- Election of ISA Secretary-General mired by accusations of bribery and corruption
- International Seabed Authority gears up for a leadership challenge at the July meeting.
- No, the ship didn’t steer towards the pylon: A brief fact check on the MV Dali collision with Baltimore’s Key Bridge
- New Deep-sea Mining Bill Introduced in Congress
- NOAA confirms North Atlantic Right Whale killed by commercial lobster gear
- Norway moves one step closer to deep-sea mining
Foghorn (A Call to Action!)
- The kids are alright. I’m suing the U.S. government for causing the climate change crisis #YouthVGov.
- This fleet of underwater robots will help citizen scientists make the case for ocean conservation. Find out how you can get yours through the SEE Initiative!
Flotsam (what we’re obsessed with right now)
- This comic comes at you like a kick in the teeth. Can Climate Science Be Rendered Conservative-Friendly? How to pitch environmentalism to climate change deniers.
Because OpenROV Trident is a work of art and should be displayed as such when not on deployment. This was my first big design project using the Glowforge and integrating LED strips If you have a Trident, you can download the plans and bill of materials right here: OpenROV Trident Glowing Wall Mount. More importantly, if … Read More “I made a ridiculous Glowing Wall Mount for my OpenROV Trident!” »
Recently, the Canadian government released the Final Report of the National Advisory Panel on Marine Protected Area Standards. This report is a set of guidelines and goals for the creation of new marine protected areas in Canada, and comes as Canada is hoping to greatly increase the number and quality of MPAs. I reached out to MPA experts and environmental nonprofits to ask what they think.
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.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k32nNIzWHog
Barndoor skates were once thought to be so overfished that a highly-publicized paper from 1998 noted that they had been “driven to near extinction without anyone noticing.” One of the largest skates, barndoor skates can reach over 5 feet in wingspan, which is large enough that their diet includes small sharks like spiny dogfish; for a skate, that’s about as close as it gets to charismatic megafauna!
Recently, NOAA Fisheries announced that Barndoor skate populations off the Northeastern United States had finally recovered enough that fishing for them could resume. This move comes after a 2009 NOAA Fisheries report showed that the species had begun to recover enough that they could be removed from the species of concern list, though they remained protected at the time. “This is good news,” Mike Ruccio, a Supervisory Fishery Policy Analyst for NOAA Fisheries Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office, told me. “Rebuilding overfished stocks is one of the cornerstones of the US domestic policy on fisheries.”
Cuttings (short and sweet): Follow everyone in this amazing thread of twitter wildlife biologists started by David Steen. Ancient Egyptians farmed fish thousands of years ago. By the New Arab. This is a neat story about a new archaeological study, which tells us about ancient humans’ relationship with the sea. Fun fish festivals around the … Read More “Ancient fish farming and popular invasive species: Thursday Afternoon Dredging, October 18th 2018” »
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.
- 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.
Foghorn (A Call to Action!) The new IPCC Climate Change Report is out and it is grim. With very little time left to hold back the worst outcomes of global warming, we need a massive multi-national coordinated effort at a scale that we have never before even attempted. The clock is ticking and the time … Read More “We haven’t earned the right to quit. Monday Morning Salvage: October 8, 2018” »
Cuttings (short and sweet): Follow fisheries biologist Justin Rizzari on twitter! Commercial fishing banned across much of the Arctic. By Fiona Harvey, for the Guardian. Slavery with your seafood. By the Save Our Seas Foundation blog. The top fish books for kids. By Abigail Lynch, for the Fisheries Blog. Spoils (long reads and deep dives): … Read More “Banning Arctic fishing and protecting public beach access: Thursday Afternoon Dredging, October 4th, 2018” »
Welcome to Dear Shark Man, an advice column inspired by a ridiculous e-mail I received. You can send your questions to me via twitter (@WhySharksMatter) or e-mail (WhySharksMatter at gmail). Dear Shark Man, Are Daddy and Grandpa sharks really morphologically bigger than Mommy and Grandma sharks? Sincerely, Addicted to “Baby Shark” in Arizona Dear Addicted, Thank you … Read More “Dear Shark Man, are the relative sizes of sharks in the “baby shark” dance scientifically accurate?” »