Sea Notes

Friday's Featured Film: Sea Monsters

Sea monsters are in the news: ancient ones and a contemporary "monster" captured on film about a year ago.

The latest news concerns a newly discovered fossil pliosaur -- a marine dinosaur nearly 50 feet long that, reporters have noted, had "daggar-like teeth in a mouth large enough to bite a small car."

Discovered in Norway, it's likely a Jurassic species new to science. And it's an exciting find because it demonstrates that there were large marine predators in the northern seas during the age of dinosaurs.

No video of pliosaurs to share, though here's one of several dramatic illustrations created by Tor Sponga, BT, for the Natural History Museum at the University of Oslo, Norway.

(You'll also find great photos of the paleontologists at work excavating the fossil, and illustrations comparing the pliosaur to other marine mammals --notably a blue whale and a human scuba diver.)

But I did promise video and a sea monster to boot.

If you missed the story a year ago, you can find several clips of a rarely seen frilled shark -- a living fossil from the deep sea -- that was caught near shore and that survived only a few hours at the Awashima Marine Park in Japan.

The only living members of their species, they're classified as a near threatened species on the IUCN Red List. As is true for many marine species that have little or no commercial value, when they're caught it's as bycatch in other fisheries.

Spirit of the Salmon

"Each spring, the tribal communities in the Columbia River basin in the Pacific Northwest host a salmon feast honoring the sacrifices the fish make for the welfare of the Yakama, Nez Perce, Umatilla, and Warm Springs tribes. The fishing communities rely on the once-bountiful salmon to support their livelihood. But several years, ago salmon runs were so low that they had to buy the fish in order to have enough for the feast." This is the story of the decline of salmon in the Columbia River and the efforts by local tribes, conservation groups and businesses to restore the rivers and bring back the salmon.

Their plan is called Wy-Kan-Ush-Mi Wa-Kish-Wit, “Spirit of the Salmon” and it's an ambitious one -- to halt the decline within seven years, and to bring back the runs to host 4 million salmon each year within 25 years. This is likely to require the removal of several dams on the river, which are currently an impediment to these populations (as if swimming up stream weren't difficult enough!) The next steps in this process appear to lie in the hands of NOAA fisheries (the body directed to protect these endangered species). The agency will consider it's next move on May 5th. Support for dam removal to restore this critical habitat is overwhelming. Let's hope NOAA agrees.

The Ocean's Half Full

But first, the bad news: a new report In Dead Water from the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) predicts that global climate change is emerging as the latest threat to the world's dwindling fish stocks. "At least three quarters of the globe's key fishing grounds may become seriously impacted by changes in circulation, as a result of the ocean's natural pumping systems fading and falling," UNEP suggests.

You can read much more about this here. And if you didn't already do so, download the latest Seafood Watch pocket guide to find out how you can be a part of the solution.

Or you can turn to the good news. The Joint Ocean Commission Initiative has issued the 2007 U.S. Ocean Policy Report Card and the news is definitely encouraging. Although the overall grade has only risen modestly from a C- to a C, that's definitely a trend in the right direction. Perhaps much can be learned from the actions of regional and state governance, with an A- grade. Good news for the whole nation, as the health of coastal waters impacts us all in some way.

Leaders in state ocean governance are Florida, Washington and California. The latter with a process to implement a statewide network of marine protected areas - which started right here in the Aquarium's backyard in 2007. You can become involved in this process by joining our Ocean Action Team, to receive alerts about the progress of the network and find out how you can take action.

You can read the full report card on the Joint Ocean Commission's website.

California Taxes & California Sea Otters

 

Help me this tax season!

In 2006, bill AB 2485 created a voluntary check-off on California income tax forms for sea otter research. The revenue generated goes to the California Sea Otter Fund. The Fund supports scientists working to understand the threats to California sea otters and to find ways to recover this population.

