Developers of an offshore Taranaki ironsands mining project say it could be greenlighted within the next three years, and require infrastructure costing between $500 million and $1 billion.
Such a large investment in what could prove to be New Zealand's largest single source of exports would lend itself to an initial public offering, Bill Bissett, the chairman of TransTasman Resources, the group investigating the ironsands opportunity, told BusinessDesk in an interview. [more...]
A sting on poachers at a Hawke's Bay marine reserve netted three men with nearly 100 paua between them.
The sting, at Te Angi Angi Marine Reserve at Blackhead Beach, 30km east of Waipukurau, was carried out by the Conservation Department, Fisheries Ministry and police.
It was triggered by information received about people taking seafood from the reserve at night. [more...]
The European Union has signed a regional fisheries management convention to set rules for fishing on the high seas from western Australia to South America.
The signing of the Convention on the Conservation and Management of High Seas Fishery Resources of the South Pacific Ocean took place in Wellington yesterday, with officials from the EU's Directorate General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries.
The South Pacific Regional Fisheries Management Organisation (SPRFMO) will underpin management of non-highly migratory fish species in the region, including deep sea fish stocks such as orange roughy, and pelagic species such as jack mackerel.[ more...]
Greenpeace volunteers covered themselves in ‘oil’ today to send a strong message to the Government to stop its plans for the drilling of new deep water oil wells off New Zealand’s coast.
The group braved the wintery conditions at Muriwai Beach, west of Auckland, to strip off and cover themselves in a cold and unsightly mixture of mainly molasses and water.
Other oil-covered bodies moved amongst onlookers, collecting signatures against the drilling plans. [more...]
The Maldives have become a symbol of the dangers of global warming, amid fears the low-lying nation could disappear as a result of rising sea levels. But one team of scientists believes the truth is more complicated. The Maldives coral islands, they postulate, may be growing with the rising waters.
For many scientists, there are only two types of material: living and dead. "It makes thinking nice and easy," says Paul Kench, a geologist with the University of Auckland in New Zealand. [more...]
The University of Otago is leading a major three-year scientific research project aiming to find vital information which could see rare southern right whales flourishing once again in New Zealand coastal waters.
An eleven-person team of Otago University, Department of Conservation, Otago Museum and Massey University scientists and staff will leave on Monday for the sub-Antarctic Auckland Islands - 460km South of New Zealand - aboard the University's Marine Science research vessel, Polaris II. They will be based at Port Ross on the Islands for three weeks, and plan to return on August 18. [more...]
While trying to protect the so-called "trees of the oceans," a team of Canadian and Spanish scientists have discovered new forms of marine life previously unknown to science, some of which are more than 1,000 years old and hold the secrets to ancient underwater ecosystems.[more...]
Imagine an ocean untouched by oil spills: a sea free of pollution, invasive species, dead zones, and over-exploitation; waters where marine animals exist in natural abundance and play ecological roles undimmed by mankind. Such a place may sound impossible in today's largely depleted oceans, but it exists: only discovered in 1841, the Ross Sea spreads over nearly a million kilometers adjacent to the Antarctic continent.
Here killer whales, penguins, sea birds, whales, and giant fish all thrive. However, even with its status as the world's 'last ocean', the Ross Sea has not escaped human impact. Over the last 15 years commercial fisheries have begun to catch one of its most important species in the ecosystem to serve them up on the dinner plates of the wealthy [ more...]
Kiwi people power forces the NZ federal government to withdraw its mining policy which would of allowed mining in some protected areas.
New Zealand's government has yielded to public pressure to scrap a proposal that would have allowed mining in some of the country's most pristine landscapes.
The ruling National Party had sought to open 7000 hectares of conservation land to minerals exploration, arguing New Zealand needed to pursue new avenues of economic growth, but backed down following fierce public opposition.
The government received more than 39,000 submissions on the proposal, the overwhelming majority of which opposed changes in the law that would have removed some of New Zealand's most beautiful landscapes from existing protection [more...]
Julie Packard Interview: The oil blowout that's fouled the Gulf of Mexico since April is many things: a human tragedy, an environmental disaster and a wake-up call.
But it's not the greatest crisis facing the oceans today. We'll be dealing with the gushing oil and its aftermath for years, but we can't be distracted from Ocean Enemy No. 1: the grave threat of accelerating global climate change caused by the carbon pollution that people produce.
What strikes me the most about the recent science coming out on this topic, is the degree to which we are modifying fundamental physical and biological processes by warming the oceans.
And the big surprise, at least to me, is how quickly this is all happening. We are actually witnessing these changes before we predict or model them. This isn't theoretical; this is a huge, real-world problem. Moreover, we, not just our children, will be paying the price if we don't get a handle on this problem very soon.
[more...]
David de Rothschild has been shocked by the changes in the ocean compared with those recorded on the voyage of the Kon-Tiki.
Eco-warrior David de Rothschild, crossing the Pacific aboard his yacht made out of plastic bottles, aims to highlight pollution of the planet's waters - but even he was shocked by what he found.
"After 100 days at sea," David de Rothschild says, "you realise that it should be called planet Ocean rather than planet Earth." [more...]
Australian scientists have discovered bizarre prehistoric sea life hundreds of kilometres below the Great Barrier Reef, in an unprecedented mission to document species under threat from ocean warming.
