Marine Science Today

Five Critically Endangered Irrawaddy Dolphins Found Dead

Celia — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 18:31:36 +0000

Last month a total of five Irrawaddy dolphins were found dead on the banks of the Ayeyarwady River in Burma, a group that is listed as critically endangered by the IUCN.

IWC Discusses Whaling Future

Celia — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 17:56:30 +0000

This week, the International Whaling Commission (IWC) opened its 62nd Annual Meeting in Agadir, Morocco, and will vote on the future of the whaling moratorium.

Miami’s Rosenstiel School Launches Oil Spill Info Web Page

Tom — Thu, 27 May 2010 19:21:01 +0000

The University of Miami (UM) Rosenstiel School of Marine & Atmospheric Science has launched a new “Oil Spill” web page http://www.rsmas.miami.edu/oil-spill/ designed to share the science being conducted at the Rosenstiel School that is relevant to the issues emerging from the incident on the Deepwater Horizon oil platform. Designed for use by teachers, students and [...]

PC World Finds a Great Win 7 Theme Pack for Ocean Lovers

Tom — Thu, 27 May 2010 16:33:07 +0000

PC World magazine regularly reviews new screensavers and theme packs and they’ve found one that has some great HD images of marine life for your Windows 7 computer. Check out the review by Kim Saccio-Kent and use the download link on this PC World page. The author of the theme is Windows-7-Themes. Some cool stuff [...]

NOAA Sights Record Number of Right Whales

Emily — Sun, 25 Apr 2010 16:52:32 +0000

On April 20 a NOAA marine mammal aerial survey team based at the Northeast Fisheries Science Center’s laboratory in Woods Hole, Mass., sighted nearly 100 endangered North Atlantic right whales feeding in Rhode Island Sound. This is the largest group ever to be documented in these waters. “It all started with a flukeprint,” said Pete [...]

Indian Ocean Now Home to World’s Largest Marine Reserve

Emily — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 20:49:08 +0000

Just recently the United Kingdom established the world’s largest marine reserve. The reserve is a 210,000 square mile area (545,000 square kilometers) in the Indian Ocean encompassing the Chagos Islands. British Foreign Secretary David Miliband said that this reserve “doubles the global coverage of the world’s oceans under protection,” and says that its creation is “a major step [...]

Endangered Killer Whales Eat Only One Kind of Salmon

Emily — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 20:16:51 +0000

In a report released on March 15, NOAA announced that new advances in genetic testing have allowed scientists to determine the origin of the Chinook salmon that are consumed by a group of endangered killer whales in the inland waters of Washington and British Columbia. This group of killer whales, known to scientists as the Southern Resident [...]

NOAA Tracking Program Verifies Truth of “Dolphin-Safe” Label

Emily — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 18:03:18 +0000

We’ve all seen the “dolphin-safe” labels on the tuna products we buy, but how do we know if that tuna was actually caught in a dolphin-safe way? NOAA Fisheries Service’s Sustainable Fisheries Division operates the Tuna Tracking and Verification Program (TTVP) designed to determine the truthfulness of the “dolphin-safe” labels on tuna products. This year, [...]

U.S. to Support Restrictions on Bluefin Tuna and Other Imperiled Species at CITES Conference

Emily — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 20:49:06 +0000

According to the U.S. Department of the Interior, Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Fish and Wildlife and Parks Tom Strickland said the United States will support trade restrictions on bluefin tuna, polar bears, and imperiled corals and sharks among other proposals at the meeting of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of [...]

Long, Cold Winter Leads to Frozen Turtles

Emily — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 21:06:08 +0000

Recently, about 5,000 sea turtles in Florida were rendered immobile due to a phenomenon know as “cold-stunning.” Since sea turtles are cold blooded animals they assume the temperature of their surroundings. If sea turtles are exposed to cold water, around 50 degrees F, for several days, their circulatory systems can slow down to the point [...]