Saturday, July 31, 2010
Lionfish Invasion in Florida and the Keys
Guillaume Nery, World Champion Free Diver, Base Jumping at Dean's Blue Hole, filmed on One Breath Hold
Dean's Blue Hole in the Bahamas, filmed by Free-Diver Julie Gautier:
From Guillaume Nery’s blog:
This video is a FICTION and an ARTISTIC PROJECT, I don’t claim to have reached the bottom of the hole (202m) without rope and fins, as the world record in no-fins discipline is 95m. We made this movie to show another approach in freediving videos. We wanted to express the strenght of the elements water-earth-air and the sensations of freedom, harmony, exploration.
All the shots were made on breath hold by Julie Gautier.
We directed and edited the movie ourself, Julie and me. Jerome Espla (Poisson Lune Productions) was the gradder of the clip (color corrections…).
The music is from ARCHIVE – you make me feel.
The camera is a Canon 5D mark II
Location: Dean’s Blue Hole, Long Island, Bahamas
From Guillaume Nery’s blog:
This video is a FICTION and an ARTISTIC PROJECT, I don’t claim to have reached the bottom of the hole (202m) without rope and fins, as the world record in no-fins discipline is 95m. We made this movie to show another approach in freediving videos. We wanted to express the strenght of the elements water-earth-air and the sensations of freedom, harmony, exploration.
All the shots were made on breath hold by Julie Gautier.
We directed and edited the movie ourself, Julie and me. Jerome Espla (Poisson Lune Productions) was the gradder of the clip (color corrections…).
The music is from ARCHIVE – you make me feel.
The camera is a Canon 5D mark II
Location: Dean’s Blue Hole, Long Island, Bahamas
Friday, July 30, 2010
Great White Sharks in the Chatham Waters
Boston Globe: August 1, 2010
GW Shark Tagged on Saturday
Boston Globe Article: August 1, 2010
Boston Globe: July 30, 2010
Sharks are bringing Cape vacationers to Chatham to get a sneak peek at the Great Whites lurking in the shallows!
Great White Sharks Predating on the Cape
GW Shark Tagged on Saturday
Boston Globe Article: August 1, 2010
Boston Globe: July 30, 2010
Sharks are bringing Cape vacationers to Chatham to get a sneak peek at the Great Whites lurking in the shallows!
Great White Sharks Predating on the Cape
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Results of Martha Vineyard's Monster Shark Tournament
Here is the news from Cape Cod Today after Saturday's hunt: Cape Cod Times Report
Ocean Observations Biodiversity Video
A video by the Census of Marine Life about why we need to monitor biodiversity in the oceans and how it can be done using existing technologies on a global scale. For more information visit http://www.coml.org/.
A Warmer Ocean is a Less Green One
 |
| Diatoms from within the Phytoplankton Assemblage |
Ed Yong summaries two important papers in Nature this year from his blog on the Discover Magazine news blogs.
The warming seas has resulted in a 40% decline of phytoplankton since the 1950s, a study in Nature reveals:
MSNBC OnLine Story from Nature
Marine Toxicologist Susan Shaw & Carl Safina on BP's Ecological Disaster
Carl Safina's TEDx Talk on the BP Disaster:
John Delaney: Wiring an Interactive Ocean | Video on TED.com
John Delaney: Wiring an interactive ocean Video on TED.com
John Delany Wiring a Global Interactive Ocean
John Delany Wiring a Global Interactive Ocean
SeaWorld Cares for Orphaned Baby Manatee
SeaWorld Cares for Orphaned Baby Manatee
"SeaWorld Orlando animal care specialists are a little bleary-eyed this week as they provide 24-hour care for a weeks-old, baby manatee. Orphaned by her mother, the female calf arrived at the park's rehabilitation center on July 24 after being rescued from the waters of Daytona Beach, Fla.
Every three hours the 3½-foot and 41-pound orphan is bottled-fed with the park's nutrient-rich baby formula that promotes weight gain. Her weight is taken every other day as animal care specialists closely monitor her progress. She remains in guarded condition and park veterinarians hope to eventually return her back to the wild."
"SeaWorld Orlando animal care specialists are a little bleary-eyed this week as they provide 24-hour care for a weeks-old, baby manatee. Orphaned by her mother, the female calf arrived at the park's rehabilitation center on July 24 after being rescued from the waters of Daytona Beach, Fla.
Every three hours the 3½-foot and 41-pound orphan is bottled-fed with the park's nutrient-rich baby formula that promotes weight gain. Her weight is taken every other day as animal care specialists closely monitor her progress. She remains in guarded condition and park veterinarians hope to eventually return her back to the wild."
