Sea Notes

Finding Bluefin Nurseries (and What It Means)

New confirmation today that Atlantic bluefin tunas get together on their feeding grounds but are born in nursery areas on opposite sides of the ocean. And a new chance for you to take action to protect these threatened fishes.

In an article published today in Science, researchers used the chemical composition of otoliths -- the bones in the ears of tunas -- to identify precisely where young fish spent the first year of their life. Turns out there are distinct nurseries in the Gulf of Mexico and the Eastern Mediterranean to which parent fish return to give birth.

This is further confirmation of data gathered  in more than a decade of field tagging of adult tunas by Dr. Barbara Block and other scientists at the Tuna Research and Conservation Center, a collaboration between the Monterey Bay Aquarium and Stanford University.

And it lends new urgency to calls for better management of these critical habitats -- and better protection of tunas while they're in those waters.

Action is happening on two fronts. First, the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas meets next month in Morocco to discuss declining tuna stocks and ways to better manage species.  To date, the commission has failed to incorporate the new scientific findings into its management practices as it presides over the collapse of bluefin tuna populations in the North Atlantic and Mediterranean. (Remember what happened to North Atlantic cod?)

Second, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) proposes that bluefin spawning grounds and juvenile bluefin feeding groups be given additional protection in the Gulf of Mexico and along the Atlantic coast. It is taking public comment on policies that would define "essential fish habitat" for bluefins and other highly migratory Atlantic species, including several kinds of sharks and other tunas.

It recommends that key waters be designated as a federal "Habitat Area of Particular Concern" (HAPC) that would "highlight the importance of the area for bluefin tuna spawning and provide added conservation benefits."

The aquarium, and other ocean conservation organizations, called three years ago for just such a designation in the Gulf of Mexico. It could happen now -- with your help. Through November 18, you can weigh in with comments on the NMFS proposal. Here's how.

Friday's Featured Film: Ocean Odyssey

Since President Bush was able to find time to see the Smithsonian's new Ocean Hall today, it seemed appropriate to give you a peek inside as well. This is a clip from Ocean Odyssey, a high-definition film of marine life that screens in the hall, created by Feodor Pitcairn. It's designed to "transport you into the realm beneath the waves."

The Sant Ocean Hall (free to the public as are all Smithsonian exhibits) opened to the public today.

Bush's Growing Blue Legacy

President George W. Bush, who earlier this year indicated interest in creating or expanding marine protected areas in U.S. waters, took action in that direction during grand-opening ceremonies for the Smithsonian's new Sant Ocean Hall today.

He announced that the Davidson Seamount, a pristine undersea mountain off the Big Sur coast in California, will become part of a 565-square-nautical-mile addition to the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. The proposal has been under consideration for the past couple of years, and is strongly supported by marine scientists and environmentalists.

The sanctuary--the largest in the continental United States--was designated by Bush's father in 1992.

In his remarks at the dedication ceremonies today, Bush also singled out and praised Pietro Parravano, a commercial fisherman from Half Moon Bay, California who was a member of the Pew Oceans Commission and who is a current member of the Monterey Bay Aquarium board of trustees and the Joint Ocean Commission Initiative that's working to put reform of ocean management into action.

Pietro's been honored in the past as an Environmental Hero by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric administration, and was quoted by Bush as saying: "[Conservation] needs to be everyone's priority, because the oceans belong to all Americans."

A Future for Fish (and Birds)

Two good pieces of news coming out this week and last -- and both involve positive developments for ocean wildlife as a result of new approaches to commercial fishing.

First, the United Nations' Food & Agriculture Organization reports a dramatic decline in the number of albatross killed by longline fishing crews in Chile as a result of new methods adopted to protect the endangered seabirds. FAO fisheries experts are calling for wider adoption of the new methods by industrial fishing fleets worldwide.

It's another step in a direction that many fishing nations are already taking. And, as in Chile, there's a huge payoff for albatross worldwide -- including Laysan albatross like Makana, a rescued bird, pictured here, who resides at the aquarium.

On the fisheries management front, economists and ecologists published a study in the journal Science documenting that when fishing crews or cooperatives are given exclusive rights to a share of the catch from a fishery they are less likely to overfish.

Instead of a race to catch as many fish as possible, with no thoughts for what happens in future years, there's an economic incentive to sustain the fishery for the long term.