California sea otters are on the endangered species list as a threatened population. The population stands at a little over 3,000 animals, which is quite remarkable given that they were once thought to be extinct! However, the rate of population growth is poor and the death rate of animals at prime breeding age, particularly females, is alarmingly high. You can learn more about the issues facing sea otters on our website. The Aquarium's Sea Otter and Conservation Research Program works with a coalition of organizations working to discover why the population is in crisis and what can be done.

Want to help? When filing your California taxes (Form 540) look for line 60, CA Sea Otter Fund.

To keep the Fund on the tax form, a total of $250,000 or more, must be donated in 2008. Please help keep the Sea Otter Fund alive for another year.  (You can download a tax form here.)

Friday's Film: Underwater Astonishments

Check out this great five minute video from last year's TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) conference held here in Monterey. Amazing footage of animals in the deep sea, followed by camouflage techniques of coastal critters, and the work of Dr. Roger Hanlon at the Woods Hole Marine Biological Laboratory.

There was a fascinating article about Dr. Hanlon in the New York Times online this week. Hanlon has spent three decades uncovering the secrets of camouflage in cephalopods (squid, octopus and cuttlefish). However, much is yet to be learned. For example, tests suggest that cuttlefish are color blind, and yet their color display repertoire is wide and varied. How is that possible? That's another mystery to be solved!

Meanwhile, scientists at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) continue to unravel the secrets of the deep sea, with almost daily dives into the deep waters of the Monterey Canyon. Come join us on their weekday missions, with live video transmitted by satellite into the auditorium at the Aquarium! Or check out their new web site and visit  Mission to the Deep online. 

Eat Thine Enemy

Invasive species pose some of the gravest threats to coastal marine ecosystems. They're displacing native species, altering habitats to make them less hospitable for native marine life. They foul fishing nets and pipelines, and they eat fish and crustaceans that are caught commercially. Laura Hrastar had a great piece in Currents that surveys the issue and possible solutions.

The easiest solution is requiring all ocean-going ships to discharge their ballast water far from shore rather than in coastal waters. But that hasn't happened so far, though California is one of several states taking aggressive action against ocean invaders. (Though it may be too late to save the San Francisco Bay ecosystem, which is home to more than 250 invasive species -- more species than are native to the bay.)

Now, from Montreal writer Taras Grescoe comes a novel solution: Gobble up these pests.

In an op-ed piece for the New York Times, he suggests that we put these alien invaders on the menu.

Perhaps in the vein of Jonathan Swift's "A Modest Proposal" , Grescoe says we'd do well to develop a taste for jellyfish and carp, currenlty among the most threatening invaders.

Then again, perhaps he's deadly serious. His new book, coming soon to a store near you, is called Bottomfeeder: How to Eat Ethically in a World of Vanishing Seafood.

Bon appétit!

Earth's Oldest Animals

It's official: The oldest living animals on Earth live in the deep sea.

In an announcement from Texas A&M University delivered at the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Boston, the title of Marine Methuselah goes to gold corals and black corals. Their age: between 2,000 and 4,000 years.

That's just a millenium or so shorter than the lifespan of the oldest living thing, the bristlecone pines found in the White Mountains of Eastern California.

Big thanks to Peter Etnoyer of Texas A&M, who posted on Deep-Sea News about the big event. I'd write about them in more detail, but he's eloquent in describing their lives, their rivals and the threats they face.

There's a Monterey Bay connection, too (of sorts). A 2002 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration expedition to the Davidson Seamount off the Big Sur coast found other deep-sea corals of enormous size, also presumed to be very long-lived. Similar corals and other amazing animals were documented in a follow-up expedition in 2006.

There have been proposals to expand the boundaries of the " target="_blank">Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary to include the Davidson Seamount -- affording protection against bottom-trawling or other destructive human activities that could threaten ancient living treasures like the bubblegum coral (at right).

We'll keep you posted on progress.

Sharks Attacked

Despite our innate fear of sharks, they have far more to fear from us, than we of them. On average two or three people die from shark encounters each year. Scientists estimate that as many as one hundered million sharks may die each year as a result of interactions with us: targeted by shark fishermen for their fins, accidentally caught and killed by other fisheries, and by sport fishermen or trophy hunters.