Great White Tagged & CapeCod OnlIne Story: Shark Sightings Prompt Warning
State Tags first Great White Shark this Year, July 29, 2010
Shark sightings prompt warning | CapeCodOnline.com
"After an hour of patiently tracking a 12- to 14-foot great white shark as it approached as close as 100 feet from shore, fisherman Bill Chaprales successfully tagged the first great white of the season yesterday afternoon.
Chaprales, working under contract with state shark researcher Greg Skomal, jabbed at the shark with a specially modified harpoon and attached a satellite tag just behind the animal's dorsal fin. The shark was off South Beach, a few miles south of the 1987 break, opposite Lighthouse Beach."
Device allows further study of Fearsome Species
Story in the Boston Globe:
Shark sightings prompt warning | CapeCodOnline.com
"After an hour of patiently tracking a 12- to 14-foot great white shark as it approached as close as 100 feet from shore, fisherman Bill Chaprales successfully tagged the first great white of the season yesterday afternoon.
Chaprales, working under contract with state shark researcher Greg Skomal, jabbed at the shark with a specially modified harpoon and attached a satellite tag just behind the animal's dorsal fin. The shark was off South Beach, a few miles south of the 1987 break, opposite Lighthouse Beach."
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Costa Rican GW cage Diving Incident on Film
This PSA video is the work of : Wildsphere Productions:
I Pledge Not To Eat Shark Fin Soup... Join Me! from WildSphere Productions on Vimeo.
A short teaser of Shark Saver’s Hong Kong campaign highlighting several people taking a stand, vowing not to eat shark fin soup, and asking others to join them. This is the first in a series several films from our Hong Kong filming project launched in conjunction with our “Pledge Not to Eat Shark Fin Soup” campaign and Shark Savers Hong Kong. Take the pledge now! http://www.sharksavers.org/sharkfinsoup
More sharks with Shark Elegance in B&W by RT Sea TV Productions:
http://www.rtseaproductions.com/
Monday, July 26, 2010
Rolling Stone's Account of the BP Disaster
Read Jeff Goodell's terrific account of the BP oil disaster:
Rolling Stone's RS 1110 Issue on BP's disaster by Jeff Goodell
"The technology and hardware that are deployed all look impressive at first glance," says Rick Steiner, a marine scientist who played a central role in the cleanup effort after the Exxon Valdez. "But none of it really works very well. In fact, it is all theater."
"The Macondo Reservoir, which BP was tapping into when the blowout occurred, is estimated to hold up to 500 million barrels. The reservoir is not particularly large by industry standards: It contains about as much oil as Americans consume in a month. But because Macondo has a high permeability – a measure of how mobile the oil is within the rocks that contain it – the blowout was "like uncorking a volcano," says Doug Rader, chief ocean scientist for the Environmental Defense Fund."
"By any measure, however, the administration has failed miserably in its attempt to reduce the amount and toxicity of chemicals that BP is dumping into the ocean. "The EPA is full of smart, competent, hardworking scientists who are trying to do the right thing," says Wilma Subra, former vice chair of the EPA's National Advisory Council for Environmental Policy, who has led the battle against dispersants in the Gulf. "But politically, they are no match for BP."
"Whatever its motives, BP was slow to provide respirators to workers in the Gulf, leaving them exposed to a dangerous combination of oil and chemicals. Many complained of illnesses, headaches, nausea, and BP's own tests have shown that more than 15 percent of the response workers in the Gulf have been exposed to 2-butoxyethanol. "When oil goes into the water, nothing good happens," concedes Allen, the retired Coast Guard admiral overseeing the cleanup. "It's always a trade-off to try to minimize consequences."
This is Tim Dickinson's previous article on the disaster in RS 1108/1109 Issue:
BP Disaster Rolling Stone RS 1108/1109
Begin with Tim Dickinson's original writen piece in the RS 1107 Issue:
Rolling Stone 1107
Sunday, July 25, 2010
SharkMan: Bill Goldschmitt Is Back!
