right whales | Southern Fried Science

Cleaning beaches and saving right whales: Thursday Afternoon Dredging, September 13, 2018

Posted on September 13, 2018 by David Shiffman

Cuttings (short and sweet):

Follow marine biologist (and research tech in the lab I’m in) Wade VanderWal on twitter!
The science behind the International Coastal Cleanup. By George Leonard, for the Ocean Conservancy blog. Here’s a plastic pollution reduction program that works!
The hidden lives of deep-sea creatures caught on camera. By Amy Maxmen, for Nature News.

Spoils (long reads and deep dives):

Bid to reduce right whale deaths “extremely effective,” Canadian officials say. By Michael MacDonald, for CBC news.
Warming oceans are changing the world’s rainfall. By John Abraham, for the Guardian
In Washington, a farm-to-table restaurant tried to serve the best local fish. Instead, it stumbled into a debate over tribal fishing rights. By Doug Bierend, for the New Food Economy.
Wait, So How Much of the Ocean Is Actually Fished? One prominent study said 55 percent, its critics say 4 percent, and they both used the same data. Really interesting discussion of how fisheries data analysis works, by Ed Yong for the Atlantic.
Searching for survivors in a post-nuclear reefscape. By Greg Asner and Clare Reduff, for MongaBay
Endangered Languages, Endangered Ecologies. By Deb Krol for the Revelator.

SCALLOPPPPPPPPPPPP WARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR (An update on the brewing BREXIT-related war over scallop fishing rights between the UK and the EU):

Scallop negotiations end with no deal, say fishing leaders. BBC News alert. I am officially setting the Scallop War Doomsday Clock at 5 minutes to midnight.

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!

Seafaring neanderthals and switchblade fish: A mega Thursday Afternoon Dredging, May 10th, 2018

Posted on May 10, 2018 by David Shiffman

After two weeks off, we’re back and bigger than ever!

Cuttings (short and sweet):

Follow
Archaeologist makes case for seafaring Neanderthals. By Christopher Ingraham, for Scientific American.
Larson Creek trout may have been wiped out. By Randy Shore, for the Vancouver Sun.
US Coast Guard steps up efforts to protect right whales. From GCaptain.
The US and Britain are teaming up to study a massive glacier in Antarctica. By Laurel Wamsley, for NPR.

Spoils (long reads and deep dives):

Fish with a switchblade and other animal weapons. By Liz Langley, for National Geographic.
Fish and chips shops battered by soaring costs: Brexit threatens Britain’s national dish. By Jamie Doward, for the Guardian.
Noisy reefs help fish find their way home. By Sue Palminteri, for MongaBay
Something slithery this way comes: the difference between sea snakes and eels. By Emily Brauner, for the Ocean Conservancy blog.
Catch and deceased. By Christopher Pollon, for Hakai.
Why Atlantic species are invading the Arctic. By Eli Kintisch, for Vox.
New Brunswick fishermen not happy with rules to protect whales. By Alexander Quon, for Global News.
Chinese fish farm tests the waters with the world’s largest salmon cage. By Frank Tang, for the South China Morning Post.
Unique Amazon coral reef at risk from oil drilling. By Amelia Urry, for OceansDeeply.
Feds agree to list 75 remaining pink dolphins as endangered. By Ramona Young-Grindle, for Courthouse News
How to save the high seas. By Olive Heffernan, for Nature.

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!

Sea monsters and saving kelp: Thursday Afternoon Dredging, April 12, 2018

Posted on April 12, 2018 by David Shiffman

Cuttings (short and sweet):

Follow graduate student Justine Hudson, who studies arctic marine mammals, on twitter.
Prehistoric “sea monster” could be largest that ever lived. By John Pickrell, for National Geographic.
Right whales think before they speak. By Jason Goldman, for Scientific American.
UK could create 5,000 jobs by improving seafood sustainability. By Fiona Harvey, for the Guardian.

Spoils (long reads and deep dives):

California mobilizes to save kelp, but will it be in vain? From OceansDeeply
How getting fishing right can protect other threatened marine species. By Doug Rader, for the EDF blog.
Marine noise is disturbing fish, physically and mentally. By Richard Kemeney, for Hakai.
How to help penguins. By David Oehler, for MongaBay.

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!

