-
+16 +1
The fight to save horseshoe crabs from the biomedical industry
Conservationists fear that horseshoe crabs, a 450-million-year-old living fossil, will be pushed to the brink of extinction because of the value of their blood to the pharmaceutical industry. Horseshoe crab blood provides a natural source of limulus amebocyte lysate (LAL) which is used to test vaccines, drugs, and medical devices to ensure that they aren’t contaminated with dangerous bacterial toxins called endotoxins.
-
+16 +1
The woman saving seahorses from 'annihilation fishing'
Every day, thousands of fishing boats around the world drag huge weighted nets across the seafloor, ensnaring everything in their wake and destroying marine habitats.
-
+26 +1
Lobsters and crabs are sentient beings and shouldn't be boiled alive, UK report says
Octopuses, crabs and lobsters are capable of experiencing pain or suffering, according to a review commissioned by the UK government, which has added the creatures to a list of sentient beings to be given protection under new animal welfare laws.
-
+24 +1
Plastic Pollution Overruns the Mediterranean
Pascal Hagmann lowered a manta trawl — a ray-shaped, metal device with a wide mouth and a fine-meshed net — off the side of his sailboat and into the blue waters off the coast of Marseille, France. Then he motored around at 3 knots. The manta trawl skimmed along the surface, taking in gulps of seawater and catching whatever was floating inside it.
-
+16 +1
Discarded tires in the oceans are trapping hermit crabs, with no way out
Hermit crabs are finding their way into discarded tires in the ocean -- and they can't get out, a new study from Hirosaki University found. The concave interior of a car tire can trap hermit crabs that go there in search of food and shelter. The study refers to this phenomenon -- when marine animals get caught in human litter, such as fishing nets -- as "ghost fishing."
-
+12 +1
New study finds large whales eat much more than we thought — and are even more important to the environment
“Our results say that if we restore whale populations to pre-whaling levels seen at the beginning of the 20th century, we’ll restore a huge amount of lost function to ocean ecosystems,” researchers said.
-
+13 +1
North America’s first whale sanctuary is taking shape in rural Nova Scotia
The plan to build North America’s first wild refuge for whales retired from marine parks was poised to take a big step forward Friday in a remote corner of northeastern Nova Scotia. The Whale Sanctuary Project is expected to officially open its visitor and operations centre in Sherbrooke, N.S., marking the first time the U.S.-based conservation group has moved from the planning phase to actually building something.
-
+13 +1
New method for predicting the response of ecosystems to marine heatwaves
Marine heatwaves, driven by climate change, are becoming more frequent and intense worldwide. Although we know that heatwaves kill marine organisms and have devastating effects on ecosystems, there is currently no way to predict these effects or help ecosystems adapt.
-
+18 +1
An incredibly resilient coral in the Great Barrier Reef offers hope for the future
A coral the size of a carousel is the widest known in the Great Barrier Reef. Found just off the coast of Goolboodi Island in Northeast Australia, this reef-building Porites measures 10.4 meters in diameter — earning it the nickname Muga dhambi, or “big coral,” from the Indigenous custodians of the island, the Manbarra people.
-
+17 +1
Female octopuses throw things at males that are harassing them
An analysis of footage of octopuses off the coast of Australia “throwing” shells and silt suggests that they intentionally target – and often hit – other octopuses. In most cases, it is females that do the throwing, often at males that are harassing them. In 2015, Peter Godfrey-Smith at the University of Sydney and his colleagues filmed several common Sydney octopuses (Octopus tetricus) interacting at a site in Jervis Bay dubbed “Octopolis”. It is one of the few places in the otherwise sandy sea bottom where octopuses can make dens, so there are an unusual number of the animals in a small area.
-
+16 +1
Corporate Polluters and DeSantis Face Ire as Hundreds of Tons of Sea Life Dead in Florida
"The governor could declare this red tide an environmental emergency and free up funds for people hurt by the event." Experts are linking Florida officials' decision to pump wastewater from the Piney Point fertilizer plant into the Tampa Bay earlier this year to the deaths of hundreds of tons of marine life which have piled up along Florida's coastline—threatening the region's biodiversity as well as its crucial fishing and tourism industries.
-
+3 +1
How long does it take for plastic to degrade: the Lego bricks study
Humans manufacture 300 million tons of plastic every year. 8 million tons are estimated to end up in oceans every year. If it all washed up on the coast at once, it’s enough to cover every coastline on the globe with a significant layer of trash. You can imagine it as a neverending stack of garbage about 50 cm tall, and 50 cm wide (that’s about 1.6 ft).
-
+2 +1
Deadly coral disease sweeping Caribbean linked to wastewater from ships
A virulent and fast-moving coral disease that has swept through the Caribbean could be linked to waste or ballast water from ships, according to research. The deadly infection, known as stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD), was first identified in Florida in 2014, and has since moved through the region, causing great concern among scientists.
-
+20 +1
6 Surreal Images of Newly Discovered Deep Sea Creatures
A whale shark, rare corals, and a transparent octopus are just some of the animals researchers found in the depths of the Pacific.
-
+10 +1
Consumers are demanding more sustainable seafood — and it’s working
American shoppers cruising down the seafood aisle — even those hundreds of miles away from a working coastline — are increasingly concerned about the health of the ocean. The decline of fish populations and ocean health is the sixth highest environmental concern worldwide, but Americans prioritize it even higher — ranking ocean health as their third highest environmental concern, according to 2020 survey conducted by independent research and strategy consultancy, Globescan.
-
+24 +1
Blunt force trauma a factor in half of Tassal's autopsied seal deaths, report shows
Tasmanian right-to-information documents have revealed the extent that salmon producers go to protect their harvest against seals, with the use of more than 75,000 seal crackers and almost 4,000 bean bag shots recorded over a three-year period by the industry.
-
+15 +1
Ending harmful fisheries subsidies would improve the health of our ocean. This is why.
More than one-third of all fish stocks are fished at unsustainable levels, degrading biodiversity, and devastating the future of fisheries and fishermen. Despite this, many governments around the world continue to spend taxpayer money to encourage overfishing, through fisheries subsidies that contribute to overcapacity and destructive fishing practices.
-
+21 +1
Fish have been swallowing microplastics since the 1950s
Researchers examined the guts of freshwater fish preserved in museum collections; they found that fish have been swallowing microplastics since the 1950s and that the concentration of microplastics in their guts has increased over time.
-
+28 +1
Officials, Voters, Show More Concern About Plastic Waste in Ocean After Kids’ Presentations
A new study from North Carolina State University found that, on average, voters and local leaders showed greater concern about plastic and other garbage in the ocean after watching kids’ presentations.
-
+3 +1
Bones Began as Mineral Batteries: Science
The purpose of bones might seem obvious. They hold you up, they connect all your muscles together. But lots of animals get along fine without them. Insects and other inverts don’t have them. Sharks use cartilage. Even most fish don’t have bones quite like ours. And no one’s really sure why our kind of bones came to be.
Submit a link
Start a discussion