whaling | Southern Fried Science

Dead dolphins wash up in Mauritius, mining for cobalt on the bottom of the sea, and Norwegian whaling – What’s up with the Ocean this week?

Posted on September 2, 2020 by Andrew Thaler

The disaster continues in Mauritius. With the cleanup and salvage well underway, Mauritius has begun assessing the broader impacts of the disastrous bulk carrier wreck. Fishermen have reported seeing 30 to 30 dead dolphins floating in a lagoon near the wreckage including mothers and calfs. Dead whales, as well as sick and injured whales, are also being recovered close to the site of the spill.

Deep-sea mining cracks the crust. The world’s first experimental deep-sea mining operation for cobalt-rich ferromanganese crusts has successfully recovered ore from the seafloor. For a deeper looking into the development of the deep-sea mining industry, subscribe to the DSM Observer.

*The mining machine on the seabed. Photo courtesy JOGMEC.*

Whaling in Norway. Commercial whaling in Norway has reach a four-year-high. As of last week, Norwegian whaling vessels had killed 481 minke whales this season. The Norwegian whaling season is not over.

Upwelling.

I don’t have a huge soapbox to stand on this week, but there have been several good balanced articles about deep-sea mining that are worth a read, including this from Scientific American – Deep-Sea Mining: How to Balance Need for Metals with Ecological Impacts – and this by the Secretary-General of the International Seabed Authority, which oversees seabed mineral rights in areas beyond national jurisdiction – How to Mine the Oceans Sustainably.

Japan returns to commercial whaling, octopuses are probably smarter than you, oil companies are burning oil to refreeze permafrost, and more! Monday Morning Salvage: July 8, 2019.

Posted on July 8, 2019 by Andrew Thaler

Flotsam (what we’re obsessed with right now)

The women fish sellers of West Africa, a great video from China Dialogue.

How smart are octopuses? So smart! For Smart Animals, Octopuses Are Very Weird.

I want you to have amazing adventures with underwater robots, protecting the oceans like national parks, songs of a ice and warming, cannibals, and more! Monday Morning Salvage: October 22, 2018.

Posted on October 22, 2018 by Andrew Thaler

Foghorn (A Call to Action!)

I want you to have amazing adventures with underwater robots. That’s why Nat Geo and OpenROV are giving away 1000 robot submarines!
National Geographic Announces Initiative to Donate 1,000 Underwater Drones to Explore the Ocean.

Flotsam (what we’re obsessed with right now)

Get inspired with the latest TED Talk for OpenROV visionary David Lang.

Teen scientists went looking for meteorites in the Great Lakes. They found another type of alien.
- And follow these kids’ incredible expedition on Open Explorer.

High octopuses don’t love you back, sextants in space, protect our ocean monuments, and more! Monday Morning Salvage: September 24, 2018

Posted on September 24, 2018 by Andrew Thaler

Logo for Monday Morning Salvage.

Foghorn (a call to action)

After a decade spent expanding marine protection throughout the US EEZ, the federal government is going to war on healthy oceans: The Trump Administration’s New Attack on Marine Monuments.
Want to work for COMPASS in DC? One of the nation’s preeminent science communications institutions is hiring, and trust me, DC needs you.
If fleeing to Canada is more your style (David (¬_¬) ), Ocean Watch is hiring a manager to plan, manage and execute the Coastal Ocean Health Initiative.

Flotsam (what we’re obsessed with right now)

Gulper Eels are amazing. Amazing.

This is an amazing series of visualizations from the Guardian. Seven endangered species that could (almost) fit in a single train carriage.

There are approximately 30 vaquitas left in the world
Illustration: Mona Chalabi

There are sextants on the International Space Station and I can’t stop thinking about it.

Red tide, whale poop, and vanishing puffins: Thursday Afternoon Dredging, August 30th, 2018

Posted on August 30, 2018 by David Shiffman

Cuttings (short and sweet):

Follow the official account of the US Sawfish Recovery Team on twitter!
The harmful algal blooms in Florida, explained. From the Ocean Conservancy blog. This environmental news story has resulted in not only heartbreak, but confusion. This explainer post by Ocean Conservancy experts answers many of the questions that folks have been asking me for weeks.

Spoils (long reads and deep dives):

How Whale Poop Could Counter Calls to Resume Commercial Hunting. By Mike Shanahan, for Scientific American.
Why Are Puffins Vanishing? The Hunt for Clues Goes Deep (Into Their Burrows). By John Schwartz, for the New York Times. Be sure to check out Andrew’s twitter thread about puffins, the origin for “The Last Jedi’s” porgs.
A controversial comeback for a highly prized tuna. By Patrick Whittle, for the Associated Press.
Taking it slow can reduce Arctic shipping’s impact on whales. By Matt Pine, for MongaBay.
Invasive species are riding on plastic across the ocean. By Whitney Pipkin, for National Geographic. Yet another problem with ocean trash- it serves as mobile habitat for invasive species.
Fish populations could rise in warming climate with better management. By Fiona Harvey, for the Guardian.