Ancient sharks, giant oil fish, swarms of crustaceans and a primitive shell-dwelling squid species called the Nautilus were among the astonishing life captured by remote controlled cameras at Osprey Reef. [more...]
For me, like many others, I was introduced to the magic of the world’s oceans by Jacques-Yves Cousteau. On the Calypso, which he leased for a symbolic price of one French franc from the unlikely benefactor Loel Guiness, a British politician and business man, he travelled the world’s oceans making the TV series “The Undersea World of Jacques-Yves Cousteau.”
He was a colourful and controversial character, but he undoubtedly raised the profile of the marine environment and marine science in particular. I remember watching him on TV, with his nasal French accent barely understandable, making discoveries and dicing with danger. Today those programmes seem contrived and clichéd – and were satirized cruelly in Wes Anderson’s “The Life Aquatic” - but they opened up a previously unimaginable world for me and millions of viewers around the world. [more...]
It had the biggest bite of any whale and were it not for the fact that it became extinct millions of years before the legendary Moby Dick, there is little doubt that it would have made Captain Ahab turn in his watery grave. [more...]
For the past 30 years, a Vero Beach, Fla., scientist has spent many spring and summer evenings recording the love songs of fish. And that research ultimately could help determine the impacts of the spreading BP oil spill on marine creatures in the Gulf.
"Spawning is the most important thing a fish can do," said Grant Gilmore, senior scientist at Estuarine Coastal and Ocean Science, a private research institution. "If you don't have spawning sites, you don't have fish." [more...]
Male O. ingens with erect penis and ejaculated spermatophores on table (penis is white tubular
structure in lower half of the picture)
The mating habits of deep-sea squid have been revealed for the first time, after the discovery of a male squid with a huge elongated and erect penis.
The male squid's sexual organ is almost as long as its whole body, including the squid's mantle, head and arms.
That shows how male deep-sea squid inseminate females; they use their huge penis to shoot out packages of sperm, injecting them into the female's body.
The discovery may also help explain how giant squid mate in the ocean depths.
[more...]
Under water grunts, chirps and pops recorded by an Auckland scientist have revealed a mysterious language used by New Zealand fish.
Audio recordings analysed for the first time in New Zealand to find out whether fish talk, will be played to an audience in Wellington today, presented by Auckland University researcher Shahriman Ghazali.
His study began two years ago, when he started listening to recordings taken by colleagues studying ambient noise in the Leigh marine reserve north of Auckland. They made an underwater microphone, with which Mr Ghazali decided to try to establish which sounds were being made by which fish.
[more...]
Hoki catch limits could be increased under proposals by the Fisheries Ministry, a move labelled "phenomenally risky" by a conservation group. Forest & Bird says consultation on whether to raise hoki catches for the second time in two years, after eight years of cuts will further damage New Zealand's reputation. However, the industry says the fishery's rebuilding is a success story backed up by scientific research showing a recovery in numbers.
[more...]
Scientists have just returned from a voyage with samples of rare animals and more than 10 possible new species in a trip which they say has revolutionized their thinking about deep-sea life in the Atlantic Ocean.
One group of creatures they observed - and captured - during their six weeks in the Atlantic aboard the RRS James Cook is believed to be close to the missing evolutionary link between backboned and invertebrate animals.
Using the latest technology they also saw species in abundance that until now had been considered rare.
Researchers were also surprised to discover such diversity in habitat and marine life in locations just a few miles apart.
Scientists were completing the last leg of MAR-ECO - an international research program, part of the Census of Marine Life, which is enhancing our understanding of the occurrence, distribution and ecology of animals along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between Iceland and the Azores. [more...]
Marine debris is a major problem for Australia's sea life, with plastic fragments regularly causing serious injuries to turtles and birds. Now Australian researchers are participating in an international conservation project to survey marine debris and determine exactly what impact it's having.Our reporter Li Dong has the details. [more...]
The Government is encouraging oil exploration in New Zealand waters. But do we have enough safeguards in place to prevent a catastrophic spill? Not yet, says WWF-New Zealand Marine Advocate Bob Zuur.
Earlier this month, Energy Minister Gerry Brownlee awarded one of the world’s biggest companies, Petrobras, with a permit to explore for petroleum in the Raukumara Basin off East Cape. [more...]
Paul -- an octopus at the Sea Life public aquarium in Oberhausen, western Germany -- has so far correctly predicted the outcome of each of Germany's World Cup matches. On Tuesday, Paul contemplates Wednesday's match between Germany and Ghana. [larger view]
The World Cup and all the fanfare that surrounds it is truly amazing to experience. But perhaps strangest thing of all is that several zoos and aquariums in Germany have been asking some of their animals to predict the winners to the German World Cup matches. One of them, Paul, has distinguished himself by correctly predicting the outcome for all of Germany's matches so far. [more...]
Independent conservation organisation Forest & Bird is calling New Zealand's government to take greater steps to protect the country's sea lions after the recent announcement that sea lions are in danger of becoming extinct there. New Zealand sea lions now have the Department of Conservation's highest endangered ranking - ‘nationally critical'.
‘They are now in the same category as kakapo and Maui's dolphins,' Forest & Bird Conservation Advocate Nicola Vallance says.[more...]
