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Tag: ISA

Eat hagfish, work at LUMCON, clone Vaquita, question floating trash collectors, and more! Monday Morning Mega-Salvage: August 13, 2018

Posted on August 13, 2018August 12, 2018 By Andrew Thaler
Weekly Salvage

Foghorn (A Call to Action!)

  • It’s time for Africosh! The annual Africa Open Science and Hardware Summit Heads is in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania this year!
  • LUMCON is hiring! They’re looking for two exceptional coastal and marine science faculty hires in any discipline. And they have the best “come work for us” video!

Flotsam (what we’re obsessed with right now)

  • Hakai Magazine is my jam this month.
    • How an Epidemic Exposed the Ecological Importance of Sea Stars: The near eradication of British Columbia’s sea stars demonstrated the dynamic role they play in regulating kelp forests.
    • How to Dismantle a Blue Whale: In Chile, a team of volunteers confronts stench and gore to ensure a new life for a dead whale. [Warning: Link contains graphic pictures of whale evisceration]
  • I’ve been following this project for almost 2 years. Awesome to see how far they’ve come. NinjaPCR is a WiFi enabled, Opensource DNA Amplifier and Thermocycler for Polymerase Chain Reaction developed by 2 hackers in Tokyo.
  • Plastic wrap made from shellfish and plants is completely compostable.

Hagfish (just Hagfish)

  • Yes, people do eat hagfish. Yum! Snake-like creature writhes, squirms on grill.
  • Hagfish are the emissaries of love, not war. Stop it. Synthetic ‘Slime’ To Help US Navy Trap Enemy Ships.

Read More “Eat hagfish, work at LUMCON, clone Vaquita, question floating trash collectors, and more! Monday Morning Mega-Salvage: August 13, 2018” »

Gently jelly-nabbing bots, deep-coral under threat, albino stingrays, #JacquesWeek, and more! Monday Morning Salvage: July 23, 2018

Posted on July 23, 2018July 22, 2018 By Andrew Thaler
Weekly Salvage

Foghorn (A Call to Action!)

  • All Hands on Deck! You’re got one week left to apply to join the MIT Media Lab and NOAA’s Office of Ocean Exploration and Research for this year’s National Ocean Exploration Forum as an Ocean Discovery Fellow!
  • Jacques Week 2018 is here!

Flotsam (what we’re obsessed with right now)

  • What just happened? Everyone is going wild for the deep-sea fish attack video.
  • A gentle jellyfish-grabbing claw for collecting squishies without squishing them!

The Levee (A featured project that emerged from Oceandotcomm)

  • Stitching Hope for the Coast – communicating coastal optimism for Louisiana. Deadline for submissions has been extended to October!

Read More “Gently jelly-nabbing bots, deep-coral under threat, albino stingrays, #JacquesWeek, and more! Monday Morning Salvage: July 23, 2018” »

Save our Marine Monuments, replace confederates with ocean animals, worlds of plastic, and more! Monday Morning Salvage: July 31, 2017

Posted on July 31, 2017July 30, 2017 By Andrew Thaler
Weekly Salvage

Fog Horn (A Call to Action)

  • The deadline for comments on Marine National Monuments and National Marine Sanctuaries has been extended due to overwhelming responses. You now have until August 14, 2017 to leave a comment.
  • Scientists, researchers, explorers, and conservationists with particular ties to the Mariana Trench Marine National Monument can sign on the this letter co-authored by me, James Cameron, and numerous researchers who’s worked has benefited from the Mariana Trench.

Flotsam (what we’re obsessed with right now)

  • A new generation of robots is set to explore marine mysteries around the world. 5 Ways Underwater Drones Are Helping Citizens Save the Ocean. And check out this very short Wired piece on OpenROV Trident!
  • Earlier this week, Snooty, the world’s oldest living captive manatee died tragically. Now residents of Manatee County want to replace a Confederate statue with a statue of their beloved manatee. How can you say no to this face?
Snooty. Photo via @GWR
  • Personally, I am 100% behind replacing all Confederate statues with beloved ocean animals. H/T Aaron Mannes.

Read More “Save our Marine Monuments, replace confederates with ocean animals, worlds of plastic, and more! Monday Morning Salvage: July 31, 2017” »

Salmon, aquaculture, and the spread of Infectious Salmon Anemia

Posted on October 27, 2011October 28, 2011 By Andrew Thaler 3 Comments on Salmon, aquaculture, and the spread of Infectious Salmon Anemia
Science

Coho salmon - public domain image
Coho salmon - public domain image

In 2008, a deadly virus decimated Chilean aquaculture facilities, causing $2 billion in damage and crippling an industry. This week, preliminary reports suggest that this same disease may have infected wild salmon in the north Pacific. The internet has been blowing up with news reports of Infectious Salmon Anemia (ISA) detected in wild salmon populations. Reports range from balanced – Deadly Fish Farm Virus Found in Wild Pacific Salmon – to hyperbolic – B.C.’s salmon feedlots need to be closed – but all hinge on the fact that ISA, a lethal salmon-infecting virus previously resigned to aquaculture facilities, has been detected in wild salmon populations in British Columbia. This has the potential to be a very big deal. ISA is 90% lethal and mortality occurs in 10 days or less. The virus is waterborn, but can also be transmitted through handling with contaminated equipment. There is no treatment once a fish is infected.

Before I go on, a couple points need to be clarified:

  1. ISA does not infect humans, though as it threatens a fishery and a major agricultural industry, it most certainly affects humans.
  2. ISA was isolated from 2 wild sockeye salmon. It has not been confirmed from independent test yet, although one statement indicates that the current infection is from a non-infectious strain of ISA (which raises some interesting questions about who currently knows what about this outbreak).

Read More “Salmon, aquaculture, and the spread of Infectious Salmon Anemia” »

Weekly dose of TED – Kristina Gjerde: Making law on the high seas

Posted on February 18, 2011February 17, 2011 By Andrew Thaler
Uncategorized

The high seas are a black hole for ocean conservation. They lie beyond the jurisdiction of any single country and are largely open for unregulated exploitation. Even as we begin moving towards a pragmatic high seas conservation framework, we should keep in mind that many territorial waters are still left unprotected and open to illegal … Read More “Weekly dose of TED – Kristina Gjerde: Making law on the high seas” »

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