fisheries | Southern Fried Science

New paper: What happened to the world’s first certified sustainable shark fishery?

In 2011, the world’s first fishery for sharks was certified as sustainable by the Marine Stewardship Council*. The British Columbia spiny dogfish fishery made major news in fisheries management and ocean conservation world, where the possible existence of sustainable shark fisheries has been debated intensely. A few years later, the fishery voluntarily withdrew their certification, and never publicly said why.

I wanted to know what happened with this scientific mystery. So, with the help of Chuck Bangley and Catherine Macdonald and funding support from the Liber Ero Postdoctoral Fellowship program, I organized a research expedition to find out. The results of our expedition can be found in our new paper (LINK,) (OPEN ACCESS AUTHOR COPY) but in this blog post, I’d like to explain what we did, what we found, and why we think it’s important.

Walrus Attacks, Windships, Wild Oysters, and More! Weekly Salvage: September 30, 2019

Posted on September 30, 2019 by Andrew Thaler

Dive bombing birds, octopus intelligence, and a red tide update: Thursday Afternoon Dredging, December 6, 2018

Posted on December 6, 2018 by David Shiffman

Cuttings (short and sweet):

Follow Joe Cunningham, a marine engineer who was just elected to Congress, on twitter!
The dive bombing birds of Newfoundland. By Craig McClain, for Deep Sea News
How much does it cost to save a species? Less than you think! By Erik Vance, for the last word on nothing.

Spoils (long reads and deep dives):

Yes, the Octopus Is Smart as Heck. But Why? By Carl Zimmer, for the New York Times.
Global biodiversity treaty (Convention on Migratory Species) searches for its moment in the spotlight. By Isabel Esterman, for MongaBay. Do you know about CMS? Why do you think it gets less publicity than other conservation meetings?
It’s Time for Journalism to Ring the Alarm About Climate Change More Loudly. By Daniel Grossman, for the Revelator
Connecting fish, rivers, and people. By Abigail Lynch, for the Fisheries Blog.
The secrets of lonesome George: genome may contain clues about longevity. Editorial from Nature.
Code red: An update on Florida’s toxic seas. From the Save Our Seas Foundation blog.
Fishermen blame, sue energy companies for climate change that affects their catch. By Alistair Bland, for NPR.

Please add your own cuttings and spoils in the comments!

If you appreciate my shark research and conservation outreach, please consider supporting me on Patreon! Any amount is appreciated, and supporters get exclusive rewards!

How goats got the bends, a new ship for VIMS, a new deep-sea submersible for all of us, our looming destruction, and more! Monday Morning Salvage: October 15, 2018.

Posted on October 15, 2018 by Andrew Thaler

Foghorn (A Call to Action!)

It ain’t going to be easy, but it isn’t over yet and none of us have earned the right to quit. What genuine, no-bullshit ambition on climate change would look like.

Flotsam (what we’re obsessed with right now)

Goats are magnificent. We don’t deserve goats. The Dark Story of How Scientists Used Goats to Solve the Bends.

Bends in the foreleg of a goat after experiments performed by physiologist John S. Haldane, published in the Journal of Hygiene Vol. 8, 1908.

There’s a new full-ocean capable submarine in town, and for $50 million, you could buy it! Discovery and Science Channel to Document the Five Deeps Expedition in Limited Series.

Photo courtesy Discovery.

Saving the Great Barrier Reef, bolt cutters, bulk cutters, beak scars, and more! Monday Morning Salvage, August 27, 2018.

Posted on August 27, 2018 by Andrew Thaler

Foghorn (A Call to Action!)

Do you have a novel idea that could help save the world’s reefs? Sign up for the Out of the Blue Box Reef Innovation Challenge!

Out of the Blue Box is a global search for new ideas to strengthen the recovery of our iconic Great Barrier Reef. We are calling for solutions to the challenges facing the Great Barrier Reef, and reefs all over the world, to fast-track projects that will have an immediate and lasting impact.

source

Flotsam (what we’re obsessed with right now)

oceanbites has great three part series on undergraduate research.
Conservation and climate change needs fewer aisle-crossing compromisers and more Haydukes. Courage and Bolt Cutters: Meet the next generation of climate activists.

I’ve been excited about these observations for years. Really ecited to finally see them in the peer-reviewed literature: Beaked whales may frequent a seabed spot marked for mining.

L. MARSH, V. HUVENNE AND D. JONES/ROY. SOC. OPEN SCIENCE 2018

Two new writers, the net that never stops killing, how not to launch a boat, the Blackfish Effect, and more! Monday Morning Salvage: May 28, 2018

Posted on May 28, 2018 by Andrew Thaler

Muster (updates from the blog)

Southern Fried Science has a fresh, new, mobile friendly look! Let us know what you think in the comments.
We welcomed two new writers in as many months! Please give a huge welcome to Angelo Villagomez and Rachel Pendergrass. Check out their first articles:
- The ‘Pluto Moment’ for Marine Protected Areas.
- Defining Your Audience (Or How To Plan The Worst Birthday Ever).
Spotted in the Chesapeake: We met a friendly Northern Water Snake swimming around the Bay this weekend. Northern Water Snakes are common and completely harmless. If you see one, just say “Hi” and let them be.