Te Ohu Kaimoana is the pre-eminent body representing Maori – the indigenous people of Aotearoa / New Zealand – in relation to the marine environment and has attended the last four IWC annual meetings. Maori support the rights of other indigenous and coastal peoples in maintaining their traditional practices in relation to whales and whaling, support sustainability through effective fisheries management regimes, and seek a pragmatic approach to resolving whaling differences. [more...]
The fur trade wiped out the sea otter populations worldwide. Now scientists have figured out an innovative way to get insights into sea otter reproduction- using their poop as pregnancy test. [more...]
Dr Kay Vopel, senior lecturer at AUT University, discusses how atmosphere is impacting our oceans. "We are about to fundamentally change the chemistry of our ocean. The greatest risk to our marine environment is the accelerating enrichment of seawater with anthropogenic CO2. This CO2 pollution results from our ignorance of the fundamental processes that link the marine environment with the atmosphere and the land. The overall human CO2 emissions over the industrial era amount to close to 560 billion tons.[more...]
MAF Biosecurity New Zealand’s (MAFBNZ) programme to rid New Zealand waters of the introduced marine pest the Mediterranean fanworm (Sabella spallanzanii) has been called off, with new information showing the pest is too widespread to eradicate. Fanworm pest elimination programme to close.
MAF Biosecurity New Zealand’s (MAFBNZ) programme to rid New Zealand waters of the introduced marine pest the Mediterranean fanworm (Sabella spallanzanii) has been called off, with new information showing the pest is too widespread to eradicate. [more...]
An oil spill off the Egyptian Red Sea coast of Hurghada threatening to damage marine life in the area has prompted environmental agencies to demand tighter regulation of offshore oil platforms.
Large quantities of oil have appeared in recent days around the resorts of Hurghada which draw millions of tourists who come to dive or snorkle, according to the Hurghada Environmental Protection and Conservation Agency. [more...]
New Zealand sea lions now have the Department of Conservation's highest endangered ranking of "nationally critical".
With fewer than 10,000 of the creatures left in the world Forest and Bird are calling for the government to take greater steps to protect the mammal.
"It's puts our New Zealand sea lions now at the same level as the Kakapo or the Maui Dolphin, so it's the final step before extinction," says spokesperson Nicola Vallance. [more...]
A new device for harnessing wave energy is promising renewable electricity at a cost to rival fossil fuel sources.
The inventors of the Searaser, an ocean-based pump that drives an onshore hydro-electric turbine, claim it can generate electricity at a rate of 1.5p per kWh – less than a quarter of the cost of other renewable sources and even lower than coal, gas or nuclear.
Dartmouth Wave Energy, the firm behind the device, says the device is so simple to construct and maintain that it will only cost around £200,000 per unit, with a total capital cost of £1.2m per MW.[more...]
Rutgers' Oscar Schofield and five colleagues from other institutions have published in Science, calling for expanded ocean-observing in the Antarctic, particularly in the Western Antarctic Peninsula, or WAP. This mountainous arm of the continent stretches north toward South America.
In their review paper, the co-authors, who have done research in the Antarctic, often together, argue that research in this region is imperative because the WAP's climate is changing faster than the climate in the rest of the continent and that the Antarctic climate is changing faster than anywhere else on the planet. [more...]
Off the coast of South Africa, massive one-ton great white sharks blast from the water at 25 mph, with almost no warning, to pull a sneak attack on the seals that congregate there. Ten years ago, Discovery Channel premiered AIR JAWS which explored this phenomenon. It was an instant hit that still remains the fifth most-watched SHARK WEEK special of all time. But that was before HD. Now, producer Jeff Kurr goes back to the scene to investigate the aerial attacks armed with state-of-the-art equipment in the one-hour special ULTIMATE AIR JAWS, kicking off cable's longest-running event –SHARK WEEK 2010 [more...]
If you're a fan of octopus and squid, you'll love this animated short, Oktapodi. If you're not already a fan, you will be!
Here's a great blog from Tannaz, who works at Dreamworks Animation, with background on animators Emud Mokhberi and Thierry Marchand, and how Oktapodi came to be. It was nominated for, but didn't win, an Academy Award in 2008. Enjoy! [more...]
The news from the Gulf of Mexico remains grim. It’s a sobering reminder of just how precious the ocean is to all of us –- and how vulnerable it can be.Though there are some signs of progress, I’m very concerned about the fate of ocean wildlife, and of the coastal communities that ring the Gulf. Beyond the depressing images we see daily of oiled birds and other animals, a larger question looms: What will the long-term effects be on the health of the Gulf? [more...]
The widow of underwater explorer Jacques Cousteau wants the French Government to mark the centenary of his birth by helping to refloat his celebrated ship, the Calypso.
The former British minesweeper, now rusting in Brittany after a series of maritime, political and legal mishaps, was the platform for the long-running television series, The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau, which started in 1966. [more...]
GULF SHORES - Dolphins and sharks are showing up in surprisingly shallow water just off the Florida coast.
Mullets, crabs, rays and small fish congregate by the thousands off an Alabama pier. Birds covered in oil are crawling deep into marshes, never to be seen again. [more...]
ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Thousands of people drive south from Anchorage to see mountains, eagles and glaciers on the Kenai Peninsula. Most blow by a vista where they could be seeing aerial acrobats.
