World-Renowned Chefs Among More Than 25,000 People In 99 Countries Backing Boycott To Save Overfished Tuna
San Francisco, California - Jan 18, 2011 17:17 EST
Two of the United States' leading chefs have joined the Center for Biological Diversity's campaign to save bluefin tuna, one of the world's most imperiled fish. Alice Waters, owner of Chez Panisse, in Berkeley, Calif., and Dan Barber, owner of...

Scientists Successfully Use Chemical Sedation To Free Entangled Right Whale; 'Less Stressful For The Animal'
Silver Spring, Marlyand - Jan 18, 2011 17:04 EST
Scientists from NOAA Fisheries Service and its state and nonprofit partners successfully used at-sea chemical sedation to help cut the remaining ropes from a young North Atlantic right whale on January 15 off the coast of Cape Canaveral, Fla. The...

Bass Angler Has Clear Mental Path For Season-Opening Fishing Tournament; 'I've Fished This Lake Every Night In My Sleep'
Kissimmee, Florida - Jan 17, 2011 16:54 EST
GEICO angler Christiana Bradley has never wet a line in the waterways that make up Lake Tohopekaliga, but she's already fished the location dozens of times in her head. "I have a mental picture and a game plan for what I...

Study: Fisheries Management Makes Coral Reefs Grow Faster; 'Cascading Effects Of Predator Loss' Illustrated
Bronx, New York - Jan 14, 2011 17:24 EST
An 18-year study of Kenya's coral reefs by the Wildlife Conservation Society and the University of California at Santa Cruz has found that over-fished reef systems have more sea urchins—organisms that in turn eat coral algae that build tropical reef...

NOAA To Work With Six Nations To Address Illegal, Unreported, And Unregulated Fishing
Silver Spring, Maryland - Jan 12, 2011 20:00 EST
NOAA today submitted a report to Congress identifying six nations – Colombia, Ecuador, Italy, Panama, Portugal, and Venezuela – whose fishing vessels engaged in illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing in 2009 and/or 2010. This opens the way for continued...

Hard-To-Find Elephant Fish Reveals Shared Developmental Toolbox Of Evolution; 'Like Winning The Lottery'
Chicago, Illinois - Jan 10, 2011 21:09 EST
A SCUBA expedition in Australia and New Zealand to find the rare embryos of an unusual shark cousin enabled American and British researchers to confirm new developmental similarities between fish and mammals. Elephant fish, a relative of sharks, utilize the...

Paradise Lost: Shark Finners Threaten Biologist In Puntarenas, Costa Rica; 'We Only Ask That The Law Be Respected'
Puntarenas, Costa Rica - Jan 10, 2011 18:58 EST
On Saturday, January 8th Pretoma biologist Jorge Ballestero was threatened by a group of 5 individuals in Puntarenas while he tried to responded to a call alerting the public that a large quantity of shark fins were being dried with...

Research: Mountain Glacier Melt To Contribute 12 Centimeters To World Sea-Level Increases By 2100
Vancouver, British Columbia - Jan 10, 2011 17:03 EST
Melt off from small mountain glaciers and ice caps will contribute about 12 centimetres to world sea-level increases by 2100, according to UBC research published this week in Nature Geoscience. The largest contributors to projected global sea-level increases are glaciers in...

Research: Climate Change To Continue To Year 3000 In Best Case Scenarios; Oceans To Rise 4 Meters
Calgary, Canada - Jan 9, 2011 16:49 EST
New research indicates the impact of rising CO2 levels in the Earth's atmosphere will cause unstoppable effects to the climate for at least the next 1000 years, causing researchers to estimate a collapse of the West Antarctic ice sheet by...

Widespread Ancient Ocean 'Dead Zones' Challenged Early Life; 'We Have The 'Effect' But Not The 'Cause"
Riverside, California - Jan 7, 2011 18:19 EST
The oceans became oxygen-rich as they are today about 600 million years ago, during Earth's Late Ediacaran Period. Before that, most scientists believed until recently, the ancient oceans were relatively oxygen-poor for the preceding four billion years. Now biogeochemists at the...

