Scubaism

A team of scientists will spend the next several months creating a detailed map of Australia’s coastline to identify areas most at risk to sea level rises. GeoScience Australia and the Australian Greenhouse Office have commissioned the project which is expected to be finished by February.

University of Tasmania researchers will bring together land form maps that already exist and develop an electronic map of the entire coastline, showing areas that are most vulnerable. The map will play a major role in a national study by the greenhouse office, looking at where coastal infrastructure and ecosystems are most at risk to climate change.

Geomorphologist Chris Sharples says it is the first time the information will enable researchers to easily compare and analyse different areas of Australia’s coastline. “We’ve got one consistent solid set of coastal information for Australia, which makes it much more simple to go about the job of identifying which parts of the coast are sensitive and how to respond to that,” he said.

No Comments »

Usually cuttlefish are shot at rest or in flight. But this one found by hsacdirk in North Wales appears to be in the middle of a meal. Wish I shot that!

No Comments »

WWF and Papua New Guinea’s national postal service are issuing a new series of postal stamps featuring six species of endangered marine turtles found in the country’s waters — leatherback, green, hawksbill, loggerhead, olive ridley and flatback.

Papua New Guinea has some of the world’s most important nesting beaches, feeding areas and nurseries for leatherback, hawksbill, green and loggerhead turtles. Although internationally protected, the marine turtle populations are on the decline as a result of over-harvesting for meat and egg consumption, accidental capture in fishing nets, coastal development and marine pollution.

Papua New Guinea, Indonesia and the Solomon Islands last year agreed to protect the crucially endangered leatherback turtle in the Pacific through joint conservation activities. The tri-national partnership, supported by WWF, will allow the three countries to enhance conservation of leatherback turtles through information sharing, data exchange and cooperative research. It also plans to establish a network of marine protected areas covering critical leatherback habitats throughout parts of the western Pacific Ocean.

No Comments »

Passengers aboard the whale watching ship Moby Dick, sailing off the coast of Reykjanes peninsula, southwest Iceland, were caught by surprise yesterday when they spotted a strange creature—not a whale—swimming in the ocean alongside the boat.

“We saw that there was something other than a whale swimming near the surface. […] The creature was surrounded by dolphins and it looked like they were trying to help it,” Helga Ingimundardóttir, who operates Moby Dick, told Morgunbladid. “It swam near the surface for quite some time so we got a good look at it before it disappeared.”

The strange creature turned out to be 1.2 to 1.5-meters-long Loggerhead Sea Turtle, which can weigh up to 360 kilos. Such turtles are common in the Mediterranean and by the North American coastline, but are usually not found in Icelandic waters.

Ingimundardóttir notified the Icelandic Marine Research Institute about the discovery. Droplaug Ólafsdóttir, a biologist at the institute, said the turtle’s visit is very unusual.

Ólafsdóttir explained that the ocean temperature is warmest around Iceland at this time of year and espoused that could be a possible reason for the turtle getting lost, adding that she did not expect more turtles to follow.

A giant sea turtle has been spotted in Icelandic waters on one other occasion, in Steingrímsfjördur fjord in the eastern Westfjords in 1963. It was 2.03 meters long and 375 kilos. The turtle is on display in the Icelandic Institute of Natural History.

No Comments »

A tropical algae thriving on fertilizers from hotel golf courses and badly treated sewage is killing one of Costa Rica’s most important coastal reefs, scientists say.

The green, feather-like algae is spreading along the reefs of Culebra Bay in Costa Rica’s northwestern Gulf of Papagayo, a popular scuba diving spot and home to a rare species of coral. The algae blocks the sunlight and suffocates the reefs.

A tourism and construction boom along the palm tree-lined beaches is creating nitrogen- and phosphate-rich waste that feeds the algae, known as Caulerpa sertularioides, and Costa Rica is only just becoming aware of the problem. “It’s an ecological disaster,” said Cindy Fernandez, a marine biologist with the nonprofit MarViva Association, who alerted the Costa Rican government to the threat, which is now being taken on by the state-run University of Costa Rica.

Scientists say about 80 percent of the reef area, which stretches for about a mile and a half (2.4 km) along the coast line, is covered in the algae. The aggressive algae spreads when even the smallest sliver comes loose, from the likes of strong currents or dive boats dropping anchor, to root itself in another part of the reef. Even the sweep of a diver’s hand or the kick of a diver’s fin can send a fragment swirling away to start another patch.

That means experts cannot pull it up like weeds. “If you pull it up it will reproduce faster,” said Jenny Asch, coordinator of the government’s marine conservation program, who is leading efforts to find a way to eradicate the algae. If left unchecked, the algae could also severely damage the ecosystem of the bay, allowing non-native species of fish to come in and displace the native species.

The highly invasive Mediterranean strain of the algae, Caulerpa taxifolia, was discovered in Southern California in June 2000, where scientists have used solid chlorine blocks to eradicate the pest. Costa Rican scientists do not yet know if similar eradication techniques will work on Caulerpa sertularioides.

No Comments »

THIS teenager was taken from the water near Sydney’s Palm Beach with four fish hooks in her gut. The green sea turtle is still in intensive care but after two months of treatment at Taronga Zoo and two lots of surgery, she may yet make a full recovery.

If she survives, she will be one of the lucky ones. This year alone, the Zoo has taken in 20 different sea turtles found by fishers. Only five have lived.

The turtles swallow fish hooks and lines and many starve to death as the metal claws eroded their stomachs. “Unfortunately, when we find the turtles they’ve (usually) had the hooks and lines in them a long time,” the Zoo wildlife hospital manager Libby Hall said. “The hooks . . . put holes in the intestines (and) they end up with a very large gut impaction. They can’t feed and they starve to death,” she said.