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!

Saturation diving, destroying the world with Bitcoin mining, deep-sea mining, Arctic shrinkage, and more! Monday Morning Salvage: May 21, 2018

Posted on May 21, 2018 by Andrew Thaler

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 May, 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)

Immediately after college, my backup plan if I didn’t get into grad school was to go to work as an underwater welder doing saturation diving. After reading this, I’m pretty glad I didn’t go that route. The Weird, Dangerous, Isolated Life of the Saturation Diver.

Walking the talk in Vanuatu, the first country in the world to ban plastic straws.
We’ve been saying this for a awhile now. Cryptocurrencies that rely on ever increasing processing power to resolve transaction are an environmental disaster. Alarming Study Suggests Bitcoin Consumes an Astonishing Amount of Energy and It’s Only Getting Worse.

The Levee (A featured project that emerged from Oceandotcomm)

Stitching Hope for the Coast is still accepting contributions from knitters around the world. Join the fun!

Hacking tractors, foraging in the surf, mini-boats, Mardi Gras beads, and more! Monday Morning Salvage: February 5, 2018.

Posted on February 5, 2018 by Andrew Thaler

Flotsam (what we’re obsessed with right now)

This little video is a master class in natural history: Foraging on a beach in Wales.

Tractor Hacking: The Farmers Breaking Big Tech’s Repair Monopoly.

A new Gulf oil spill, opposition to deep-sea mining, DIY drop cameras, and more! Massive Monday Morning Salvage: October 30, 2017

Posted on October 30, 2017 by Andrew Thaler

I’ve been away for 2 weeks, so it’s a super-massive edition of the Monday Morning Salvage!

Fog Horn (A Call to Action)

There’s still an unimaginable amount of work to do in Dominica and across the Caribbean. Support the Rebuild Dominica Hurricane Relief fund or any of the other funds from our list: How to help our island colleagues in the wake of total devastation.

Flotsam (what we’re obsessed with right now)

This is such a cool story: A Trail of Rocks Traces Historical Steamship Routes. We can track old steamship routes from rocks scraped out of the furnaces and tossed overboard.
Former Papua New Guinea Attorney General attacks deep sea mining project. They always pick pictures for these articles that don’t show how much life is right around the vents.

Sampling SMS under the sea Photo: Nautilus Minerals

Whose ecological footprint is bigger: Medics, economists, or environmentalists? Spoilers: conservationists still have an impact, but they sure ain’t number 1.

Jetsam (what we’re enjoying from around the web)

There’s a fresh oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, and it’s pretty darn huge:
Some fun from Deep Sea News: When real-life marine biologist and mom goes to sea, she takes the octonauts with her.

This is fine: Report on U.S. Marine Sanctuary Oil Drilling Sent to White House, Not Released to Public. This is totally fine: Trump Administration Proposes Largest Oil and Gas Lease Sale in U.S. History.
Alaska’s Oyster Farmers Are Filling an Acidification-Driven Void. The state’s oyster farming industry is gaining ground as growers elsewhere struggle. From Hakai Magazine, which is great.
Nature is one of the most under-appreciated tools for reigning in carbon. From Anthropocene, which is fast becoming my favorite environmental print magazine. Sorry, Orion.
Thousands of penguin chicks starve in Antarctica.

Hey, Andrew, how about you give us at least *some* good news today? Ok, fine.

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.

Unflappable Mola Molas, a Cousteau biopic, sharkcats, and more! Monday Morning Salvage: August 21, 2017

Posted on August 21, 2017 by Andrew Thaler

Fog Horn (A Call to Action)

Gratuitous self-plug alert! There’s still a few chance left to get your own Unflappable Mola Mola sticker, but they’re going fast. For this and the rest of the Jaunty Ocean Critter series, subscribe to my Patreon campaign and help keep Southern Fried Science and Oceanography for Everyone running!

Flotsam (what we’re obsessed with right now)

Happy Eclipse Day! If you’ve ever wondered what happens in the sea during an eclipse, Rebecca Helm at Deep Sea News has you covered!
This is an utterly amazing video of Blue Whale feeding behavior. Kudos to Slate, who went with the headline “Krill Joy“.

“Thirty years ago, I discovered a new world. I wanted to conquer it when I should have protected it. It’s not too late.” An uncompromising Jacques Cousteau biopic starring Lambert Wilson? Yes, please!

Jetsam (what we’re enjoying from around the web)
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