One hundred million sharks per year equates to three sharks dying every second of every day. Sharks are slow to grow, slow to reach sexual maturity and produce few offspring. How can they keep up with this hunt? The answer quite simply is, they cannot.

A new report published by the World Conservation Union (IUCN) finds that many more sharks are now considered to be at risk of extinction. New to the list is a shark close to our hearts at the Monterey Bay Aquarium - the scalloped hammerhead. You can find this graceful shark, a visitor favorite, in our Outer Bay waters exhibit.

This shark species (and eight others) will be added to the IUCN's red list in 2008. The scalloped hammerhead population is estimated to have declined by a staggering 99% and will be listed as "globally endangered" due to overfishing and the high demand for shark fins. 126 other sharks are already listed as threatened by these factors.

What can I do to help?

·         Follow the recommendations of the Seafood Watch regional pocket guides to find the best choices for healthy oceans.

·        Avoid eating shark and shark fin soup.

·         Avoid products containing shark liver oil and shark cartilage.  Look for shark-free alternatives, such as chondroitin from bovine sources.

·         Avoid buying shark souvenirs such as teeth and jaws, unless they are replicas or fossils.

·        Support legislation that prevents overfishing and encourages fisheries managers to consider whole ecosystems, rather than focusing exclusively on fish “stocks”. 

Monday's Photo: Kiribati Coral

What better way to start the week that with a celebration of a great victory: the establishment of the world's largest marine reserve by the Pacific island nation of Kiribati.

The new Phoenix Islands Protected Area covers almost 160,000 square miles near the equator between the Hawaiian Islands and Fiji.

Our colleagues at the New England Aquarium, along with Conservation International, are helping Kiribati develop management and funding plans for the reserve.

The waters and islands in the protected area are home to more than 120 species of coral and 520 species of fish, some new to science.  The area also has some of the most important sea bird nesting sites in the Pacific, large fish populations and sea turtles, the aquarium and Conservation International say.

"The new boundary includes extensive seamount and deep-sea habitat, tuna spawning grounds and as yet unsurveyed submerged reef systems," Greg Stone, the New England Aquarium's vice-president of global marine programs, told the Reuters news agency.

If you want to see more, National Geographic has a great website devoted to the Phoenix Islands, with photos like this one, and other resources.

It's a wonderful day when any new protected area is created, especially one larger than either the Northwest Hawaiian Islands National Monument (largest in U.S. waters) or the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority in Australia.

Danger Zones

Just as the world is waking up to the accelerating threat of climate change, so too are threats to the oceans making it onto the radar.

There were two clear examples this past week.

First, a study (and accompanying map) published in the journal Science showed that only about 4 percent of the world's oceans remain undamaged by human activity.

One of the paper's co-authors, Dr. Mark Spalding, a senior marine scientist with The Nature Conservancy, told the BBC that, "I think the big surprise from all of this was seeing what the complete coverage of human impacts was. There's nowhere really that escaped. It's quite a shocking map to see."

Spaulding identified two key factors behind destruction of marine habitats: climate change and over-fishing.

"There's an element of wake-up call when you get maps like this," he added.

The other discouraging news, also published in Science, came from the coastal waters off Oregon and Washington, where a team of marine ecologists led by Dr. Jane Lubchenco of Oregon State University found extensive dead zones -- zones they attributed to the impacts of global warming.

"We couldn't believe our eyes," Lubchenco told the Los Angeles Times, recalling her initial impression of the carnage brought about by oxygen-starved waters. "It was so overwhelming and depressing. It appeared that everything that couldn't swim or scuttle away had died."

Researchers believe the underlying cause is stronger winds associated with a warming planet, writes oceans reporter Ken Weiss, lead writer for the Times' Pulitzer Prize-winning series, Altered Oceans.

If this theory holds up, he writes, "it means that global warming and the build-up of heat-trapping gases are bringing about oceanic changes beyond those previously documented: a rise in sea level, more acidic ocean water and the bleaching of coral reefs."

Sobering news for a holiday weekend -- but we'll have positive signs to share as well.