Photo by author

Foghorn (A Call to Action!)

Yale study: Newspaper op-eds change minds and The Long-lasting Effects of Newspaper Op-Eds on Public Opinion. Scientists and conservationists, this summer, make an effort to publish a Letter to the Editor or OpEd in your local paper. If you’ve done so, please leave a link to it in the comments.

Flotsam (what we’re obsessed with right now)

A Single Discarded Fishing Net Can Keep Killing for Centuries.

“One old gill net found wedged between rocks off the coast of the San Juan Islands reportedly sat atop a pile of marine bird and mammal bones that was three feet deep.”

source.

This Woods Hole robot submarine found a 300-year-old Spanish galleon that may contain billions in treasure.

WHOI

It’s been far, far too long since we had a really good boat launch fail. Don’t worry, the crane operator bailed out before the flip and is fine.

The hunt for Soviet submarines, a 5-foot-long shipworm, the impossibilities of deep-sea mining, and more! Massive Monday Morning Salvage: March 5, 2018.

Posted on March 5, 2018 by Andrew Thaler

Foghorn (A Call to Action!)

Subscribe to the Chesapeake Bay Journal (it’s free)! The venerable grey lady of the Bay survived the EPA’s attempt to defund them. Consider sending a few dollars to the journal, too. If you’re filing MD taxes this year, you can earmark some of you return to Chesapeake Bay programs.

Flotsam (what we’re obsessed with right now)

The secret on the ocean floor: the wild, weird origin of the modern deep-sea mining industry, complete with spies, Soviet submarines, and Howard Hughes. How much is real? How much is emergent from this first fake venture? If you only read one thing about deep-sea mining, read this.

We really misled a lot of people and it’s surprising that the story held together for so long”

source.

As biodiversity declines, so does public attention. We need to push back against this trend.
After Centuries of Searching, Scientists Finally Find the Mysterious Giant Shipworm Alive!

Skate saunas, clone armies, deep news from deep-sea mining, an ocean of plastic, and more! Monday Morning Salvage: February 12, 2018.

Posted on February 12, 2018 by Andrew Thaler

Flotsam (what we’re obsessed with right now)

Attack of the clones! A Pet Crayfish Can Clone Itself, and It’s Spreading Around the World!

Ranja Andriantsoa/The Atlantic

One of the take-home points in the talk I gave last Friday is that we barely know anything about the services hydrothermal vents provide to the rest of the ocean ecosystems. Deep-sea hydrothermal vents are nurseries for skates.

ROV framegrab of Pacific white skate egg sacs near a black smoker in the Galapagos. Photo Courtesy Ocean Exploration Trust

2 minutes to midnight, 3D printed turtle eggs, awkward fiddlers, Egyptian welders, and more! Monday Morning Salvage: January 29, 2018.

Posted on January 29, 2018 by Andrew Thaler

Fog Horn (A Call to Action)

Good morning. The time is now 2 minutes to mid-night. Doomsday Has Never Been Closer. Good luck.

Despite the fact that we live in extremely dangerous times, the scientists in charge of the clock said there is hope. The clock has been wound backwards before, in the wake of the Cold War or during times when nuclear superpowers expressed interest in not mutually assuring destruction.

The scientists argue that civil society should turn the screws on government to reduce carbon emissions and push for even more ambitious climate action than what the Paris Agreement calls for. That sounds like a more fruitful plan than huddling in a bunker.

Source.

Flotsam (what we’re obsessed with right now)

Some technology is pretty good, though: Cracking down on poaching with 3D-printed fake turtle eggs

A shark for all floods, Crowdfunding scams, old fish, bold fish, and more! Monday Morning Salvage: September 18, 2017

Posted on September 18, 2017 by Andrew Thaler

Fog Horn (A Call to Action)

The fight for our Marine National Monuments isn’t over. We finally know *some* of the contents of Zincke’s monument review memo, and it’s not great. The DOI wants to see commercial fishing return to the Pacific Remote Islands and Rose Atoll Marine National Monuments. Longline fishing in these regions has historically been conducted by foreign fishing fleets which have been documented using slave labor. Many ecologists believe that maintaining these protected zones serve as a refuge that boost populations of many important commercial fish and improve the overall health of the fishery.
Here’s the good news: Any change to monuments created under the Antiquities Act must be approved by congress. You’ve got a lot of reason to call you representatives this week, so why not add “I opposed the reintroduction of ecologically and economically destructive commercial fishing to the Pacific Remote Islands and Rose Atoll Marine National Monument.” to your script?

Flotsam (what we’re obsessed with right now)

Hero Shark, the shark who shows up to every flood, ostensibly to save us all from our own hubris, has a long a fascinating history. “Shark in flooded street” wasn’t even the first time that photo was used for fake news.

Photo by Thomas P. Peschak.

NOAA’s New Weather Satellite Captured Stunning Images of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma. These are amazing and terrifying.

GOES-16.

Rick MacPherson and I made a bot that generates random ocean conservation solutions from a massive archive of policy jargon. Follow @OceanCon_Bot. It is good.