They’re fresh in from Antarctica, southern Africa, southern Australia or New Zealand, an 11,000-mile trip, or if they take a meandering route as suggested by recent research out of Greenland terns flying over the Atlantic, nearly double that distance. [more...]
Individual snapper fish tagged in a no-fishing area of the ocean tended to live within a smaller home range than snappers tagged outside the reserve, some of which traveled relatively long distances, according to a new article in Biological Conservation.
The findings suggest that some animals may behave differently in marine protected areas than they do outside, which could affect how much their populations recover after establishment of no-take areas of the ocean.[more...]
WWF is calling for the Government to place marine protection at the heart of new laws governing the management of New Zealand's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), announced today by Environment Minister Nick Smith at the Environmental Defense Society conference. The Minister stated the review of legislation was important as part of the process to open up the EEZ for further development. "We welcome the Minister's decision to strengthen EEZ legislation, however, marine protection has to be an integral part of it, not an add on," said Chris Howe, WWF-New Zealand Executive Director. [more...]
An iconic celebrity of the central Oregon coast is ready to writhe and wiggle his way onto a computer screen near you.
Oregon State University's Hatfield Marine Science Center this week unveiled its new OctoCam, streaming live video of the visitor center's resident giant Pacific octopus to the world. Employing two Webcams – one outside and slightly above the tank and one inside the tank – viewers are treated to a live 24-hour show featuring the resident cephalopod interacting with tank mates and curious on-lookers. [more...]
Aquariums around the Gulf of Mexico are gearing up to help rehabilitate wildlife affected by the oil spill this month. Unfortunately this may come too late as studies suggest that some wildlife including fish may be affected for generations to come.
Over 50 organisations including the National Aquarium in Baltimore, Clearwater Aquarium, Audubon Aquatic Center and Minnesota Zoo have pledged their time and resources to help rehabilitate affected wildlife such as turtles, manatees and seabirds as well as assisting in the clean up. In total 32 national wildlife refuges are under threat encompassing five states Alabama, Louisiana, Florida, Mississippi and Texas [more...]
Changes made to New Zealand's Wildlife Act have increased protection provisions for 12 previously unprotected species of invertebrate and a number of marine species, while reducing the protection of a number of introduced species. Of particular note is the changed status for katipo spiders, giant weta and whale sharks, which will all be totally protected when the changes take effect on 8 July 2010.
Increased Protection for Native Species
"All native species are special and have evolved key functions in our unique biodiversity, whether they are weevils, weta or beetles they deserve an appropriate level of protection," Minister of Conservation Kate Wilkinson said in making the announcement. "Giant groper, whale sharks and manta ray are all highly valued, particularly by divers, in New Zealand. The upgrade in their protection status, and that of corals, recognises how unique they are in our waters." [more...]
It’s strange to be celebrating World Oceans Day in the midst of the biggest environmental catastrophe for our oceans in American history. Like the big spills in Santa Barbara and Prince William Sound, what’s happening in the Gulf is both a human tragedy and an ecological nightmare. And, of course, it’s only just begun.
The images of oiled birds and soiled shorelines are shocking, but we know from experience that we’ll only clean up a tiny fraction of what’s been released. The lingering effects of toxins in the water and the food web will last for decades, as they have in the sea otters and on the rocky shores of Prince William Sound. The chronic effects from long-term exposure to oil will affect the next generation of ocean life by altering its reproductive function and lifespan. [more...]
Much has been learned in the past several years by those jurisdictions that have taken action to implement MPA networks, fulfill their CBD commitments, and slow the loss of biodiversity. Representatives from four such jurisdictions - New Zealand, Australia, Germany, and California -shared lessons learned in their respective initiatives.
The presenters focused their contributions on ecological design criteria, but inevitably conveyed much contextual information about the factors affecting the success of the planning process. Each presenter also participated in small-group discussions about the relevance of each case study to the Canadian situation. [more...]
On 11th June, tenders close for the Mortgagee Sale of a stunning block of undeveloped coastal land at Baring Head, right at the eastern entrance to Wellington Harbour.
Together with Forest and Bird, the East Harbour Environmental Association, and other environmental and recreational organisations, Wellington Natural Heritage Trust Incorporated is hoping that Greater Wellington Regional Councillors and Hutt City Councillors will this week decide to join forces with DOC to secure permanent protection of this panoramic site as an addition to the East Harbour Regional Park. [more...]
Department of Conservation scientists and former whalers on their annual watch for whales in Cook Strait this winter will themselves come under the gaze of thousands of schoolchildren.
The Cook Strait Whale Survey will this month feature as a virtual field trip on the LEARNZ Internet-based educational programme. More than 3000 students from around the country are so far enrolled to watch the Wandering Whales virtual field trip running from 23 to 25 June on www.learnz.org.nz . They will learn about humpback whales, whale conservation and New Zealand's whaling past. [more...]
New Zealand could have up to 50,000 marine species waiting to be discovered, say scientists who have spent 10 years exploring the marine life in our waters.
National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research scientists have counted 17,000 different species in the Ross Sea and New Zealand's exclusive economic zone, which extends to 320 kilometres beyond the coastline.
Principal scientist Dennis Gordon said most of those species found in the Ross Sea were found no further north than 60 degrees, and many of the others were endemic to New Zealand. [more...]
