Hawaii Is Not an Evolutionary Dead End for Marine Life, Snail Study Finds

ScienceDaily, July 2, 2011

The question of why there are so many species in the sea and how new species form remains a central question in marine biology. Below the waterline, about 30% of Hawai'i's marine species are endemic -- being found only in Hawai'i and nowhere else on Earth -- one of the highest rates of endemism found worldwide. But where did this diversity of species come from?

Plastic Found in Nine Percent of 'Garbage Patch' Fishes: Tens of Thousands of Tons of Debris Annually Ingested

ScienceDaily, July 1, 2011

The first scientific results from an ambitious voyage led by a group of graduate students from Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego offer a stark view of human pollution and its infiltration of an area of the ocean that has been labeled as the "Great Pacific Garbage Patch."

Tracking Top Marine Predators in Dynamic Ocean

wood stanford, 22 June 2011

Like the vast African plains, two huge expanses of the North Pacific Ocean are major corridors of life, attracting an array of marine predators in predictable seasonal patterns, according to final results from the Census of Marine Life Tagging of Pacific Predators (TOPP) project published in the June 23 edition of the journal Nature.

NOAA Sets Fishing Quotas For Bluefin Tuna

The FishSite, 01 July 2011

NOAA has announced quotas and other measures for bluefin tuna that underscore the nation’s commitment to sustainable science-based management of this vital fish stock. The allocations divide the available 2011 US bluefin tuna quota of 957 metric tons among commercial and recreational fishing sectors for the fishing season that began on June 1.

Challenges And Opportunities For Commonwealth Fisheries

Predicted climate change impacts on the Australian marine environment include increases to sea surface temperature (especially in the waters off south-eastern Australia); rises in sea level; altered ocean current, wind and rain patterns; increases in ocean acidification; and increases in the frequency and intensity of tropical cyclones and storm events.

New Bluefin Tuna Management Zones Implemented

TheFishSite, 2 June 2011

The Australian Fisheries Management Authority (AFMA) has announced that Southern Bluefin Tuna management arrangements were put into place on 21 May 2011 after catches of Southern Bluefin Tuna were recorded off the east coast of New South Wales.

SAMOA - Climate Change May Half Pacific Islands' Coastal Fish Catches

Samoa News, 5 March 2011

Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC), Noumea, New Caledonia, Friday 4 March 2011 - Heads of Pacific Islands' fisheries agencies heard yesterday that climate change is predicted to cause big declines in coastal fisheries resources in the region, with potential production cut by as much as 50% by 2100.

The Gulf Oil Spill's Toxic Legacy

theage.com, 26 February 2011

SMALL trucks noisily patrol the beach behind Steve Fourrier's home in Grand Isle, Louisiana. From his deck he watches them dump sand into screening machines. Crews follow close by, dragging rakes along the beach.

Chile-Significant Decline in Fish Landings During 2010

fis.com, 21 February 2011

Accumulated landings of fishery and aquaculture products upto December 2010 totaled 3.7 million tonnes, ie 21.5 per cent less than in the 12 months of 2009, when 4.5 million tonnes were landed.  According to the latest Report on the Fisheries and Aquaculture Sector by the Subsecretariat of Fisheries (Subpesca),

EU Must Prioritize Mediterranean Fisheries: WWF

fis.com, 21 February 2011

The EU Commissioner for Fisheries and Maritime Affairs, Maria Damanaki, was urged by World Wildlife Fund (WWF) fisheries experts to put the sustainability of Mediterranean fisheries and recovery of fish stocks in the region at the heart of a reformed European fisheries policy, due for completion in 2012.

Science Shows Planned Area Closure off Georgia and North Florida NotNecessary

NOAA, 17 February 2011

Updated scientific data on red snapper populations in the South Atlantic show that the planned area closure for all snapper and grouper species off southern Georgia and northern Florida is no longer needed.

Environment Lobbyists Hopeful of WTO Fish Deal

Reuters, Feb 17, 2011

Environmental activists are hopeful that negotiations at the World Trade Organization to curb fisheries subsidies, especially those on fuel, can produce a deal that will help end overfishing.

Subantarctic Islands To Become Marine Reserves

TheFishSite, 18 February 2011

NEW ZEALAND - Three huge marine reserves totalling 435,163ha are to be established in the Subantarctic Islands, Minister of Conservation Kate Wilkinson and Fisheries Minister Phil Heatley announced this week.

Sea Shepherd May Have Brought Japanese Whaling To A Halt

fis.com, 18 February 2011

The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society (SSCS) has successfully interfered with and caused the halt of Japan’s whaling operations in the Antarctic Ocean, a Fisheries Agency (JFA) official said this week.

Arctic Climate Variation Under Ancient Greenhouse Conditions

ScienceDaily, Feb. 14, 2011

Tiny organisms preserved in marine sediments hold clues about Arctic climate variation during an ancient episode of greenhouse warming. Based on reconstructions of Arctic climate variability in the greenhouse world of the Late Cretaceous,

New Way to Estimate Global Rainfall and Track Ocean Pollution

ScienceDaily, Feb. 15, 2011

A study by scientists at the University of Miami (UM) Rosenstiel School of Marine & Atmospheric Science suggests a new way to estimate how much of the ocean's pollution is falling from the sky.

Looking At Ocean Temp Forecasts To Help Farmers

TheFishSite, 17 February 2011

AUSTRALIA - Marine scientists are trialling the first near-shore water temperature forecasts to assist Australia’s aquaculture farm managers contending with rising ocean temperatures. While land farmers have used seasonal forecasting for nearly a decade,

Watch Your Seas: Marine Scientists Call for European Marine ObservatoryNetwork

scimag.com, 15 September 2010

More than 100 marine scientists, policy makers and members of industry unanimously call for action towards an integrated network of observatories monitoring  Europe’s seas, at the Marine Board-ESF Forum ‘Towards a European Network of Marine Observatories’.

Ending the Oceans' 'Tragedy of the Commons'

ScienceDaily, 15 September 2010

Leading international marine scientists are proposing radical changes in the governance of the world's oceans to rescue them from overfishing, pollution and other human impacts.

Melting Ice Sends Thousands of Walruses Ashore

nzherald.co.nz, 15 September 2010

Tens of thousands of walruses have come ashore in northwest Alaska because the sea ice they normally rest on has melted. United States Government scientists say this massive move to shore by walruses is unusual in the US.