fisheries
Ancient swimmers: Greenland sharks live for centuries
Using radiocarbon dating, scientists have discovered that the Greenland shark can live longer than any other known vertebrate. How long have some of these individuals been alive? Sean AndersonI am a first year MS candidate at the University of Rhode Island, Graduate School of Oceanography. I am interested in plankton ecology and the dynamics within […]
You look like your mom: parental effects in Atlantic salmon
In honour of our Mother’s Day theme week, we’ll look at how the environment experienced by parents during reproduction and their early life history influences their offspring. Brittney G. BorowiecBrittney is a PhD candidate at McMaster University in Hamilton, ON, Canada, and joined Oceanbites in September 2015. Her research focuses on the physiological mechanisms and […]
Go Green for Earth Day!
Do Mother Nature a solid with these helpful tips & tricks to go green today! Brittney G. BorowiecBrittney is a PhD candidate at McMaster University in Hamilton, ON, Canada, and joined Oceanbites in September 2015. Her research focuses on the physiological mechanisms and evolution of the respiratory and metabolic responses of Fundulus killifish to intermittent […]
Trawling selects for faster fish
A new study suggests that differences in exercise performance make some individuals more vulnerable to capture by trawling than others, and that this may drive the evolution of commercially-important fishes (Photo: Wikimedia). Brittney G. BorowiecBrittney is a PhD candidate at McMaster University in Hamilton, ON, Canada, and joined Oceanbites in September 2015. Her research focuses […]
How to Stop Dragging Our Assets: The World’s First Fishery Habitat Quota
Setting limits on fish catch is standard practice in fisheries management. For the first time in history, limits on habitat damage was introduced in 2012 for the groundfish bottom trawl fishery in British Columbia. Was it successful? Read to find out! Megan ChenI graduated with a Masters of Coastal & Marine Management from the University […]
Northern Atlantic cod make an epic comeback
The collapse of Northern Atlantic cod was the textbook example of how overfishing can lead to a population crash. Decades after a moratorium was established, the cod are finally making a recovery. Find out why! Megan ChenI graduated with a Masters of Coastal & Marine Management from the University of Akureyri in Iceland, and am […]
Tampering with the food web: what do changes in jellyfish and menhaden populations mean for the ecosystem?
Article: Robinson, K.L., J.J. Ruzicka, F. J., Hernandez, W.M. Graham, M.B. Decker, R.D. Brodeur, and M. Sutor. 2015. Evaluating energy flows through jellyfish and gulf menhaden (Brevoortia patronus) and the effects of fishing on the northern Gulf of Mexico ecosystem. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, doi: 10.1093/icesjms/fsv088 Background We’ve all grown up learning “who […]
Tiny lobsters, big problems.
Larval lobsters face potentially dangerous situations, find out how they fare against a couple important environmental stressors (salinity and pH changes). Sarah GiltzI am a doctoral candidate in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at Tulane University. My research focuses on the larval dispersal and development of the blue crab in the Gulf of Mexico. When not […]
Untangling the issues with longline fishing
Longline fishing has been used for decades as a way to catch large amounts of commercial fish. Though effective in capturing target fish, longlines unintentionally snag and kill millions of other marine species. Aside from being caught themselves, marine mammals (i.e. dolphins and killer whales) may eat target fish off the hooks and destroy fishing […]
North Sea fish stick to warming shallows rather than cooling off at depth
Models based on historical survey data indicate that with long term warming trends, fish distributions in the North Sea will remain at nearly the same depths while abundances across species may change considerably. Lis HendersonI am studying for my doctoral degree at the Stony Brook University School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences. My research addresses […]
Technology for Turtles: TurtleWatch Program to Protect Sea Turtles and Assist Fishermen
A technology that both benefits fishermen and helps prevent sea turtle bycatch? Yes, please! The great news is that it exists! And now, it has been updated to include leatherbacks. Read on to learn more about TurtleWatch. Rebecca FlynnI am a graduate of the University of Notre Dame (B.S.) and the University of Rhode Island […]
What would coral reefs be like without human impact?
One would think that an isolated reef ecosystem shielded from the influence of people would provide an ideal benchmark against which other coral reefs can be compared. But in a recent study, researchers found it isn’t that simple. Valeska UphamFor my fisheries and aquatic science PhD I am working on how to tank raise urchins […]
Are bigger moms better moms?
We know that larger female fish produce more eggs, but does this really mean they produce more young that grow into the next generation? Sarah GiltzI am a doctoral candidate in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at Tulane University. My research focuses on the larval dispersal and development of the blue crab in the Gulf of […]
Sunday brunch: Lox with… lice?
Lox and lice. Not a combination of critters you envision when planning your Sunday brunch. Unfortunately, an increase in drug resistant sea lice is threatening both wild and farmed salmonid populations. Sarah FullerWith academic backgrounds in oceanography, geology, and environmental education, Sarah has traveled to far reaches of the planet to learn everything she can […]
Watch out guys, pregnant whale sharks are on the loose!
Whale sharks have become an increasingly popular tourist attraction, but much of their life history remains largely unknown. This study sets off to observe whale sharks around Darwin Island to help understand more about their habitat use, population size, and seasonal appearances. And what they find is a whole lot of pregnant whale sharks. Valeska […]
Bottom trawling changes bodies: the new seafloor diet
Seafloor trawling inevitably captures more than the species it is targeting. This means that when the remaining fishes line up at the buffet table, the options they have to choose from may be different than what they like to eat. In this article, Johnson et al., investigate whether two fish species in the Irish Sea […]
The Language of Fishes
Coral reefs are composed of hundreds of different species, who all use different acoustics to communicate, just like we use different languages around the world to communicate. Researchers set out to better understand and record the language of fishes in hopes of building a species-specific soundscape of the coral reef community. Valeska UphamFor my fisheries […]
Cartilaginous Conundrum: Are Sharks and Skates Safe to Eat?
While smooth dogfish may not be on your list of favorite seafood, cartilaginous fish (mainly sharks and skates) may increasingly find their way onto your dinner plate due to the decline of more traditional fisheries. While increased demand for these species as a food item could help struggling seafood industries, recent proposals to use dogfish […]
The Ghastly Impacts of Ghost Fishing Gear
Derelict fishing traps, or DFTs, are abandoned traps that may still be actively capturing marine organisms, in a phenomenon known as “ghost fishing.” In this study, a group of scientists put together a qualitative assessment on the ecological and economic impacts these traps may be having on coastal ecosystems throughout the United States. Erin MarkhamErin […]
Beware! Shellfish are taking over the fishing industry
Overfishing has created a cascading effect in the marine food web. Once, large apex predators, such as cod, dominated the fishing industry, but now, shellfish have taken over and contribute to more than half the fisheries stock. Valeska UphamFor my fisheries and aquatic science PhD I am working on how to tank raise urchins and […]
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