How Fresh Is Your Fish? Scientists Develop Rapid And Accurate Test
Reykjavik, Iceland - Sep 25, 2008 19:33 EST
Rapid and accurate detection of the bacteria that make fish go off is now possible, according to scientists in Iceland. Eyjólfur Reynisson from Matís-Icelandic Food Research, Reykjavik, and colleagues, have developed a method that uses the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to...

Scotland Gets Its First 'No-Take Zone'; Waters Around Island Of Arran Return To 'Sounds Of Silence'
edinburgh, Scotland - Sep 22, 2008 09:15 EST
A new dawn has broken over the troubled waters around the Island of Arran on Saturday; it brought new hope to the islands community for a better future of their marine heritage and environment. The Scottish Government has created Scotland’s first...

Record Breaking Underwater Camera To Be Showcased To Public; 'The Only Device Of Its Kind In The World'
Aberdeen, U.K. - Sep 12, 2008 17:49 EST
A revolutionary underwater camera, which has plunged to record breaking depths below the surface of the North Sea, will be showcased to members of the public at a key science event in Aberdeen next week. The only kit of its kind...

Experts: Direct Human Actions 'Exceeding Effects Of Climate Change' On World’s Water Ecosystems
Newcastle University, United Kingdom - Sep 11, 2008 17:42 EST
Human activities such as fishing and water use are over-riding the effects of global warming on the ecosystems that support the world’s water and fish supplies, experts have revealed. And the world’s leading marine and freshwater scientists show direct human impacts...

Greenpeace: Mediterranean Tuna Management An 'International Disgrace'
Amsterdam, The Netherlands - Sep 11, 2008 17:14 EST
Confirming Greenpeace's position on the crisis facing Mediterranean bluefin tuna, an independent review panel of international fisheries experts has branded the management of the fishery by government members of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) as...

Marine Biologist: Decline Of Blue Whale Led To Fall Of Krill; 'Antarctic Paradox' Linked To Excrement
Berlin, Germany - Aug 13, 2008 18:56 EST
The near-eradication of the blue whale in the waters of the Antarctic during the early 20th century led to a paradoxical fall-off in krill, the small shrimp-like creatures on which they feed, a German report said Wednesday. Marine biologist Victor...

Greenpeace Builds Shield Against Bottom Trawling In The North Sea; Granite Boulders Dropped On Seabed
Berllin, Germany - Aug 12, 2008 17:36 EST
Greenpeace activists aboard the Beluga II sailed into the German North Sea today and began placing over 150 granite rocks, each weighing 2-3 tonnes, on the seabed. The aim is to stop fishing in an area which on paper is...

Research: Mussels Used To Track Level Of Pollution In Ports
Usurbil, Basqeu Country - Jul 30, 2008 13:20 EST
Studying living things can prove to be highly significant when evaluating contamination suffered by a specific environment. A research team from the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), with Dr. Nestor Etxebarria as director, is involved in this monitoring of...

Research: Acidification Of The Sea Hampers Reproduction Of Marine Species; 'A 25 Percent Drop In Fertility'
Stockholm, Sweden - Jul 29, 2008 14:49 EST
By absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, and from the human use of fossil fuels, the world's seas function as a giant buffer for the Earth's life support system. The chemical balance of the sea has long been regarded as...

Biogeoscientists: 90 Billion Tons Of Microbial Organisms Live In The Deep Biosphere
Bremen, Germany - Jul 21, 2008 18:04 EST
Biogeoscientists show evidence of 90 billion tons of microbial organisms—expressed in terms of carbon mass—living in the deep biosphere, in a research article published online by Nature, July 20, 2008. This tonnage corresponds to about one-tenth of the amount of...

Swordfish Washes Up On Brit Cost; Rare Visitor A 'Tiddler In Global Terms'
Glamorgan, South Wales - Jul 4, 2008 19:18 EST
A rare and exotic large fish has been found washed up on the British coast, marine experts revealed today. A swordfish, measuring six feet and weighing up to 175lb, was discovered dead on Barry Island beach in the Vale of Glamorgan,...

Giant Catfish Dies Trying To Eat Football; 'I've Never Seen Anything Like This In 30 Years'
Berlin, Germany - Jul 1, 2008 17:26 EST
A catfish met an unpleasant fate in Germany when it tried to eat a football floating in the river. Police patrolling the Main River say it's the weirdest case they've seen in 30 years. A giant catfish died trying to...

Fire Under Ice: International Expedition Discovers Gigantic Volcanic Eruption In The Arctic Ocean
Bremerhaven, Germany - Jun 26, 2008 13:40 EST
An international team of researchers was able to provide evidence of explosive volcanism in the deeps of the ice-covered Arctic Ocean for the first time. Researchers from an expedition to the Gakkel Ridge, led by the American Woods Hole Oceanographic...

