environment editor, www.guardian.co.uk Monday 22 November 2010 15.15 GMT Marine scientists will this week appeal for volunteers to watch for stranded whales and dolphins and report instances as soon as possible to understand why so many are being found on beaches. It follows the unexplained mass stranding of 33 pilot whales found […]
By Marlowe Hood 21 November 2010 (AFP) PARIS — At least 1.3 million sharks, many listed as endangered, were harvested from the Atlantic in 2008 by industrial-scale fisheries unhampered by catch or size limits, according to a tally released Monday. The actual figure may be several fold higher due to under-reporting, said the study, released […]
