Japanese Whalers Out of Business
When is collecting animal specimens not research? According to the United Nations, when only nine out of 3,600 of them are actually used for science. The UN’s highest court ruled that Japan’s […]
Category Archives: Ocean Issues
Shark Finning Banned in California
Until last week, it was legal to buy and sell shark fins in California. The crazy thing is; obtaining them from the shark was not, and it hasn’t been for many years. So, […]
Climate Change Invites Invaders
A new study points to climate change as the reason invasive species are on the rise in European waterways. Researchers in Ireland looked at the global distribution of 15 plant species […]
A break for Bluefin Tuna
Japan plans to take 50% fewer bluefin tuna out of the Pacific Ocean next year. That’s a lot of tuna that will be left to breed, and Japan is hoping […]
Big Boy in Big Trouble
He’s the biggest fish on the reef, but his size doesn’t protect him from avid aquarists who think he looks cool in a fish tank. Nor does it keep him […]
Oil Spills = Broken Hearts for Tuna
The four-year anniversary of the largest marine oil spill in history is coming up in April, and it’s a heartbreaker. . . literally. In April 2010, the Deep Water Horizon oil spill dumped an […]
The Blob From the Deep
October Creature of the Week: This glob of a fish called a sculpin might appear scary to you, but it’s got good reason to be more afraid of us. It usually hangs out along […]
The Ocean Friendly Table
October is National Seafood Month. Do you know if the seafood you eat is safe for you and the oceans? Is it in danger of being over-fished? Is it high […]
Eat the Invaders!
If you think about it, the first person to eat a crab or a lobster must have been pretty brave. I mean, look at those things–yuck. But if you don’t think […]
Bacteria Gobble Up Oil Spills
When the Deep Water Horizon Oil Spill spewed almost 5 million barrels (nearly one and a half billion tons) of black, petroleum Oil into the ocean in 2010, no one […]
Wait, Measles is Killing Dolphins?
Well, not human measles, but a virus that’s related. Since July, more than 357 dolphin have washed ashore from New York to North Carolina, and marine mammal experts say the […]
Snails Gobble Up Invasive Marine Vomit
Like the Fouling, an invasive sea squirt has spread around the world, covering hard surfaces like rocks along the shore, shellfish beds, pilings, and boat bottoms. Unlike the Fouling which is crusty and […]
What would really happen if shipping stopped?
If there was really a plague that shut down all the ports along the east coast of the US, tens of thousands of people would be out of work, and […]
‘Plastisphere’ — Changing an ecological community
Thousands of miles from land, human beings have created a whole new ecosystem made of plastic. It’s called the plastisphere, and it’s where old plastic stuff goes to die. […]
Air Pollution Stunts Coral
Scientists found that when air pollution keeps sunlight from reaching coral reefs underwater, coral growth can be stunted. Tiny particles in the air, like the kind released from coal plants […]
Where Our Garbage Goes
Every single year, more than one and a half BILLION pounds of plastic makes its way into the ocean. Water bottles, plastic bags, balloons, toys. . . all of it […]
Ocean Deserts aka Dead Zones
Wherever people live, land is disturbed for building and fertilized for farming. Rain washes the disturbed soil, farm fertilizer and animal waste into waterways, almost all of which eventually lead […]
Global Warming: We’re in Hot Water Now
The science is indisputable: humans are pumping so many greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, that we are warming the globe. Gases such as carbon dioxide from cars and power plants, […]
Too Much Fishing. Too Few Fish
NINETY PERCENT OF THE BIG FISH ARE ALREADY GONE!! Depending on which experts you ask, between 70% and 80% of the world’s fish have already been overfished. What does that […]
The Fouling
What’s True: crusty fouling organisms and invasive species There are lots of fouling organisms–things that grow to cover ship bottoms, pilings, underwater equipment. Some are soft like certain kinds of […]
Restricted Waters 
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