The keys to success in the 121 fisheries the researchers studied? Realistic quotas for the entire fishery along with individual "catch shares" that divvy up the quota.

It's a beautiful illustraion of how to reverse the "tragedy of the commons" -- one embraced by commercial fishermen.

Sounds like cause for hope.

(Of course, you can do your part by carrying and using a Seafood Watch pocket guide, or accessing the latest information with your mobile device at SeafoodWatch.org.)

Film Friday: Great Minds Think Big (like 5,000 pounds)

The TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) Conference challenges the best and brightest minds to "give the talk of their lives" in 18 minutes. So many fascinating speakers (Jane Goodall! Malcom Gladwell! Michael Pollan!), so little time.

My new favorite is the talk given by the inspiring Dr. Tierney Thys, a marine biologist, educator and documentary filmmaker dedicated to ocean conservation, and to the fabulously weird and amazing mola (or ocean sunfish). The mola holds some impressive statistics. It is the largest bony fish - the biggest specimen clocked in at almost 5,000 pounds.

The mola mola at the Monterey Bay Aquarium is the "hidden wow" of the Outer Bay exhibit. See if you can catch it swimming by the web cam.

Cleaning the Seas

Beach cleanups are nothing new. Teams of scuba divers even help with the effort underwater.

But this is something innovative: A multi-year effort in California to clean up lost fishing gear that's killing marine life in offshore waters.

Last week, California's Wildlife Conservation Board awarded $400,000 to the University of California, Davis for its lost fishing gear recovery program. The program has been in operation for two years already, and has recovered 11 tons of abandoned gear from waters around the Channel islands National Park and other areas of the state.

Now it has more money for its work -- enough to cover two years of operations.

There's more good news: The project is modeled after similar efforts in Florida, Hawaii and Washington state. With luck, more states -- and nations -- will join the effort.

You can do your part by reporting any lost gear you see. And those beach cleanups? They're coming up later this month. It's a great time to join in, if you haven't participated before.

Great Whites at Night

For shark lovers, National Geographic Channel is offering a cool alternative to the Discovery Channel's Shark Week. Friday night (with repeats at other times), it's airing a segment called "Sharkville" on its Wild series. The show highlights new findings that great white sharks are hunting successfully at night -- complete with infrared video footage to document the work.

There's a preview video and photos at the National Geographic Channel site, and also a video clip of the sharks at night as part of an interview with New Zealand shark researcher Ryan Johnson by Bill O'Reilly.

Most interesting is Johnson's conclusion that the sharks are able to prey on seals at night because of the light spilling onto the water from coastal development around Mossel Bay, where he did his work.

Final note: If you want to take part in white shark research projects there, the South African Marine Predator Lab occasionally offers internships.

No internships with the white shark research project at the Monterey Bay Aquarium, or with our colleagues at the Tagging of Pacific Predators. But lots of good information and images.

An Elegant Outcome

It used to be a desolate place, covered with oil rigs, its waters polluted.

Today, it's a wetland in recovery with a growing population of marine animals, plants and birds -- including elegant terns like these.

That's the story of Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve -- the largest coastal wetland restoration project west of the Mississippi River. It's told well in the Los Angeles Times this week by reporter Susannah Rosenblatt and photographer Mark Boster. There's a bonus video of the wetland in the online version, too.

Since more than 90 percent of all historic coastal wetlands are gone, restoration projects like Bolsa Chica are critical to the survival and health of many species. And, judging by some of the wetlands links on conservation websites in Southern California, a lot of folks are working to bring back some of what we've lost.

The Bolsa Chica story isn't the only good news for coastal projects in California this week. The state unveiled a new license plate whose proceeds will pay for parks and open space projects in the San Francisco Bay Area.

The Department of Motor Vehicles is now accepting orders for the plate, which features an image of birds flying past the Golden Gate Bridge. If 7,500 people order plates by July 2009, the new design will go into production and the money will start flowing.

Fish Out of Water

Friday's our usual film day, but this new video we posted to YouTube this afternoon is too cool not to share.

Check out the leaping blennies -- the original "fish out of water"!

Carnival of the Blue 14

It's that time again -- when the best ocean blogging from across the web comes together in the monthly Carnival of the Blue.

This month's edition is hosted by Anthony Townsend at The Blue Economy. Check it out.