Graph of the Day: Weight of Pacific Herring, 1970-2008

Estimates of weight-at-age (g) for 3-6 year old herring from 1970 to 2008. There has been a significant change in the size of Pacific herring, a key forage species. Similar to that of the West Coast of Vancouver Island ecozone, a decline in the weight-at-age of Pacific herring occurred from 1970–2008. This decline is currently […]

Pacific fisheries face collapse by 2035: study

Wellington (AFP) Oct 27, 2010 – Pacific island fisheries face collapse in the next 25 years as overfishing, population growth and climate change threaten one of the region’s main economic resources, a study warned Wednesday. The report, [pdf] published by the Noumea-based Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC), said the two billion US dollar a […]

Mackerel migrate to avoid warming seas – Iceland rejects ‘unrealistic’ EU fishing quota

Reykjavik (AFP) Oct 29, 2010 – Iceland rejected a mackerel quota proposed by the European Union and Norway, saying it was unrealistic and would not solve the fishing spat in the north Atlantic, its negotiator said on Friday. Iceland rejected a proposal to increase its quota of the fish to 26,000 tonnes, higher than the […]

Jellyfish ‘may benefit from ecosystem instability’

By Mark Kinver Science and environment reporter, BBC News 29 October 2010 A team of researchers have been trying to identify how jellyfish may benefit from marine ecosystems destabilised by climate change and overfishing. There is concern that a rise in jellyfish numbers could prevent depleted commercially important fish stocks recovering to historical levels. However, […]

Graph of the Day: Biomass of Pacific Herring in Three Subregions of the Canada North Coast, 1950-2009

Pre-fishery biomass (in 1000s of tonnes) of Pacific herring in three subregions of the North Coast and Hecate Strait ecozone. The top left panel is for the Central Coast, the top right panel for Haida Gwaii, and the lower panel for the Prince Rupert District. The horizontal line represents the minimum spawning stock biomass. 2010 […]

Turtle, dugongs ‘at risk under climate change’

ScienceDaily (Oct. 8, 2010) — The “turtle and dugong capital of the world”, the northern Great Barrier Reef and Torres Strait region, faces increased pressure under climate change from human actions such as fishing, hunting, onshore development and pollution. “Depletion of turtle and dugong numbers increases their vulnerability to other threats and lowers their ability […]

Climate change hits horseshoe crab numbers

Contact: Matthias Obst, University of Gothenburg 4-Oct-2010 Having survived for more than 400 million years, the horseshoe crab is now under threat – primarily due to overharvest and habitat destruction. However, climatic changes may also play a role. Researchers from the University of Gothenburg reveal how sensitive horseshoe crab populations are to natural climate change […]

Sir David Attenborough: The Death of the Oceans?

Sir David Attenborough reveals the findings of one of the most ambitious scientific studies of our time – an investigation into what is happening to our oceans. He looks at whether it is too late to save their remarkable biodiversity. Horizon travels from the cold waters of the North Atlantic to the tropical waters of […]

Vanishing African penguin, threatened by climate change and fishing, wins protections

SAN FRANCISCO— The Interior Department announced Tuesday that the African penguin, the only nesting penguin on the African continent, will be listed as an endangered species under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. The decision responds to a 2006 Center for Biological Diversity petition to protect 12 penguin species under the Act as well as a […]

Book review: The Coming Famine

By Nicole EckersleySeptember 14, 2010 Author, journalist and science writer Julian Cribb has created a sobering text in The Coming Famine: The global food crisis and what we can do to avoid it, from CSIRO Publishing. Cribb’s view of the global food crisis paints a frightening picture: demand for food slowly outstripping supply, food production […]

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