Newly Developed Cloak Hides Underwater Objects From Sonar; 'We Are Not Talking About Science Fiction'
Champaign, Illinois - Jan 6, 2011 15:25 EST
In one University of Illinois lab, invisibility is a matter of now you hear it, now you don't. Led by mechanical science and engineering professor Nicholas Fang, Illinois researchers have demonstrated an acoustic cloak, a technology that renders underwater objects...

Sight Unseen: Prestigious Journal Validates Asian Carp Research; 'This Is A Big New Breakthrough'
Notre Dame, Indiana - Jan 5, 2011 18:14 EST
The use of environmental DNA (eDNA) by scientists from the University of Notre Dame and The Nature Conservancy to detect invasive Asian carp in the Chicago-area waterway has been validated in Conservation Letters, a new flagship peer-reviewed journal published by...

Researchers: First As Blue Sharks Tracked Across The Atlantic Ocean; 'We Thought This Migration Might Be Happening'
Gainesville, Florida - Jan 5, 2011 18:01 EST
Blue sharks are strong enough to cross the Southern Atlantic Ocean but need human protection at their destinations and points of departure, a University of Florida collaborative international tagging project finds. The discovery of the shark's wide ranging ways shows that...

Duplicity? Odyssey Marine Files Motion To Strike The United States Amicus Brief Filed In The 'Black Swan' Case
Tampa, Florida - Jan 5, 2011 12:38 EST
Odyssey Marine Exploration, Inc., a pioneer in the field of deep-ocean exploration, filed a Motion to Strike the amicus brief filed by the United States which is in support of Spain in the "Black Swan" case. In the alternative, Odyssey...

Scientists: Thriving 'Middle Light' Reefs Found In Puerto Rico; 'Extensive, Vibrant, And Diverse' Coral Ecosystems
Silver Spring, Maryland - Jan 4, 2011 21:50 EST
NOAA-funded scientists have found extensive and biologically diverse coral ecosystems occurring at depths between 100-500 feet within a 12 mile span off the southwestern coast of Puerto Rico. With the overall health of shallow coral reefs and the abundance of...

Scientist: Ocean's 'Great Garbage Patch' Greatly Exaggerated Claims 'Undermine The Credibility Of Scientists'
Corvallis, Oregon - Jan 4, 2011 19:11 EST
There is a lot of plastic trash floating in the Pacific Ocean, but claims that the "Great Garbage Patch" between California and Japan is twice the size of Texas are grossly exaggerated, according to an analysis by an Oregon State...

Underwatertimes.com Top Ten Strangest, Weirdest, and Wildest Underwater Stories of 2010
Miami, Florida - Jan 2, 2011 21:02 EST
What do screaming tadpoles, scuba diving dogs, attacking swans, and a psychic octopus have in common? They all made the list of the weirdest underwater stories from 2010. The year's weird underwater news proved once again that reality is stranger...

NOAA And Partners Assist Right Whale Off East Coast Of Florida With 'Life Threatening' Entanglement
Daytona, Florida - Jan 1, 2011 17:31 EST
A team of state and federal biologists assisted a severely entangled North Atlantic right whale off the coast of Daytona, Fla., yesterday. The team successfully removed more than 150 feet of ropes wrapped around the whale's head and fins, and...

What Triggers Mass Extinctions? Study Shows How Invasive Species Stop New Life
Athens, Ohio - Dec 30, 2010 18:56 EST
An influx of invasive species can stop the dominant natural process of new species formation and trigger mass extinction events, according to research results published today in the journal PLoS ONE. The study of the collapse of Earth's marine life 378...

'Flex' Update: Gray Whale From Endangered Population Surprises Scientists; 'Uncharted Waters'
Newport, Oregon - Dec 28, 2010 16:26 EST
A lone western gray whale, tagged off Russia's Sakhalin Island by scientists in September and tracked for more than 70 days, has suddenly taken off from its feeding area and sped across the Sea of Okhotsk to the west side...