X-Ray Mag #24 Published: Sulawesi, Kas Turkey, Ilha Grande Brazil, Dive Doctor, GirlDiver, Painter Jens Poulsen And Much, Much More
Miami, Florida - Jun 23, 2008 14:58 EST
Issue #24 of X-ray Mag has been published and is ready for free download. The latest issue features Wolfgang Pölzer's tour through the underwater world off North Sulawesi, Indonesia, Harald Apelt's features the picturesque little port town of Kas,...

Study: Mediterranean Sea Shark Population Declined Over 97% In 200 Years; 'This Raises A Red Flag'
Washington, D.C. - Jun 11, 2008 09:10 EST
Sharks in the Mediterranean Sea have declined by more than 97 percent in number and "catch weight" over the last 200 years, according to a new study released in the journal Conservation Biology by marine scientists from Dalhousie University in...

X-Ray Mag #23 Published: Diving Off Cornwall, Deep Diving, Hammerheads, Croatia, Digital Workflow And More
Miami, Florida - Jun 10, 2008 09:25 EST
Issue #23 of X-ray Mag has been published and is ready for free download. The latest issue features Mark Webster's tour through the underwater world off Cornwall, England, Pascal Bernabé's insights into deep diving, Michael Symes's investigation into locomotion...

Brit Bass Fishing Association: Stop Eating The Babies; 'Too Valuable A Resource To Be Wasted'
Kent, U.K. - Jun 3, 2008 09:13 EST
With widespread and still growing public concern about over-fishing, and the terrible waste from fishery discards, most people would be horrified to realize that some fishermen are targeting the wild bass stocks before they have ever had a chance to...

Records Smashed As Danish Angler Lands Monster 8-foot, 444-pound Halibut
Lofoten, Norway - May 28, 2008 17:13 EST
A halibut thought to be the largest ever line-caught fish has been hooked by an angler in Norway. The 444 pounds creature, which measures 8 foot 1 inch long, was landed by proud fisherman Soren Bec following a titanic struggle....

Ocean Acidification: Another Undesired Side Effect Of Fossil Fuel-burning; 30 Years To 'Tipping Point'
Strasbourg, France - May 22, 2008 14:47 EST
Up to now, the oceans have buffered climate change considerably by absorbing almost one third of the worldwide emitted carbon dioxide. The oceans represent a significant carbon sink, but the uptake of excess CO2 stemming from man’s burning of fossil...

Clue To Mystery Crustacean; 'The Adults Of These Larvae Must Be Parasites'
London, England - May 20, 2008 19:28 EST
First identified in 1899, y-larvae have been one of the greatest zoological mysteries for over a century. No one has ever found an adult of these puzzling crustaceans, despite the plethora of these larvae in plankton, leading generations of marine...

Leading Brit Seafood Wholesaler Bans All Bluefin Tuna Sales; Calls For 'Sustainable Practices'
Aylesbury, England - May 19, 2008 12:50 EST
M&J Seafood has announced that as from May 19th, it will no longer be supplying Bluefin tuna to the foodservice market. The decision comes hot on the heels of its move to ban all shark products from its portfolio and...

Does Fishing On Drifting Fish Aggregation Devices Endanger The Survival Of Tropical Tuna?
Paris, France - May 15, 2008 16:01 EST
Fishermen hold empirical knowledge that tuna aggregate under floating objects, such as lengths of old rope, pieces of wood, or even large marine mammals. There is still no full explanation for this aggregation behaviour, but the past 20 years have...

Scientists: Mantis Shrimps See Beyond The Rainbow; 'A Completely New Concept Of Polarization Vision'
Frankfurt, Germany - May 14, 2008 17:51 EST
A Swiss marine biologist and an Australian quantum physicist have found that a species of shrimp from the Great Barrier Reef, Australia, can see a world invisible to all other animals. Dr Sonja Kleinlogel and Professor Andrew White have shown...

Scientists Aim To Use Robots Unlock Deep-sea 'Secrets' Of Earth's Crust
Stockton-on-Tees, U.K. - May 14, 2008 17:02 EST
Scientists from Durham University will use robots to explore the depths of the Atlantic Ocean to study the growth of underwater volcanoes that build the Earth’s crust. The Durham experts will lead an international team of 12 scientists aboard Britain’s Royal...

Divers Find Oldest Known Marble Bust Of Caesar; Rhone River Discovery May Date To 46 B.C.
Paris, France - May 14, 2008 08:35 EST
Divers trained in archaeology discovered a marble bust of an aging Caesar in the Rhone River that France's Culture Ministry said Tuesday could be the oldest known. The life-sized bust showing the Roman ruler with wrinkles and hollows in his face...

Study: Stressed Seaweed Contributes To Cloudy Coastal Skies; 'large Quantities Of Iodide' Released
Manchester, U.K. - May 6, 2008 19:44 EST
Scientists at The University of Manchester have helped to identify that the presence of large amounts of seaweed in coastal areas can influence the climate. A new international study has found that large brown seaweeds, when under stress, release large quantities...

Research: Pressure Sensing Shark Forecast Weather Changes
Aberdeen, U. K. - Mar 24, 2008 17:38 EST
Ground-breaking research which could lead to sharks being used to predict the weather has been carried out at Aberdeen’s National Hyperbaric Centre. Marine Biology student Lauren Smith is close to completing her PhD studies into the pressure sensing abilities of the...