When John Chibnall was about 13 he went fishing with a friend's father - his own dad was away fighting in World War II - and landed a yellow-tail kingfish.
That catch, off Coromandel's Slipper Island, sparked a lifelong interest in fishing. You could argue it also led to Mr Chibnall being made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit in today's Queen's Birthday Honours List. [more...]
On World Oceans Day tomorrow (June 8) New Zealand’s leading independent conservation groups are meeting to work on the current unprecedented threats to our marine environment and natural resources.
The groups include Forest & Bird, Greenpeace, World Wildlife Fund and ECO (Environment and Conservation Organisations of Aotearoa).
They are concerned about a series of alarming new proposals that threaten to drastically undermine our international reputation and could cause considerable damage to our ocean environments, our natural public resources and our threatened wildlife. [more...]
Of the World's seventeen penguin species Eudyptula minor, the Fairy Penguin, is the most diminutive. Breeding as far north as Port Stephens in Australia it is found only in Australia with sub species in New Zealand. Although penguins are usually associated with ice and the frozen poles, this penguin lives happily on warm, sandy beaches and the balmy Indian Ocean. Despite their popularity as a tourist attraction, knowledge about their population and biology is still lacking and accurate population estimates are uncertain. [more...]
Economics as much as conservation is forcing an upturn in ravaged world fish stocks, and some scientists, once pessimistic, are taking hope again
WHEN oil prices nudged $US150 a barrel in mid-2008, the world's marine life gained long overdue respite as high-seas fishing fleets returned to their ports. The record oil price made long-range fishing uneconomic, with the prices needed to make a profit well beyond what could have been charged at local fish markets.
Restaurants and consumers also played a role, with many refusing to sell or consume increasingly rare types of tuna, such as southern bluefin and bigeye, for reasons of conservation and cost. Restaurants are substituting expensive tuna with more plentiful fish such as salmon and kingfish. [more...]
WWF calls for marine protection at heart of new EEZ laws, and moratorium on oil and gas exploration
WWF is calling for the Government to place marine protection at the heart of new laws governing the management of New Zealand's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), announced today by Environment Minister Nick Smith at the Environmental Defense Society conference. The Minister stated the review of legislation was important as part of the process to open up the EEZ for further development.
"We welcome the Minister's decision to strengthen EEZ legislation, however, marine protection has to be an integral part of it, not an add on," said Chris Howe, WWF-New Zealand Executive Director. [more...]
The Government is looking to beef up its protection of New Zealand's exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in the wake of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.
Environment Minister Nick Smith announced a new Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today and said one of its functions would be to provide "world-best" protection for the EEZ, which takes in 4 million square km of sea surrounding New Zealand. [more...]
Wellington, New Zealand: A petition signed by 53,000 New Zealanders, called on the NZ Government to protect the future of the world's whales. (Photo courtesy of Greenpeace New Zealand.)
New Zealand’s National-led Government has been given a stern message via a petition not to back a commercial whaling compromise at the International Whaling Commission (IWC) meetings this month.
A flotilla of non government organisations, including Greenpeace and Project Jonah, delivered a petition signed by 53,000 New Zealanders objecting to their government’s apparent softening policy on whaling. [ more...]
Guest Post by Dr. Greg Stone, Senior Vice President for Marine Conservation and Chief Ocean Scientist, Conservation International
Twenty years ago when I had the opportunity to dive to 18,000 feet in the Japanese research submersible, Shinkai 6500 in the Sea of Japan I fantasized about the amazing animals our team might see deep on the ocean floor: rat-tails, deep sea sharks, and octopi. But when we reached the sea bottom, it was littered with trash that included food bags, soda cans, empty boxes, and even a broken toy doll. I shudder to imagine what that same sea bottom looks like today. But, despite the problems the ocean faces thanks to humans, there is a prescription to cure it. [more...]
Victoria University research has found that a small sea snail may be causing significant damage to coral reefs in the Pacific, even more so than climate change or coral bleaching.
Dr Jeff Shima, a Senior Lecturer in Marine Ecology and Director of Victoria’s Coastal Ecology Laboratory, has studied the worm snail Dendropoma maximum in the field at Moorea, French Polynesia.
"Our research looks at the effects of this often overlooked ‘zoological oddity’. It’s incredible that such a small snail can have such a significant impact.
"The adverse effects of this largely unstudied snail on coral reefs rival and exceed those of coral bleaching, climate change and human impacts. This small snail may be having a catastrophic impact." [more...]
THE Rudd government's decision to take legal action against Japanese whaling is a risky strategy because success is far from assured and failure will bring down other efforts to stem the slaughter.
These risks explain why the New Zealand government has pursued a diplomatic solution, despite the bleak prospects of success on that front. Wellington has said its legal advice indicates "success is far from certain".
The consequences of losing at the International Court of Justice would be horrendous. It would give a green light to Japanese whaling fleets. [more...]
Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd to honour election pledge to try to stop Japan's annual cull of 1,000 whales. Japan's whaling programme faces a potentially decisive legal challenge next week, after Australia said today it would turn to the international court of justice to end Tokyo's annual whale culls in the Southern Ocean [more...]