Research: Pterygotid Sea Scorpions Not The Terror Of Ancient Seas
Buffalo, New York - Dec 23, 2010 19:41 EST
Experiments by a team of researchers in New York and New Jersey have generated evidence that questions the common belief that the pterygotid eurypterids ("sea scorpions") were high-level predators in the Paleozoic oceans. This group, which ranged the seas from...

Scientists: In The Evolutionary Mating Game, Brawn And Stealth Rule; 'Females Will Almost Always Choose A Red Male'
Syracuse, New York - Dec 23, 2010 19:36 EST
When prowling for a hook up, it's not always the good-looker who gets the girl. In fact, in a certain species of South American fish, brawn and stealth beat out colorful and refined almost every time. In a series of...

Study: Drifting Fish Larvae Allow Marine Reserves To Rebuild Fisheries; 'Should Help Resolve Some Skepticism About Reserves'
Corvallis, Oregon - Dec 23, 2010 19:11 EST
Marine ecologists at Oregon State University have shown for the first time that tiny fish larvae can drift with ocean currents and "re-seed" fish stocks significant distances away – more than 100 miles in a new study from Hawaii. The findings...

Research: Entire Dolphin Families Being Wiped Out By Fishing Nets
New York, New York - Dec 22, 2010 15:45 EST
Dolphins along coast of Argentina could experience a significant loss of genetic diversity because some of the animals that accidentally die when tangled in fishing nets are related. According to a new genetic analysis published this week in the journal...

Wikileaks Cables: U.S. State Department Sides With Spain Against U.S.-Based Exploration Company's Black Swan Claim
Tampa, Florida - Dec 22, 2010 11:53 EST
Odyssey Marine Exploration, Inc. a pioneer in the field of deep ocean exploration, was named in several U.S. State Department cables obtained by WikiLeaks and furnished to the media worldwide. Some of the released cables suggest that the State Department...

Study: Rising Greenhouse Gases Profoundly Impact Microscopic Marine Life; 'We're Engaged In A Global, Unreplicated Experiment'
Merced, California - Dec 21, 2010 13:39 EST
The prolonged, extensive emission of greenhouse gases over the next several decades could have significant impacts on ocean life, according to a study by UC Merced marine biologist Michael Beman. Increases in carbon dioxide emissions — exacerbated by the burning of...

Ocean Art Underwater Photo Competition Winners Announced, $67,000 Worth Of Prizes Awarded
Santa Monica, California - Dec 20, 2010 21:40 EST
The Ocean Art Underwater Photo competition, organized by the Underwater Photography Guide, has announced its winners for 2010. Over $67,000 worth of prizes were awarded to 77 photographers, include 12 days on the luxury liveaboard Arenui, 18 nights in Papua...

Cayman's Scientists Tag Sharks, Track Progress; 'they Are The Most Handsome Of All The Sharks'
George Town, Cayman Islands - Dec 20, 2010 21:29 EST
Marine biologists who are working with the Department of Environment to study the area's predator species caught and tagged two tiger sharks last week fitting each shark with two types of high-tech electronic tracking devices. One type is a satellite tag...

Sharm El-Sheikh Shark Attacks: Update From Shark Experts
Los Angeles, California - Dec 18, 2010 13:50 EST
The following is a preliminary report from the Global Shark Attack File, a consortium of shark experts from around the world: Between November 30 and December 5, 2010 there were 5 unprovoked shark attacks reported from Sharm El-Shiekh, Egypt. Following these...

Bigger, Better Pacific Oyster Coming Soon! 'Hybrid Vigor -- Superior Growth, Size And Health'
San Diego, California - Dec 14, 2010 21:16 EST
Two University of Southern California biology professors and a California Sea Grant marine advisor have been awarded $394,000 in a national aquaculture research competition sponsored by NOAA Sea Grant. The two-year award will fund genetic studies and field tests of a...

