Whale shark fisherman facing fine

Fishermen who caught the endanged Whale Shark (Rhincodon typus) may be facing a fine. The four fishermen who caught the fish on New Years Day may be facing the fine as they did notreturn the shark to the water, and instead brought it ashore. The huge two tonne fish was estimated to have been caught in the trawling net around 3am and was bought to shore when the men came inland around 5.30am. Director Mohd Najib Ramli of the Penang Fisheries Department said that fishermen should be prepared for such catches, and be ready to safely get the animal back into the water, as quickly as possible before any damage is caused.

The shark was handed in and buried at the Fisheries Research Institute (FRI) at 2.30pm on 4th Januray.

Seawater crops could mean end to worlds food problems...

Scientists are now suggesting that growing crops in seawater could be an end to the worlds food shortage. Freshwater makes up only 1% of the Earths water coverage and shortages mean there is not enough to keep crops as moist as needed. It is thought that the world is becoming more saline and therefore, like in years gone by, we must adapt in order to change along with it. Scientists are suggesting that we make use of barren saltwater areas and start growing more crops. It is suggested that around the mouths of rivers would be best as this is where freshwater and saltwater mix, and brackish plants would be ideal. Plants like sea kale and asparagus-like samphire grow along the coastline and are fine for consumtion. Samphire itself is actually very complimentary of seafood.

The suggestions come almost 30 years after genetic modification began on wheat and rice to try and make it more tolerant of salt. So far these experiments have proved futile as scientists now believe that technology is not advanced enough yet to achieve such a complex modification.

Saltwater plants are also in the limelight this week as scientists suggest that those which row naturally may be useful as biofuels, it has been suggested that alone these plants could provide more than 35% of Americas biofuels. One species of samphire, a subtropical desert coast plant, especially is being looked into as its seeds produce more oil that sunflowers and soya beans put together.

The suggestion was made by biologist Robert Glenn, University of Arizona. Glenn believes that halophytes, slatwater plants, could be suitable for the production of biofuels, especially as they are unusable in the food industry. This would open up nearly half a millions square mils for cultivation of biofuels.

If it is possible to beign using these sorts of plants for biofuels, it is important that sustainibility is implemented from day one so that these sorts of materials are managed and not used in the same fashion as many amenities before.

BDMLR Release

Today I received an email from Trevor at the BDMLR with regards to rescue operations taking place in the UK. It talks about cetaceans suffering due to inexperience and resulting in euthanasia. It reads as follows:

''In light of the serious strandings related pathology found in Northern Bottlenose Whales attended by BDMLR over the last two years, including severe muscle damage and subsequent kidney failure, it has been very apparent that these animals become severely compromised and deteriorate rapidly after stranding and subsequently their prognosis is very poor. After extensive discussions within the Marine Animal Rescue Coalition, agreement was reached that the most appropriate course of action in the vast majority of cases was euthanasia.

The coalition concluded that it would be helpful to give clear and consistent guidelines in order to assist vets who may be on the beach making the final decisions and who may not have extensive experience of cetacean strandings. The following amendment to the large whale triage therefore was agreed for beaked and sperm whales (triage for baleen whales unaltered):

On the basis of available information, the presumption is that stranded beaked and sperm whales will be euthanased. However, this will be judged on a case by case basis because there may be exceptional circumstances[1] where the situation merits a refloat attempt. This policy will be reviewed on a regular basis.

[1] i.e. possibility of a successful refloat close to deep water habitat within a very short period of time (<1>

For more information, donating and training courses with BDMLR, please visit:

www.bdmlr.org.uk/

UKDMOS

UKDMOS, or the United Kingdom Directory of Marine Observing Systems, is a program that has been set up in order to create a database of when, where and what is currently being monitored in the marine environment across the UK.

The project means building upon an already existing database, the European Directory of Ocean Observing Systems, and aims to inform policy makers and organisations of their responsibilities regarding monitoring, identify where and how resources may be put to better use and analyse whether data from the UK will be sufficient to provide decent assessments of the marine environment at national and international levels.

The database can be used to search current projects going on worldwide, and gain more information about their status.

Some useful links:

http://www.ukdmos.org/welcome.asp

http://www.oceannet.org/

http://www.defra.gov.uk

Classical music enhances growth in Aquariums

A new but unusual study taken in Greece has revealed that fish kept in aquariums will have more rapid growth if they listen to classical music. The study, which took place in the Department of Applied Hydrobiology at the Agricultural University of Athens, played Gilthead Seabream a bit of Mozart each day via an underwater speaker, to test their reaction. The music was played Monday to Friday, giving the Fish the weekend off.

Writing in the Journal of Fish Biology, the scientists described how "During the first 89 days of rearing, music resulted in enhanced growth." Those listening to the 18th Century composer grew

significantly better in the first 89 days than those whom listend only to the noise of the air pumps. It is hoped that these new findings can be used by farmers to improve the quality of reared Bream. This is the first results of their kind - other experiments done to look at the effects of sound on fish have usually shown negative or no results.

Although the results did show significant differences, it is unsure what exactly the fish heard. "Sound transmitted in the present study could have been just perceived as an increase in ambient noise (by 19db), a variation in ambient noise (as music piece chosen had its ups and downs), a novel previously non-existent sound within the tank, shock or enrichment and maybe as music per se."

Click on the Practical Fishkeeping link for more information on this article, and other article about your aquarium needs.

A lumpfish and a Blob fish walk into a bar...

Just another picture of another funny-face.

Deep-sea fish are fascinating, they have incredible attributes to make they survive in the murky unknown depths. But msot of all, they just look funny.

Check more out here: http://www.alaskaharvest.com/blog/news/weird-fish-dont-eat-any-of-these.html

Octopuses share common ancestor

New research has shown that octopuses all come form the same common ancestor, a shallow water octopus that lived in the Southern ocean. Its closest living relative is the Megaleledone setebos which can be found in the oceans in the Antarctica.

Scientists claim that octopuses evolved after nutrient-rich and salty currents drove them from the southern ocean to other ocean basins, nearly 30 million years ago.

The research is part of a 10 year global research programme to investigate more about oceans and how they've changed and the first Census of Marine Life (CoML) is due for completion in 2010.

The project hopes that as global warming is changing our oceans signifcantly, it is good to get a model of how our oceans have changed in order to help make a prediction for what the future will hold.