The world’s largest container shipping company, Maersk, refuses to ship a number of at-risk marine species including several caught by New Zealand fisheries, reports Greenpeace. The world’s largest container shipping company, Maersk, refuses to ship a number of at-risk marine species including several caught by New Zealand fisheries, reports Greenpeace. [more...]
Bournemouth's long-awaited £3m artificial surf reef may have recently been rated as "sub-standard" in its ability to create the waves surfers had hoped for, but has it already started showing other benefits?
A number of fishermen in and around Boscombe believe the underwater construction is attracting more fish and marine life, while erosion experts say the structure will help protect the beach in years to come. [more...]
In one of the first studies of its kind, the migratory journey of 10 endangered hawksbill turtles, to be released in Singapore in late August, will be tracked.
The turtle travels back to its place of birth to lay its eggs. But there is a twist to this tale: The turtles, which arrived here last week, were hatched in Japan from eggs laid by turtles that Underwater World Singapore (UWS) gave to the Port of Nagoya Public Aquarium (PNPA) in 1997 and 2002.
[more...]
Spending on research into the sustainability of New Zealand’s deepwater fisheries is to increase by almost 50 per cent over the next 10 years.
The Ministry of Fisheries, in partnership with industry, has developed a comprehensive long term research programme into the deepwater fisheries which are part of an industry worth $1.4 billion in exports to the New Zealand economy.
To support this programme, Government and industry have committed an additional $5 million each year for 10 years over and above the existing $12m spent each year on deepwater fisheries research.
[more...]
These fish, pardon the pun, need a hand. There are 14 species of fish with hand-like fins. And nine are in danger of extinction. Don't you hate it when you discover something amazing, only to find out that it's almost gone? Even though Endangered Species Day was just a few days ago, it's always amazing to learn of new species that are endangered. [more...]
Scientists have speculated that as many as 10 million species may inhabit the deep sea — biodiversity comparable to the world's richest tropical rainforests. Because deep-sea species live in rarely disturbed environments and tend to be slow growing, late maturing and endemic, they are exceptionally vulnerable to extinction. Deep-sea coral and sponge communities are largely untapped sources of natural products with enormous potential as pharmaceuticals, enzymes, pesticides, cosmetics, and other commercial products.more...]
Sea serpents are surfacing all over the world. Though seafarers’ legends vary in their descriptions of mysterious sea creatures, it’s long been believed that the oarfish is one of them; also know as the ribbonfish or the king of herrings, it’s the ocean’s longest bony fish, running up to 15 m in length and sporting a red dorsal fin the length of its body. They are a deep-sea fish, usually only seen by humans when they wash up dead on shore, which is what happened last week in Sweden—the first time an oarfish, which prefers more temperate waters, has been seen in Sweden in 130 years.[more...]
What is known about life in the ocean? Even though it's the biggest habitat on the planet, most of the ocean remains unexplored biologically. So what do we know? And how does New Zealand's biodiversity compare with the rest of the world?
"We are still in the discovery phase for life in the ocean and that's especially true for New Zealand. Even as recently as 2003 a new species of whale, two metres long, was discovered by the Japanese. In New Zealand, we are discovering new marine species faster than we have the capacity to name and classify them," says NIWA principal scientist Dr Dennis Gordon.[more...]
The upper layer of Earth's ocean has warmed since 1993, indicating a strong climate change signal, according to a new international study co-authored by oceanographer Josh Willis of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. The energy stored is enough to power nearly 500 100-watt light bulbs for each of the roughly 6.7 billion people on the planet.
'We are seeing the global ocean store more heat than it gives off,' said John Lyman, an oceanographer at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Joint Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Research, who led the study that analysed nine different estimates of heat content in the upper ocean from 1993 to 2008. [more...]
Richard Lutz, a marine biologist at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey, and his colleagues were 2,500 metres beneath the ocean's surface when they encountered the 'blizzard'. It was April 1991, and an underwater ridge, 900 kilometres off the coast of Acapulco, Mexico, was splitting open, introducing 1,200 °C molten rock to 2 °C water. The results were apocalyptic. [more...]
Improving the limitations of current scuba diving system, designer Adam Wendel has come up with a futuristic device named the “Immersed Senses” that changes the way the diver sees, hears, and breathes underwater, allowing them to become a part of their surrounding environment. Immersed Senses is the future of underwater diving and exploration. Featuring a LED flashlight to let the diver to observe the dark depths of the ocean, the mask also includes a large OLED glass display to offer a panoramic view of the surroundings. The OLED enclosed helmet also allows the extracted oxygen to flow freely throughout the helmet, as if you are breathing on land without any breathing apparatus. [more...]
The distinctive nature of New Zealand's marine biodiversity has led to its identication by WWF as one of 238 ecoregions (collectively known as the Global 200) that are global priorities for conservation action. An ecoregion is a large area of land or water that contains a geographically distinct assemblage of natural communities that share a large majority of their species, ecological dynamics, and environmental conditions. Planning at the large scale of the ecoregion is consistent with an ecosystem-based approach to management. The ecoregion approach promotes conservation efforts in accordance with ecological processes and systems rather than along administrative boundaries, thereby creating new conservation opportunities [more...]
Some chefs can name over-fished species off the top of their heads, while others are still featuring them on menu specials. That’s because best practices for seafood consumption are not yet globally understood; there is a disconnect of knowledge among chefs—typified by the Rick Moonens versus the Chilean Sea Bass dinner specials of the cooking world—about the use and abuse of conventional (read: outdated) fishing practices.