Sharkman with Tiger Shark in 1978:
The self-proclaimed Sharkman, and "long-haired redneck", Captain Bill, author of Sharkman of Cortez, born in Pittsburgh, and a high-school dropout, rears his ugly head again in today's St. Pete Times on TampaBay.com:
Sharkman Profile in St. Pete Times
See his compelling video:
The self-proclaimed Sharkman, and "long-haired redneck", Captain Bill, author of Sharkman of Cortez, born in Pittsburgh, and a high-school dropout, rears his ugly head again in today's St. Pete Times on TampaBay.com:
Sharkman Profile in St. Pete Times
See his compelling video:
Diving the Coral Reef at Twilight with Richard Pyle
Richard Pyle Dives the Twilight Zone as part of TED.com's Ocean Series talks:
A pioneer of the dive world, Richard Pyle discovers new biodiversity on the cliffs of coral reefs. He was among the first to use rebreather technology to explore depths between 200 and 500 feet, an area often called the "Twilight Zone." During his dives, he has identified and documented hundreds of new species. Author of scientific, technical and popular articles, his expeditions have also been featured in the IMAX film Coral Reef Adventure, the BBC series Pacific Abyss and many more. In 2005, he received the NOGI Award, the most prestigious distinction of the diving world.
Currently, he is continuing his research at the Bernice P. Bishop Museum, outside Honolulu, Hawai'i, and is affiliated with the museum's comprehensive Hawaii Biological Survey. He also serves on the Board of Directors for the Association for Marine Exploration, for which he is a founding member. - TED.com
A pioneer of the dive world, Richard Pyle discovers new biodiversity on the cliffs of coral reefs. He was among the first to use rebreather technology to explore depths between 200 and 500 feet, an area often called the "Twilight Zone." During his dives, he has identified and documented hundreds of new species. Author of scientific, technical and popular articles, his expeditions have also been featured in the IMAX film Coral Reef Adventure, the BBC series Pacific Abyss and many more. In 2005, he received the NOGI Award, the most prestigious distinction of the diving world.
Currently, he is continuing his research at the Bernice P. Bishop Museum, outside Honolulu, Hawai'i, and is affiliated with the museum's comprehensive Hawaii Biological Survey. He also serves on the Board of Directors for the Association for Marine Exploration, for which he is a founding member. - TED.com
Monster Shark Tournament
Here is a recent article on the 24th Annual Tournament in the Cape Cod Times:
Monster Shark Tourney
Another on the scientific value of the Tourney's catches:
CC Times Sharks
What do you think of the Monster Shark Tournament on the Vineyard?
Monster Shark Tourney
Another on the scientific value of the Tourney's catches:
CC Times Sharks
What do you think of the Monster Shark Tournament on the Vineyard?
Shark Bites - The Boston Globe
Shark Bites - The Boston Globe
And take a swim with Whale Sharks in USA Today's Travel Section article and video:
USA Today Travel Section Mexico Whale Sharks
Visit their photo gallery:
USA Today Whale Sharks' Photos
Watch the action of ecotourism:
'Shark Walker' allows aquarium visitors to dive with sharks:
Visitors to Melbourne aquarium are now being offered the chance to walk underwater, using their custom-made 'Shark Walker' helmet.
The much-awaited trailer and film: Shark Diver:
Please view their web site: Shark Diver Movie
Octopus Marvels: Soft-headed Intellectuals
Soft-headed Intellectuals - The Boston Globe - Emily Anthes, Boston Globe
Octopuses “make decisions all the time, complicated decisions,” says Roger Hanlon, a senior scientist at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole. “People don’t expect that from a creature related to an oyster.”
What scientists are discovering about the octopus calls into question many of our assumptions about intelligence. Partly this is because the creatures are so different from the kinds of animals — social vertebrates, especially mammals — that have long been seen as having a monopoly on smarts. Octopuses are members of a class of creatures known as cephalopods, which appeared on the planet even before the first fish, and they are almost as far removed from us primates as another animal can get. And although it has long been theorized that intelligence evolved in social creatures as a way for species that live in groups to navigate the complex social world, the octopus leads a solitary life.
-Emily Anthes, Boston Globe
Investigate the graphics demonstrating various tools of the trade for octopdes and their investigators: Boston Globe Graphics
And then view the now well-known coconut-carrying octopus:
Roger Hanlon's other popular footage of the remarkable camouflage artistry of the octopus:
Octopuses “make decisions all the time, complicated decisions,” says Roger Hanlon, a senior scientist at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole. “People don’t expect that from a creature related to an oyster.”
What scientists are discovering about the octopus calls into question many of our assumptions about intelligence. Partly this is because the creatures are so different from the kinds of animals — social vertebrates, especially mammals — that have long been seen as having a monopoly on smarts. Octopuses are members of a class of creatures known as cephalopods, which appeared on the planet even before the first fish, and they are almost as far removed from us primates as another animal can get. And although it has long been theorized that intelligence evolved in social creatures as a way for species that live in groups to navigate the complex social world, the octopus leads a solitary life.