Hagfish, chill Puffins, swamp monsters, the mining boat floats, and more! Monday Morning Salvage: April 2, 2018

Posted on April 2, 2018 by Andrew David Thaler

Foghorn (A Call to Action!)

Want to help stem the tide of misinformation online and off? Do you have it all figured out and just need resources to implement your world-saving solution? The Rita Allen Foundation is looking for Solutions to Curb the Spread of Misinformation.

Flotsam (what we’re obsessed with right now)

Hagfish. Tough. Lovable. Slimy. But not too slimy. Hagfish Take Weeks to Recover from Sliming Someone.

Kevin D’Angelo integrated the OpenCTD with a new protocol for detecting salinity using the gold pins of a microUSB controller and I am blown away! Outstanding work.
This is a puffin wearing sunglasses for science.

The Levee (A featured project that emerged from Oceandotcomm)

Installed as a beacon of hope for a hurricane-racked island, the statue had to be moved multiple times due to the eroding coast: Our Lady of the Sea by Russel Arnott.
Russell also created these outstanding posters to warn us away from Louisiana’s famed and fearsome swamp ghosts:

Beware the Feu Follet, by Russell Arnott

Beware the walrus, explosion detected near missing submarine, diamond mining, and more! Monday Morning Salvage: November 27, 2017

Posted on November 27, 2017 by Andrew David Thaler

Fog Horn (A Call to Action)

In Port Moresby this Wednesday? The University of Papua New Guinea is hosting a public lecture and panel on experimental seabed mining in the Bismark Sea.

Flotsam (what we’re obsessed with right now)

Text abbreviations for marine biologists. Courtesy of New Scientist. via Francis Villatoro.

Lessons from Puerto Rico, mutant starfish, pictures of ships, and more! Monday Morning Salvage: October 9, 2017.

Posted on October 9, 2017 by Andrew David Thaler

Flotsam (what we’re obsessed with right now)

A fish scientist’s 10 tips for surviving a hurricane: Lessons learned from Puerto Rico from our friends at the Fisheries Blog.
Commentary: For Hurricane-Hit Puerto Rico, an Insider’s Guide to Disaster Management by gCaptain.

The Military Sealift Command hospital ship USNS Comfort (T-AH 20) arrives in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Oct. 3, 2017. U.S. Navy Photo

How to help Houston, GameBoy SONAR, buy a lighthouse, and more! Monday Morning Salvage: August 28, 2017

Posted on August 28, 2017 by Andrew David Thaler

Fog Horn (A Call to Action)

Hurricane Harvey is sitting over the city of Houston, dumping biblical amounts of rain and flooding nearly the entire metropolitan area. There’s lots of great organizations to donate to, but in the immediate aftermath, it’s often best to donate to local relief programs that already have a ground team in place, rather than national groups that will take weeks to build up their infrastructure. I’m a fan of the Texas Diaper Bank and Portlight Inclusive Disaster Strategies, both of which serve communities that tend to be particularly vulnerable during natural disasters.

Flotsam (what we’re obsessed with right now)

Dr. Katharine Hayhoe has become one of the most important voices in Climate Change over the last few years. Her latest, I was an Exxon-funded climate scientist, is a sober look at who where the money really goes and who pulls the strings in the climate change denial industry.
Bandai and Nintendo once made a SONAR that runs on a GameBoy Pocket, and I want one. Has anyone ever encountered one of these rare and wondrous techno chimeras?

Nerds of trust, deep-sea mining, ocean art, and more! Monday Morning Salvage: July 3, 2017

Posted on July 3, 2017 by Andrew David Thaler

Fog Horn (A Call to Action)

Protect the Outer Continental Shelf! Last week, the president announced a plan to open up significant portions of the outer continental shelf for oil and gas exploration. Call you representative! The public comment period opens today and runs through August 17. We’ll have a template script prepped for your use by the end of the week.

Flotsam (what we’re obsessed with right now)

Deep-sea mining. It’s closer to happening now than ever before, and scientists, conservationists, and ocean stakeholders are very concerned.

Image: James St. John/Flickr Creative Commons

Can deep-sea mining avoid the environmental mistakes of mining on land? As an industry, probably not.
Experts Warn that Seabed Mining Will Lead to ‘Unavoidable’ Loss of Biodiversity. And check below for the primary source, co-authored by several leaders in deep ocean science.