An ocean miracle in the Gulf of California – Fish biomass increases 460 percent in Cabo Pulmo no-take reserve

[About ten years ago, Desdemona snorkled at Cabo Pulmo and was not overly impressed by the abundance of marine wildlife, so this is welcome news.] By Enric Sala of National Geographic 12 August 2011 Cabo Pulmo National Park in Baja California, Mexico, was protected in 1995 to safeguard the largest coral community in the Gulf […]

Greenpeace: Excessive radioactive cesium found in Fukushima fish

TOKYO, August 9 (Kyodo) – Fish caught at a port about 55 kilometers from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant contained radioactive cesium at levels exceeding an allowable limit, the environmental group Greenpeace said Tuesday. The samples taken at Onahama port in Iwaki, Fukushima Prefecture, in late July, included a species of rockfish that measured […]

EU and fish quotas: Who will protect these fish from our feeding frenzy?

By George Monbiot, www.guardian.co.uk 8 August 2011 Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a year, after which no one will ever eat fish again. Almost everywhere fish stocks are collapsing through catastrophic mismanagement. But no one in the rich […]

Oil damage in Niger Delta will take decades, billions to restore

ABUJA, Nigeria, August 5, 2011 (ENS) – Pollution from over 50 years of oil operations in the Ogoniland region of Nigeria is poisoning communities by contaminating their air, land and drinking water, an in-depth scientific assessment by the United Nations Environment Programme reveals. Conducted at the request of the Nigerian government, the UNEP report blames […]

Gulf of Mexico dead zone 10th largest on record

CHAUVIN, Louisiana, August 5, 2011 (ENS) –  This year’s dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico is roughly equal to the land area of the state of New Jersey, scientists said this week. At 6,765 square miles, this area of low oxygen is the 10th largest on record and is considered about average for the […]

Drought turns Texas lake blood-red

A Texas lake that turned blood-red this summer may not be a sign of the End Times, but probably is the end of a popular fishing and recreation spot. A drought has left the OC Fisher Reservoir in San Angelo State Park in West Texas almost entirely dry. The water that is left is stagnant, […]

Graph of the Day: Chinstrap Penguin Breeding Pair Abundance, 1977-2009

The West Antarctic Peninsula (WAP) and adjacent Scotia Sea support abundant wildlife populations, many of which were nearly extirpated by humans. This region is also among the fastest-warming areas on the planet, with 5–6 °C increases in mean winter air temperatures and associated decreases in winter sea-ice cover. These biological and physical perturbations have affected […]

Canada silences a salmon expert

By Joel Connelly 28 July 2011 The Canadian federal government in Ottawa has silenced a leading West Coast fisheries scientist who has argued that a virus is infecting and killing sockeye salmon when they enter the Fraser River, not far north of the U.S.-Canadian border. The undammed “mighty Fraser” supports four of the world’s greatest […]

Third of freshwater fish threatened with extinction

By Richard Gray, Science Correspondent30 July 2011 Freshwater fish are the most endangered group of animals on the planet, with more than a third threatened with extinction, according to a report being compiled by British scientists. Among those at the greatest risk of dying out are several species from UK rivers and lakes including the […]

U.S. Northwest tribes see changes in sacred ‘first foods’ – Smaller salmon arriving later

By Rob Manning 28 July 2011 PORTLAND, OREGON – Northwest tribal leaders say they’re seeing climate change affect food sources that are vital to their culture. “All we can do is try to help these plants and animals adapt. If we don’t, the future of the tribes’ First Foods could be at stake” says Paul […]

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