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September, 2004 - A rare reef fish called the humphead wrasse should be guarded from overfishing, experts have claimed.

The WWF and the IUCN-World Conservation Union are set to ask an international trade watchdog to include the fish on its list of protected species.

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (Cites) will have its biennial meeting in October to review the vulnerability of several species.

Conservationists hope the humphead wrasse ... [More]

Red Sea shark slaughter

February, 2002 - Sharks have long been demonised. Many people regard them as malicious man-eaters and believe the best shark is a dead shark.

So why would the death of large, solitary animal warrant cause for concern?

Simple. The mako shark pictured above was the victim of illegal fishing in one of the most important coral seas in the world.

Releasing Nemo a disaster for native fish

July 2004 - Exclusive from New Scientist

Exotic predatory fish that could devastate local marine ecosystems are appearing off the US coast. These and other ornamental fish are thought to have been released by careless aquarium owners, and could harm fisheries, introduce parasites and endanger native species.

In a worrying development in June, scientists at the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary found a pair of orbicular batfish, a popular aquarium fish endemic to the Pa... [More]

River 'pollution' sparks fertility fears

Sunday, 17 March, 2002 - Chemicals blamed for changing the sex of male fish could affect human fertility, according to scientists in the UK.

A five-year study by the Environment Agency to be published later this month suggests that half the male fish in lowland English rivers are developing female characteristics because of pollution.

Scientists blame the pollution on a "potent" form of oestrogen found in urine from women using the contraceptive pill, which may be... [More]

Science taps into ocean secrets

Monday, 22 November, 2004 - Some 13,000 new marine species have been discovered in the past year, according to information released by an international alliance of scientists.

The Census of Marine Life (COML) has also uncovered previously unknown migration routes used by fish such as tuna and shark.

The $1bn 10-year project, which is building a huge database, involves researchers in more than 70 countries.

The new knowledge will inform future conservation and fis... [More]

Scientists Describe the World's Smallest, Lightest Fish

Tuesday, July 20, 2004 - Scientists Describe the World's Smallest, Lightest Fish Rare, tiny specimen in Scripps fish collection is the smallest animal with a backbone on the planet...

Scripps Institution of Oceanography/UC San Diego
Scientists in San Diego have described the earth's smallest, lightest animal with a backbone. H.J. Walker of Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego, and William Watson of the Southwest Fisheries Science Center, ... [More]

Scientists Find 75 Percent Of Red Snapper Sold In Stores Is Really Some Other Species

ScienceDaily (July 15, 2004) CHAPEL HILL
While learning in a course how to extract, amplify and sequence the genetic material known as DNA, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill graduate students got a big surprise. So did their marine science professors.

In violation of federal law, more than 75 percent of fish tested and sold as tasty red snapper in stores in eight states were other species. How much of the mislabeling was unintentional or fraud is unknown, said Dr. Pet... [More]

Scientists maintain fish concern

Monday, 18 October, 2004 - Fisheries scientists say no cod should be caught in the North Sea, the Irish Sea and west of Scotland in 2005.

Experts from the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (Ices) say the species is at historically low levels and should not be exploited.

Ices says it will release a fuller report to governments on Friday to assist them in setting fishing quotas.

It will also recommend zero catches for hake in the waters of southe... [More]

Seal-hunting becomes tourist sport in Norway

OSLO (AFP) Jan 27, 2005
Amidst scathing criticism from environmental groups, Norway has given the green light for foreign tourists to hunt seals in the Scandinavian country, officials said on Thursday.

"Based on a parliamentary decision last year, we are authorizing foreign hunters, and I emphasize hunters because they must have a hunting license, to come hunt seals here if they are accompanied by a Norwegian hunting company," Sigbjoern Larsen, a spokesman for the minis... [More]

Shark Expert Is Bitten During Filming

April 12, 2002

A scientist known for "pushing the envelope" in his work on sharks was badly bitten by one in the Bahamas, colleagues said today.

The victim, Dr. Erich Ritter of the Shark Research Institute in Princeton, N.J., was bitten on the calf on Tuesday by what was believed to be a 350-pound bull shark during filming of a Discovery Channel program.

"He's going to be in the hospital for four or five more weeks," said Marie Levine, executi... [More]

Shark fin profits outweighing fears of prosecution says Palau president

KOROR, Palau (AFP) Mar 11, 2004 - Substantial profits in the shark fin trade have outweighed fears of prosecution for those involved in the illegal business here, Palau President Tommy Remengesau says.

"I guess the profit makes people take the risk," said Remengesau Thursday evening as his administration announced its seizure of the third haul of shark fin and mutilated bodies from a foreign vessel in under three months.

Shoppers urged to shun endangered fish

19 February, 2002 - Conservationists are calling on shoppers to boycott 20 varieties of fish because of the impact of over-fishing on their numbers and the environment.

Traditional British favourites including cod, haddock, skate and tuna are all on the Marine Conservation Society's (MCS) list of vulnerable species.

It wants consumers to look for alternatives and has published a Good Fish Guide to help inform people about the varieties available in shops.

Six sharks found dead on coast

Friday, 18 June, 2004 - The bodies of six dead basking sharks, including five in one week, have been washed up on the coast of Cornwall.