-Emily Anthes, Boston Globe
Investigate the graphics demonstrating various tools of the trade for octopdes and their investigators: Boston Globe Graphics
And then view the now well-known coconut-carrying octopus:
Roger Hanlon's other popular footage of the remarkable camouflage artistry of the octopus:
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Sperm Whale Caught in the Sable Fish Theft Act
Long liners mounted a camera on a fishing line to view Physeter macrocephalus dislodge two sable fish at 300'.
Science Friday Archives: Horseshoe Crab Season
A Dowling College researcher, Dr. John Tanacredi, has been monitoring and studying Limulus polyphemus for 10 years on Long Island, N.Y., and now is working on a captive breeding program. 
Science Friday Archives: Video Pick of the Week: Horseshoe Crab Season
Science Friday Archives: Video Pick of the Week: Horseshoe Crab Season
Southern Right Whale Leaps from Water, Lands on couple's Sailboat
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
Southern Right Whale Leaps from Water, Lands on Couple's Sailboat - NYPOST.com
CNN's YouTube Video of the story:
View all photos here: N.Y. Post Article and Gallery
The original story and article appears in the Cape Argus paper:
Southern Right Whale Hits Sailboat
Lion's Mane Jellyfish Stings 150 on N.H. Beach
Ouch! Jellyfish stings 150 on N.H. beach - Local News Updates - MetroDesk - The Boston Globe
RYE, N.H. -- About 150 people were stung by a jellyfish at a state park in Rye on Wednesday, officials said.
Parks and Recreation Department officials said children, vacationers and people attending recreation programs at Wallis Sands State Park were stung. (See pictures of Wallis Sands State Park)
Officials said a lifeguard spotted the jellyfish about 100 yards offshore. He swam out on a board with a pitchfork and brought it to shore.
According to The Associated Press, Doug Grout, chief of marine fisheries for the state, identified it as a lion's mane jellyfish, a species rarely seen this far south. It was estimated to weigh 45-50 pounds, and its longest tentacle was 13 feet.
After the jellyfish was brought to shore, people in the water began describing reactions including itching and burning. Some described a vise-like feeling in their legs, which medical workers said was likely due to the stingers of the jellyfish.
As many as 150 people received treatment at the lifeguard station. Emergency workers said they were treating the people who had been stung, and about 10 children were taken to Portsmouth Regional Hospital.
Two-year-old Hazel Kirshenbaum's feet were left red and swollen.
"My daughter was screaming," Shannon Kirshenbaum said. "We were trying to figure out what was wrong with her, so we picked her up and started to get out of the water, and that's when they announced that they had caught a jellyfish that had split into pieces and that there might be tentacles in the water."
Doctors said the stingers were being removed from some victims, and vinegar was used to treat the sting sites.
"It seemed very orderly," said surfer Paul Karinja. "They definitely made it clear that it was time to get out of the water."
The park manager said that in 50 years on the Seacoast, he had never seen anything like the jellyfish wash up.
The beach was closed temporarily during the incident but was expected to reopen on Thursday.
Here is the stroy on MSNBC: Jellyfish Stingers!
RYE, N.H. -- About 150 people were stung by a jellyfish at a state park in Rye on Wednesday, officials said.
Parks and Recreation Department officials said children, vacationers and people attending recreation programs at Wallis Sands State Park were stung. (See pictures of Wallis Sands State Park)
Officials said a lifeguard spotted the jellyfish about 100 yards offshore. He swam out on a board with a pitchfork and brought it to shore.
According to The Associated Press, Doug Grout, chief of marine fisheries for the state, identified it as a lion's mane jellyfish, a species rarely seen this far south. It was estimated to weigh 45-50 pounds, and its longest tentacle was 13 feet.
After the jellyfish was brought to shore, people in the water began describing reactions including itching and burning. Some described a vise-like feeling in their legs, which medical workers said was likely due to the stingers of the jellyfish.
As many as 150 people received treatment at the lifeguard station. Emergency workers said they were treating the people who had been stung, and about 10 children were taken to Portsmouth Regional Hospital.
Two-year-old Hazel Kirshenbaum's feet were left red and swollen.
"My daughter was screaming," Shannon Kirshenbaum said. "We were trying to figure out what was wrong with her, so we picked her up and started to get out of the water, and that's when they announced that they had caught a jellyfish that had split into pieces and that there might be tentacles in the water."