Many sea turtles that suffer this fate are not found until they rise to the surface and float after they die. This particular green sea turtle, a 8.6kg teenager, was found early. The hooks could be surgically removed as they had not settled deep in her gut.

No Comments »

The incessant rain today did not stop Phuket City’s ethnic Chinese from turning out en masse to pay their respects to the dead on the first day of the annual “Por Tor” festival.

The festival, officially opened by Phuket Governor Niran Kalayanamit at 1 pm, saw hundreds lighting joss sticks and offering cakes in the shapes of turtles, the Chinese symbol of longevity, from 10 am to 6 pm.

Stalls selling food, snacks and handicrafts have been set up along the road, many with turtle cakes on display. The turtle cakes are not for sale, though many are given away as a way to make merit.

A large screen has been set up to show movies tomorrow evening. Although the movies are being shown to honor the dead, the living are invited to come and enjoy them too.

The festival is being held between Suriyadej Circle and Jui Tui Shrine on Ranong Rd, which is closed to traffic until Friday. The festival will conclude on Friday with a ceremony at Bang Niow Shrine on Phuket Rd, just south of Ong Sim Phai Rd.

No Comments »

A huge swathe of China’s booming Pearl River Delta will be “engulfed” by rising sea water by the middle of the century because of global warming, state media said on Thursday, quoting weather officials.

Some 1,153 square km of coastal land would be flooded by 2050, with the bustling cities of Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong province, Zhuhai and Foshan the worst affected, the China Daily said, quoting the provincial water authority. Hotter average global temperatures fuelled by greenhouse gases meant the sea level along the coast of Guangdong was forecast to rise by at least 30 cm by 2050.

“Climate change will negatively affect the economic development of Guangdong, which is currently one of the biggest consumers of energy and producers of greenhouse gases,” Du Raodong, an expert at the Guangdong weather centre, was quoted as saying. The rising sea level would lead to a salt tide, posing a huge threat to drinking water supply. “Moreover, red tides (caused by high concentrations of algae) will occur along coastal areas, affecting agricultural production,” said Du.

Yu Yong, director of the Guangdong bureau, warned that global warming would bring about more drought and floods, causing huge economic losses. “More energy-saving industrial facilities should be introduced in a bid to reduce greenhouse gas emissions,” Du said.

Torrential rain has inundated large swathes of China’s east, south and southwest since June while a prolonged heat wave and drought have afflicted several eastern provinces. More than 1,000 people have been killed in floods, mudslides and collapsed houses so far this year. “The climate has been abnormal,” Vice Minister of Water Resources E Jingping told a news conference this week.

No Comments »

Eliecer Cruz, governor of Ecuador’s Galapagos Islands, a United Nations World Heritage Site, said Tuesday that Ecuador plans to expel 6,000 illegal residents from the archipelago. The government warned in April that it would deport illegal residents to preserve the islands, which are located in the Pacific Ocean, 950 km west of Ecuador.

The United Nations Organization for Education, Science and Culture (UNESCO) said in June that the Islands’ environment was at risk from tourists, immigrants and foreign species. Cruz said that authorities bar tourists from Ecuador or overseas from spending more than three months on the islands, but that many come and stay permanently.

Raquel Molina, director of the Galapagos National Park, praised planned restrictions on visitors. “It was a question of having the political will to carry out what is already laid down in law and regulate people’s extended stays on the island,” she said. UNESCO listed the islands as a world heritage site because of its unique flora and fauna.

No Comments »

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has charged administrators of Florida’s Gulfarium with illegally purchasing fish. The charges, four separate counts of buying fish without a wholesale license, are misdemeanors. However, if the marine animal park is found guilty, it could lose its state license that allows it to display animals such as alligators and river otters, said FWC Capt. Leroy Alderson.

Okaloosa County Court Judge Patricia Grinsted signed off on a summons late Tuesday afternoon. They stem from allegations the Gulfarium was illegally buying fish it used in aquarium displays, said former dolphin trainer Russ Rector. Investigators and the state attorney’s office in Okaloosa County confirmed Rector’s assessment of the charges. Court documents related to the charges were not available Wednesday.

“It proves clearly the Gulfarium has nothing to do with conservation,” said Rector, a South Florida resident who has vowed to force the beleaguered and aging facility to close. “They are not conserving our oceans, they are depleting them.” Rector said buying display fish in the manner undertaken by Gulfarium also “promotes a black market in display fish.”

Neither Gulfarium General Manager Don Abrams nor former curator Greg Siebenaler returned phone calls seeking comment on the charges.

The Gulfarium came under scrutiny following an inspection in May. The National Marine Fisheries Service and the U.S. Department of Agriculture joined the FWC on the surprise visit. Inspectors found that the facility had failed to report many — an amended inventory indicates at least 28 — animal deaths since the time such reports became required in 1994.

They also discovered that a dolphin named Prince had appeared on a federal inventory kept by the Fisheries Service as Pearl. Prince, a male dolphin, had existed as Pearl on the Marine Mammal Inventory from the time it was captured in 1985 until its death following Hurricane Ivan in 2004. Abrams said at the time that the Gulfarium had received “capture” permits for two female dolphins, but found only one “viable specimen.” That dolphin, a male, was named Pearl, but later renamed.

A report issued by the USDA investigators well after the inspection also cited employee negligence as the cause of the death of Daphne, one of two dolphins that died at the Gulfarium this year.

No Comments »