Crab-like Robot Could Benefit Undersea Exploration; 'Nature Knows What Works Best'
Bath, U.K. - Mar 18, 2008 14:42 EST
Underwater exploration may become easier in the future thanks to a new prototype crab-like robot invented by a University of Bath postgraduate student. The robot can also move about on land and further development is planned for fully amphibious operation...

Researcher: Sharks Getting Smarter, 'Learning Our Techniques' For Tagging
Cardiff, U.K. - Mar 18, 2008 09:35 EST
Could sharks be catching on to human techniques for tagging them – and learning how to avoid them? That's the theory of Steve Kessel, an Earth and Ocean Sciences PhD student who has spent the past three years working at the...

Monster 3.5-meter Basking Shark Caught Off Cyprus Coast; 'Feeds Off Plankton'
Latsi, Cyprus - Mar 13, 2008 13:43 EST
IT’S 3.5 metres long, 1.4 metres wide and weighs 350 kilograms. These are the measurements of the shark caught in Latsi in the Paphos district yesterday morning. The Mayor of Polis Chrysochous Angelos Georgiou said that, “the shark is a species which...

New Fish Parasite Species Described; Farmed Fish Infected With Serious Disease
Oslo, Norwary - Feb 11, 2008 17:32 EST
While studying towards his doctorate of philosophy, Anders Jørgensen discovered a previously undescribed species of parasite that infects farmed fish and produces serious disease. Single-celled parasites of the genus Spironucleus are known to produce serious illness in farmed and aquarium...

Scientists: Climate 'Tipping Point' For Ice Sheets, Ocean Circulation On The Horizon; 'False Sense Of Security'
Norwich, U.K. - Feb 5, 2008 05:55 EST
A number of key components of the earth’s climate system could pass their ‘tipping point’ this century, according to new research led by a scientist at the University of East Anglia. Published today by the prestigious international journal Proceedings of the...

Scientist Discovers Six New Species Of Deep Sea Fish; 'tremendously Exciting!'
Aberdeen, Scotland - Jan 29, 2008 16:57 EST
A sharp eyed marine scientist who spotted six strange fish during a deep sea research expedition has been rewarded for trusting her instincts. After painstaking work with three taxonomy experts, Dr Nikki King discovered they were – until now –...

New Apparatus Developed To Measure The Density Of Ultra-pure Water
Braunschweig, Germany - Dec 19, 2007 13:53 EST
For oceanography – and there in particular for the description of ocean currents – accurate measurements of the density of sea water are of great importance. For this purpose, measuring instruments are needed which reach an uncertainty of approx. 0.001...

Research: Sea Lice Widely Distributed Among Wild Fish Along The Norwegian Coast
Olso, Norway - Dec 6, 2007 18:44 EST
Øivind Øines has shown in his Ph. D. thesis that the sea louse, a parasitic copepod, is widely distributed among wild fish species along the Norwegian coast. The parasite is found in large numbers in the lumpfish, which is now...

Scientists Set Out To Study Climate Change And Life In The Southern Ocean; 'Unknown Worlds'
Bremerhaven, Germany - Nov 27, 2007 16:04 EST
A ten-week expedition to the Lazarev Sea and the eastern part of the Weddell Sea opens this year's Antarctic research season of the German research vessel Polarstern. On the evening of November 28, just some two hours after an official...

Scientists Detail 'Longest Flow Of Sand And Mud Yet'; Volume 'difficult To Comprehend'
Bristol, U.K. - Nov 21, 2007 12:41 EST
An enormous submarine landslide that disintegrated 60,000 years ago produced the longest flow of sand and mud yet documented on Earth. The massive submarine flow travelled 1,500 kilometres – the distance from London to Rome – before depositing its load. Details...

Researcher: Ice Age Imprint Found On Cod DNA; Populations Survived 'Periods Of Extreme Climatic Change'
Sheffield, U.K. - Nov 13, 2007 17:38 EST
An international team of researchers, led by the University of Sheffield, has demonstrated how Atlantic cod responded to past natural climate extremes. The new research could help in determining cods vulnerability to future global warming. With fishing pressures high and...

Scientists: North Atlantic Slows On The Uptake Of CO2; 'A Tremendous Surprise'
East Anglia, U.K. - Oct 23, 2007 14:41 EST
Further evidence for the decline of the oceans’ historical role as an important sink for atmospheric carbon dioxide is supplied by new research by environmental scientists from the University of East Anglia. Since the industrial revolution, much of the CO2 we...

Research: Goldfish Have Polarized Sight In Their Eyes; 'A Surprisingly Common Ability'
Manchester, U.K. - Oct 17, 2007 17:15 EST
Goldfish have specialised eyes which give them vision like wearing sunglasses to improve sight when catching prey, new research has discovered. Scientists at the University of Manchester say light sensitive cells within the fish's retina are able to detect polarised light,...