Doctors said the stingers were being removed from some victims, and vinegar was used to treat the sting sites.
"It seemed very orderly," said surfer Paul Karinja. "They definitely made it clear that it was time to get out of the water."
The park manager said that in 50 years on the Seacoast, he had never seen anything like the jellyfish wash up.
The beach was closed temporarily during the incident but was expected to reopen on Thursday.
Here is the stroy on MSNBC: Jellyfish Stingers!
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Tili Revisited
Tim Zimmerman writes an excellent piece on the death of 40-year old Sea World trainer Dawn Brancheau in Outside Magazine:
Outside Magazine's Tom Zimmerman Writes about Tili
See February 7, 2010 entry for more details about Dawn's death and Tili's third, alleged involvement with the killing of a person:
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
What's The Catch, by: Bruce Barcott, OnEarth Magazine
In the frigid Bering Sea, the Pacific Prince tries to take only the fish it needs -- and leaves the ocean healthier
Deep within the bowels of the Pacific Prince, a 149-foot pollock trawler, 28-year-old biologist Monica Brennan stands in her orange rain gear, holding an empty plastic laundry basket, waiting for the fish. Two years ago Brennan quit her job as a groundwater specialist in Phoenix. She wanted to try something new. Something adventurous. So she signed on as a fisheries observer. And here she is on a two-and-a-half-month stint on the Pacific Prince. It's 1:00 a.m. on a stormy winter night in the middle of the Bering Sea off Alaska. The boat is bucking like a rodeo bull. Wind chill factor outside: 12 below.
Continue the reading here at OnEarth Magazine:
Article:
Great White Sharks in New England
Very good article in the Yankee Magazine about the GWs coming back to N.E. waters in force!
For more information on shark species, check out The Shark Handbook by Greg Skomal (Cider Mill Press, 2008) or visit: NewEnglandSharks.com
Jellyfish: The Next King of the Sea
Jellyfish: The Next King of the Sea
As the world's oceans are degraded, will they be dominated by jellyfish?
By Abigail Tucker
Photographs by John Lee
Smithsonian Magazine, August 2010
From the Smithsonian:
Jellyfish Gone Wild
Enviromental Change and Jellyfish Swarms
1. 1/3 of the total weight of all life in Monterey Bay is from gelatinous animals.
2. 3 minutes after a person is stung by a deadly box jellyfish, s/he may be dead.
3. 8 years after fast-reproducing comb jellies invaded in the Black Sea, they dominated it.
4. 20 to 40 people are killed annually from box jellyfish stings in the Philippines alone.
5. 100 foot-long tentacles may dangle from the lion’s mane jelly.
6. 400 vast Dead Zones in world oceans are too polluted for almost all life except jellyfish.
7. 1,000+ fist-sized comb jellies filled each cubic meter of water in Black Sea jelly blooms.
8. 45,000 eggs may be released daily by a single jellyfish.
9. 500,000 people are stung by jellyfish in the Chesapeake Bay annually.
10. 500 million refrigerator-sized jellyfish float into the Sea of Japan daily during blooms.
Read more: Smithsonian Magazine, Summer 2010!
See More at Extreme Jellies: Photo Gallery
Monday, July 19, 2010
Paul The Octopus Goes 8-for-8
Paul Returns Home!
August 22, 2010
Rumor is that Paul The Octopus is being put up for sale to Spain after successfully picking their 'W' over the Dutch and after receiving death threats. Paul went 4-for-6 in the '08 World Championships.
See CNN's story here: Paul The Octopus Predicts Spain!
August 22, 2010
Rumor is that Paul The Octopus is being put up for sale to Spain after successfully picking their 'W' over the Dutch and after receiving death threats. Paul went 4-for-6 in the '08 World Championships.
See CNN's story here: Paul The Octopus Predicts Spain!
Friday, July 16, 2010
Celestial Navigation with Jacob Keaton
Jacob Keaton works with NASA and the ISS and gives a good basic introduction to Celestial Navigation.
Discovery Channel's Shark Week Video Challenge
Celebrate and Promote Shark Week 2010 on Discovery Channel this summer!
Sea Shepherd: Activists or terrorists? - SeafoodSource.com
Sea Shepherd: Activists or terrorists? - SeafoodSource.com
Onbaord the Sea Shepherd:
Ady Gil rammed by japanese whaling vessel recently on Whale Wars:
Onbaord the Sea Shepherd:
Ady Gil rammed by japanese whaling vessel recently on Whale Wars:
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Sunday, July 11, 2010
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