But there’s one fact that even the most eco-apathetic chef can’t deny: all salmon are not created equal. From species to species, and from net to net, salmon—ubiquitous menu item, eaten raw, seared, poached, flaked, cured, smoked, and even moussed—is an incredibly variable creature, both highly sensitive and highly influential to its surrounding environment. And tucked into the morass of salmon supply and demand is New Zealand King Salmon, a roughly 30-year old company that puts out a mere 1% of the world’s salmon market with practices that approach viable, long term sustainability. [more...]
BP reported further progress Tuesday in stemming a gushing Gulf of Mexico oil spill as concerns grew for Florida's sensitive coral reefs and political fallout from the disaster spread.
The British energy giant, which has been struggling to contain the disaster, said a tube inserted into a leaking oil pipe is now sucking up about 40 percent of the crude, about twice as much as it did one day earlier.
The company said its "riser insertion tube tool" is estimated to be carrying about 2,000 barrels a day of oil up to the Discoverer Enterprise drill ship on the surface via a mile-long pipe.
BP reckons about 5,000 barrels is spewing each day from the wreckage of the Deepwater Horizon rig, although analysis from several independent experts has suggested the flow rate could be many times that. [more...]
Tourists and professional whale watchers on New Zealand whale watching safaris have been treated to some recent rare sightings as the winter whale season swings into action.
Department of Conservation (DOC) scientist and National Marine Mammal Coordinator Dr Laura Boren says that the number of whale sightings in New Zealand has remained consistent for the past five years - but this year, there have been unusual sightings of rare species.
"We are now entering the beginning of the winter migratory season. Recently, we have been lucky enough to have had two particularly unusual sightings of rare species in our waters."
Manny Ezcurra, the Monterey Bay Aquarium's associate curator of sharks and rays, spends countless hours studying and caring for sharks so that Aquarium visitors and supporters are inspired to champion their conservation. Here, Manny tells us why we must love sharks.
As someone who works closely with sharks, I can answer that question. Sharks help balance ocean ecosystems, which we depend upon for our food and our livelihoods. Simply put, sharks help keep the oceans healthy, and that's critical for a healthy and prosperous planet.[more...]
A 10-million-year-old nursery for the extinct megalodon shark has just been found in Panama, according to University of Florida researchers who report their findings in the latest issue of the journal PLoS ONE.
Megalodon, aka "Big Tooth," is thought to have been the world's largest fish and shark. It grew to around 67 feet in length and looked like a heftier great white shark.[more...]
Scientists have a better understanding of what lies beneath the waters of Wellington’s Taputeranga Marine Reserve after undertaking an underwater survey during summer.
Department of Conservation divers collaborated with Victoria University’s Centre for Marine and Environmental and Economic Research (CMEER) scientists to sample the biological diversity of the reserve, established in 2008.[more...]
The huge eye of the world's largest squid has been revealed by scientists dissecting a rare, intact half-tonne specimen in New Zealand.
About 27cm (11in) across, researchers believe the colossal squid's eye is the biggest animal eye ever found. The 10m-long (34ft) specimen has also turned out to be female, surprising the scientific team.
Very little is known about colossal squid; only about 10 have ever been caught and brought to shore. [more...]
University of Otago scientists are shedding new light on how creatures living around undersea hydrothermal vents can thrive in an environment swirling with dangerously hot and toxic fluids.
Department of Marine Science researchers Dr Amanda Bates and Dr Miles Lamare, along with researchers from the University of Victoria and Washington State University, have shown for the first time that vent animals such as scale worms, snails and limpets actually prefer temperatures far cooler than the upper limits they have evolved to withstand.
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The Government needs urgently to fill gaps in maritime law so it has environmental measures in place to control oil exploration and mining on the continental shelf the Environment and Conservation Organisations (ECO) said today.New Zealand must fill ocean law gaps – Brownlee wrong that oceans protection adequate
The Government needs urgently to fill gaps in maritime law so it has environmental measures in place to control oil exploration and mining on the continental shelf the Environment and Conservation Organisations (ECO) said today. [more...]
Last spring I spent a few weeks exploring New Zealand’s South Island with local friends. I was dazzled by a land of clear, intensely blue waters. I was astounded that on mountain hikes in their Alps, I could even drink water freely and safely. At one stop at the high alpine Lake Rotoiti, I became curious about the graceful, velvety, blue-eyed eels that met my gaze from a pier over the water. [more...]
As the broken Deepwater Horizon rig spews thousands of barrels of oil a day into the Gulf of Mexico while relief workers on boats deploy as much as 142 miles of containment booms, BP is attempting daring underwater engineering feats to stem the flow of oil one mile below the surface.
On the floor of the Gulf of Mexico, the pressure is about 2,500 pounds per square inch, so any equipment used in the containment operation must be strong. Robotic remotely operated vehicles controlled by pilots on boats at the surface are carrying out the work rather than divers. And while the methods to contain the flow of oil have been used successfully elsewhere, they've never been tried in 5,000 feet of water.[more...]