The locations where they were found include Gerrans Bay, Coverack, Roseland Bay and in the Fal Estuary.

The Coverack shark was entangled in buoy ropes and drowned, but why the others died is a mystery and worrying, the Marine Conservation Society says.

Environmentalists fear they may have been fishing net victims. Fishermen deny... [More]

Study Details Distribution, Impacts of Carbon Dioxide in the World Oceans

July 15, 2004 — An international team of scientists has completed the first comprehensive study of the ocean storage of carbon dioxide derived from human activity based on a decade-long survey of global ocean carbon distributions in the 1990s. The global survey combined measurements of carbon and other ocean factors such as temperature, salinity, oxygen, nutrients and chlorofluorocarbon tracers in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans to determine that the oceans have taken up about 118 ... [More]

Study: Whitetip Shark Numbers Rapidly Dwindled

Species All But Disappeared from Gulf of Mexico in 50 Years, by John Nielsen

All Things Considered, July 8, 2004 · Common wisdom holds that a glimpse of the oceanic whitetip shark is a rare one. Researchers say the shark, which lives in tropical water like the Gulf of Mexico, has never been very abundant.

But, as NPR's John Nielsen reports, a new study tells a very different story. As recently as 50 years ago, the whitetip may have once outnumbered all the other big fi... [More]

Swordfish bought in California show mercury at dangerous level

September 29, 2004 - In more unwelcome news for swordfish lovers, a new study found that more than two-thirds of the popular fish sampled contained mercury at levels high enough to trigger Food and Drug Administration enforcement action.

The new results, released Tuesday, showed that 17 out of a random sample of 25 packages of frozen swordfish bought in California supermarkets were contaminated with toxic mercury above the FDA's "action level.''

The FDA action level of... [More]

Team Races to Catalog Every Species on Earth

National Geographic News: March 5, 2002 - The All Species Foundation. The group is dedicated to a straightforward but daunting goal: to discover, identify, and classify every living species on Earth within a single human generation or in other words over the next 25 years.

Once online, the information can be organized and linked with advanced database systems, eventually resulting in a "home page" for each species.

To date, taxonomists have identified less than tw... [More]

Ten richest coral areas pinpointed

14 February, 2002 - By Alex Kirby
BBC News Online environment correspondent

Scientists have listed the world's 10 most important coral reef areas for the first time.

Each is home to a wide range of endemic species (those with a restricted range).

The scientists say their work should help to target conservation work more successfully. But they say 25% of the world's reefs have already been destroyed or badly damaged by problems arising from climate change.[More]

The Godly Must Be Crazy

Christian-right views are swaying politicians and threatening the environment, by Glenn Scherer, 27 Oct 2004

Abortion. Same-sex marriage. Stem-cell research.

U.S. legislators backed by the Christian right vote against these issues with near-perfect consistency. That probably doesn't surprise you, but this might: Those same legislators are equally united and unswerving in their opposition to environmental protection.

The Infamous Exploding Whale

There's a Catch: Recreation takes toll on marine fish

By Susan Milius, August 25th, 2004 - Sportfishing isn't just a tiny, harmless nibble on saltwater-fish populations, according to a new analysis of federal data.

For species flagged for special concern in U.S. waters, sportfishing accounts for 23 percent of the harvest, says Felicia Coleman of Florida State University in Tallahassee. The percentage is even higher for certain regions. In the Gulf of Mexico, recreation takes 64 percent of the catch for troubled fish stocks, Coleman and h... [More]

Toxic Boat Paint Chemical May Impair Whale Hearing

Jan. 27 (Bloomberg) A toxic chemical used to keep the bottom of boats smooth and clean may impair the hearing of whales, possibly causing the marine mammals to beach themselves, according to a study to be published in Biophysical Journal.

Tributyltin oxide, also known as TBT, is applied to boats to prevent the accumulation of barnacles and other debris that slow vessels down while on the open water. Researchers at Yale University found the chemical prevents so-called outer hair cells... [More]

United States Extends Ban on Shark Finning to Pacific Ocean

NOAA 2/2/2002- The federal ban on shark finning has been extended to the Pacific Ocean by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Marine Fisheries Service, an agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce. The new regulations, effective March 13, 2002, implement the Shark Finning Prohibition Act of 2000. The regulations make it unlawful for any federally regulated fishing vessel to carry or land shark fins without the entire shark carcass.

This prohibition on shark ... [More]

Virus fear for British seals

27 July, 2002 - The discovery of two dead seals on a Lincolnshire beach has sparked fears of a fresh outbreak of a fatal virus in UK waters.

Some 18,000 seals in northern Europe died of the highly infectious phocine distemper virus (PDV) in 1988.

The virus returned to Denmark in May 2002 and has so far killed 2,000 seals in Denmark, Sweden and the Netherlands.

Wildlife experts say it is only a matter of time before the disease return to British shores.

Whale Camera Spies On Hawaii's Deepwater Hunters

National Geographic News: February 6, 2004

This story is one of a series looking at National Geographic Crittercam research. Crittercam is a research instrument worn by wild animals and equipped with a video camera and other information-gathering equipment. Crittercam is used on animals both in the ocean and on land.

Total: 79 Displaying: 51 - 75 Pages: < 1 2 3 4 >