Over 15 years of ocean science and conservation online
The 3QuarksDaily science writing contest, a prestigious online writing competition, has entered the public voting phase. One Southern Fried Science post has been nominated- Back from the Brink: Victories in Conservation (which can be viewed here) . That post, co-written by Andrew and I, tells the story of an important scientific paper that showed both … Read More “Vote for us in the 3QuarksDaily science writing contest!” »
Earlier this week, several New York state beaches were closed due to shark sightings. Fox News’ Rick Leventhal, speaking as part of Bill Hemmer’s “America’s Newsroom” show, reported on this story, claiming that “some onlookers ID’ed them as thresher sharks, they’re estimated to be about 18 feet long”. A half-eaten seal also washed up on shore nearby.
To his credit, Mr. Leventhal attempted to play down fears about these animals, saying that “Let’s not forget that sharks live in the ocean…as long as there’s food, they’re likely to keep hanging around”. However, I was immediately skeptical of the claim that a group of 18 foot long thresher sharks were swimming slowly just a few yards offshore. A cursory review of the known biology and ecology of thresher sharks will explain my skepticism.
Read More “Were 18 foot long thresher sharks responsible for closing a New York beach?” »
The world of fisheries management is so full of laws and regulations that it’s no wonder many fishermen feel persecuted by the government. That’s why I was pleasantly surprised to see the National Marine Fisheries Service trying something new.
Read More “Dear Fishermen, Please release mako sharks alive. Thanks, The Management” »
Oceanic whitetip sharks are considered by many to be a poster-child for shark conservation. Once one of the most abundant species of pelagic sharks on Earth, unregulated overfishing throughout their global range had led to a precipitous decline in their population. In some parts of their range, the species has declined in population by more than 70% in the last few decades. Scientists haven’t been able to find them in significant numbers for many years. One of the few remaining known aggregation sites is Cat Island in the Bahamas, and that’s where an international team of researchers just went to find these animals.
Read More “International research team tracks threatened oceanic whitetip sharks” »
In this week’s edition of Shark Science Monday, Rima Jabado of UAE University discusses the sharks and shark fisheries of the Persian Gulf. If you have a question for Rima, leave it as a comment below and I”ll make sure she gets it.
At the International Marine Conservation Congress, I attended a workshop focusing on resolution of human-wildlife conflict that was put on by Francine Madden of the Human-Wildlife Conflict Collaboration. Francine explained her strategies for bringing both sides (wolf conservationists and ranchers, fishermen and government managers, etc) to the table for productive negotiations that benefit everyone.
Read More “Resolving human-wildlife conflicts through trust, respect, and… humor?” »
Happy Friday Everyone! We frequently link to other important marine and general science blogs, to the extent that regular readers can probably guess which science blogs we read and how often, but science isn’t everything. We decided to take a moment to tell y’all about the non-science blogs that we enjoy.
The Deep Sea Conservation Coalition (DSCC), an alliance of over 70 international organizations working to promote the conservation of deep sea biodiversity, has officially launch their blog – Save the Deep Sea. We all care about the wondrous life that exists in the deep sea – both known and unknown – and we all recognize … Read More “Saving the Deep Sea” »
Oceana has released their list of finalists for the Ocean Hero award. As always, the finalists represent people who have done some amazing things for our oceans. This year, one of the nominees for the “Junior Hero” category is Sophi Bromenshenkel, an 8 year old shark conservationist.
We are in the midst of a global extinction crisis. Biodiversity is in decline as species after species disappear. Some estimates predict that up to 50% of species will be committed to extinction by 2050. Other estimates claim the current rate of extinction may be 10,000 times the background rate. Many ecologists and conservationists have declared the current species decline the sixth great mass extinction.
A recent paper published in the journal Nature argues that our current estimates of species loss are based on a flawed model and tend to overestimate the magnitude of species decline. The paper has received plenty of attention, and has been heavily criticized by ecologists and conservation biologists. The paper is wrong, but it is wrong for the right reasons, and the criticisms it has garnered point to a gaping hole in our understanding of population dynamics.