Seaweed: The New Trend In Water Purification; 'A High-Value, Good-Tasting, Biosecure Product'
Storrs, Connecticut - Dec 14, 2010 19:22 EST
Charles Yarish is, by his own definition, a seaweed enthusiast. Over his 35-year career, the Stamford professor of ecology and evolutionary biology has followed his marine algae instincts around the world, studying seaweeds' relationships, their physiology, and their interactions with...

High-Tech Software, Unmanned Planes Allow Scientists To Keep Tabs On Arctic Seals; 'Biologists Are Thrilled'
Boulder, Colorado - Dec 14, 2010 18:51 EST
A novel project using cameras mounted on unmanned aircraft flying over the Arctic is serving double duty by assessing the characteristics of declining sea ice and using the same aerial photos to pinpoint seals that have hauled up on ice...

Study: 2002 Wild Salmon Decline Was Not Caused By Sea Lice From Farm Salmon; 'This Is Good News'
Davis, California - Dec 13, 2010 20:38 EST
A new UC Davis study contradicts earlier reports that salmon farms were responsible for the 2002 population crash of wild pink salmon in the Broughton Archipelago of western Canada. The Broughton crash has become a rallying event for people concerned...

Engineers Calculate Tidal Energy Turbines' Effects On Sediments And Fish
Seattle, Washington - Dec 13, 2010 16:52 EST
The emerging tidal-energy industry is spawning another in its shadow: tidal-energy monitoring. Little is known about tidal turbines' environmental effects and environmentalists, regulators and turbine manufacturers all need more data to allow the industry to grow. Engineers at the University...

Study: Bering Sea Was Ice-Free And Full Of Life During Last Warm Period; 'No Evidence Of The Pebbles'
Santa Cruz, California - Dec 13, 2010 16:45 EST
Deep sediment cores retrieved from the Bering Sea floor indicate that the region was ice-free all year and biological productivity was high during the last major warm period in Earth's climate history. Christina Ravelo, professor of ocean sciences at the...

Nothing Says 'I Love You' Like A Centuries Old Solid Gold Chalice Recovered From The Bottom Of The Sea
Key West, Florida - Dec 11, 2010 18:17 EST
The Robb Report, the definitive luxury lifestyle publication for those who really do have everything, has hit the holiday newsstands with its annual offering of the 21 Ultimate Gifts in the entire world. This year, featured among indulgences that include...

Experts: Climate Change May Be Increasing Toxins Poisoning Caribbean Fish
Gainsville, Florida - Dec 10, 2010 18:32 EST
Global climate change may contribute to an increase in toxins that poison Caribbean fish and the people who eat the seafood, according to experts meeting this week in the Virgin Islands. Preliminary findings from other parts of the world suggest that...

Florida: Cold Weather Brings Record 699 Manatee Deaths In 2010; Access To 'Warm-Water Sites' Needed
Tallahassee, Florida - Dec 10, 2010 17:57 EST
The cold weather earlier this year led to a record high number of manatee deaths in 2010. From the beginning of the year through Dec. 5, biologists with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission's (FWC) Fish and Wildlife Research...

Consumer Group Congratulates 'Consumer Reports' For Ignoring Its Own Advice, Serving Tuna At Party
Washington, D.C. - Dec 9, 2010 17:11 EST
After a decade of bashing tuna as a dangerous fish to eat, Consumer Reports magazine has apparently accepted the healthfulness of America's most affordable fish. MediaPost.com reports that Consumer Reports editors served "spicy tuna tartare" at their recent office holiday...

Brrr: Bering Sea Chills To Coldest Temperature On Record; Fatter Plankton, Pollock Diet Changes
Fairbanks, Alaska - Dec 9, 2010 16:56 EST
Despite a 30-year warming trend, the last three years in the Bering Sea have been the coldest on record. A University of Alaska Fairbanks scientist says that the cold temperatures have helped produce larger zooplankton in the Bering Sea, which...