Scientists from New Zealand’s Department of Conservation and the National Institute of Water & Atmospheric Research say they have may have found more than 20 new invertebrates and six new species of algae during recent surveys in partially protected waters known as a “China Shop” (so-called because of its fragility) off Fiordland located at the south-western tip of New Zealand’s South Island. “Fiordland is still relatively untouched,” reports project leader Dr Trevor Willis of NIWA. [more...]
Despair and resignation reigned among fishermen and other seafaring residents of the southern Louisiana shoreline yesterday as the vast Gulf of Mexico oil slick began to slide silently into fragile marshlands and ecologically precious inlets fed by a deep-water leak that no one seems able to plug.
"They can't turn it off, they don't know how to," lamented Captain Sean Lanier, who makes his livelihood taking tourists fishing for redfish and speckled trout through the grassy waterways and inlets at the mouth of Mississippi here. "What we need now is a James Bond to go down there and close that thing down."
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A sense of doom settled over the American coastline from Louisiana to Florida on Saturday as a massive oil slick spewing from a ruptured well kept growing, and experts warned that an uncontrolled gusher could create a nightmare scenario if the Gulf Stream carries it toward the Atlantic.
President Obama planned to visit the region Sunday to assess the situation amid growing criticism that the government and oil company BP PLC should have done more to stave off the disaster. Meanwhile, efforts to stem the flow and remove oil from the surface by skimming it, burning it or spiking it with chemicals to disperse it continued with little success.
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Yesterday a friend sent me a link to a clip about Bottle-nosed dolphins. It shows their very clever way of herding fish by creating mud circles, then catching the fish as they jump free. It reminded me of a remarkable image I captured of some Dusky Dolphins behaving in a rather similar way. Here is the shot:[more...]
An estimated 40,000 marchers joined one of the biggest protests in Auckland for decades today, to give the government a firm message to stay away from mining on conservation land.
Marchers left the bottom of Queen St about 11am and by the time the first of them arrived at Myers Park, just below Karangahape Rd, they were still leaving the bottom of Queen St.
Anyone who follows me on twitter has probably noticed a lot of tweets about a shark fin bill that was being reviewed in Hawaii. I am glad to inform you that this historic bill has just passed the legislature. It's but a signature by Governor Lingle away from being enacted into law!
Of the 307 shark species assessed by the IUCN, 64 are listed as vulnerable, endangered or critically endangered due to shark finning. As a group, sharks represent the greatest percentage of threatened marine species on the Red List. Despite the overwhelming evidence that these majestic predators are in trouble, only the white, whale and basking sharks are protected internationally under CITES. It was a low day for sharks when the recent CITES Conference of the Parties rejected proposals to protect eight more shark species. But now, Hawaii is standing up for sharks, and in a big way.
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Disappearing coral reefs are among a host of ecological markers that showcase how promises to protect the planet’s biodiversity are not being met, according to a new study this week in the journal Science.
Marine scientist John Bruno, Ph.D., from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, is part of a team of international researchers who contributed to the paper, which represents the first global assessment of targets made by world leaders through the 2002 Convention on Biological Diversity (note: see below for the embargoed news release from the study’s lead author).
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Nicknamed the "devil fish," the giant Pacific octopus has a place in sea-faring lore alongside whirlpools and white whales. National Geographic went searching for this enigma of the deep, a giant who lurks in the shadows of the sea that has been known to grow up to 30-feet wide.
The Japanese town of Taiji received unwelcome attention when The Cove, a film following its annual dolphin hunt, won an Oscar. Sayuri (not her real name), who worked as a dolphin trainer in Taiji in the 1990s, gives her reaction to the film.
"When I saw the film I was deeply shocked. What the movie shows is very similar to my own experience of working as a dolphin trainer in Taiji. Only it went further and showed things that even I hadn't seen." [more...]
In a report published today in the journal Genome Research, scientists report finding strong genetic evidence supporting the theory there are several species of killer whales (Orcinus orca, also known as orcas) throughout the world's oceans.
Scientists have suspected for some time that there was more than one species of killer whales because of differences in behavior, feeding preferences and subtle physical features. But until now DNA analysis has been inconclusive because of the inability to map the entire genetic picture, or genome, of the whales' mitochondria, an organelle within the cell inherited from the mother. [more...]
In a paper published today in Nature Geoscience, the researchers described the current –more than three kilometers below the Ocean's surface – as an important pathway in a global network of ocean currents that influence climate patterns.
"The current carries dense, oxygen-rich water that sinks near Antarctica to the deep ocean basins further north," says co-author Dr Steve Rintoul from the Antarctic Climate and Ecosystems CRC and CSIRO's Wealth from Oceans Flagship. [more...]
The important role whale poo plays in the productivity of the Southern Ocean has been revealed in a new study.
Scientists from the Australian Antarctic Division and the Antarctic Climate and Ecosystems Cooperative Research Centre (ACE CRC) are looking at how krill and whales contribute to the recycling of iron in the Southern Ocean.
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A new, warmer Arctic cannot continue to operate under rules that assume it is ice-covered and essentially closed to fishing, resource exploration and development and shipping, WWF said today as it launched a group of reports on protecting a newly accessible, highly vulnerable environment with profound significance for global climate, the global economy and global security.
The International Governance and Regulation of the Marine Arctic reports were launched as Russian president Medvedev visits Norwegian capital Oslo for talks which include arctic issues and just before the Arctic Council meets in Greenland.
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