One problem is that fisheries often target what scientists call BOFFFFs: big, old, fat, fecund, female fish. Their large bodies are prized by fishers, but BOFFFFs are a vital source of new baby fish. Take these away and the size spectrum quickly veers out of kilter. One way to manage this is to encourage the fishing industry to target medium-size fish, allowing mature ones to replenish depleted populations.
Oceans
Atlantic Ocean Currents Weakening
Vincent Saba, a fisheries researcher with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Northeast Fisheries Science Center, said he’s worked on related studies showing that weakening of the Gulf Stream system leads to regional warming of the waters along the continental shelf of Northeastern North America, prime grounds for commercial and recreational fishing.
“Ocean Cleanup”
The Ocean Cleanup, which has raised $35 million in donations to fund the project, including from Salesforce.com chief executive Marc Benioff and PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel, will deploy 60 free-floating barriers in the Pacific Ocean by 2020.
Marine Heat Waves Impact Marine Life
Between 1982 and 2016, the number of “marine heat waves” roughly doubled, and likely will become more common and intense as the planet warms, a study released Wednesday found. Prolonged periods of extreme heat in the oceans can damage kelp forests and coral reefs, and harm fish and other marine life.
‘March For The Ocean’ June 9 in DC
more than 120 others from conservation, business, science, social justice, youth and student groups, along with public officials from both parties (and independents) will be attending March for the Ocean. This will take place Saturday June 9, World Oceans Day weekend, in Washington DC and other locations around the world. It will be the first ever mobilization on behalf of a healthy ocean and clean water for all. Half a century ago we marched to save the whales. Now we’re marching to save it all.
Sir Richard Branson on World Oceans Day
“The ocean gives us oxygen, it gives us food, it gives of joy. We give it plastic, saturate it with carbon, and relentlessly extract the life out of it,” said Sir Richard Branson during the World Oceans Day conference. “The… Read More ›
KCET Talks Ocean Acidification
Human actions have already increased carbon on the planet by about 40 percent. A quarter of that goes into the ocean. And the ocean has decreased by about .2 pH units, which may not sound like a lot. But, pH is a logarithmic scale like the Richter scale. So .2 pH is about 30% more acidic than it was before the Industrial Revolution.
10 Useful Ways to Communicate Conservation Science
A slogan of the last century was ‘think globally, act locally.’ But if we’re to deal with the collapse of living systems today we have to think and act locally, regionally and globally simultaneously. That would probably not be possible without the communications tools we now have on our laptops and other devices.
Ocean Circulation & Climate Change
A huge amount of heat is moved around our planet by a single ocean current system — the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) — which accounts for up to a quarter of the planet’s heat flux. The system is driven… Read More ›
California’s Coast Guardians — a Short Film
Editor’s Note: The Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary Nomination has been proposed to NOAA. The proposed marine sanctuary would begin at Santa Rosa Creek in Cambria at the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary southern boundary, and end at Gaviota Creek in… Read More ›
Neptune 911! 