Ocean News

Sawfish are some of the most distinct – and most critically endangered – fish in the world. Also known as carpenter sharks, sawfish are actually a type of ray, characterized by a long saw-like snout for which the animals have historically been targeted for, often selling for thousands of dollars as…

A new study by University of Miami scientists, just published in the journal Marine Drugs, has discovered high concentrations of BMAA in shark fins, a neurotoxin linked to neurodegenerative diseases in humans including Alzheimer’s and Lou Gehrig Disease (ALS). The study suggests that consumption of shark fin soup and cartilage…

Parasites and pathogens infecting humans, pets and farm animals are increasingly being detected in marine mammals such as sea otters, porpoises, harbour seals and killer whales along the Pacific coast of the U.S. and Canada, and better surveillance is required to monitor public health implications, according to a panel of…

Last week, the head of the World Bank Robert B. Zoellick announced the establishment of a Global Partnership for Oceans to confront widely documented problems of over-fishing, marine degradation, and habitat loss. Speaking at the Economist World Oceans Summit in Singapore, Zoellick described the initiative: This Partnership will bring together…

Movements of the enigmatic ocean wanderer, the endangered oceanic whitetip shark – MAHMOOD SHIVJI, February 26, 2012 One of the most threatened shark species across its range may very well be the oceanic whitetip shark, Carcharhinus longimanus. Although once considered one of the most abundant sharks in the open ocean,…

Shark footage recorded from ROV onboard Stena DrillMAX at 9100 feet (2770 m) depth offshore Brazil, shot on February 11, 2012, showed a very deep diving shark. According to scientist Jeffrey Gallant of the Greenland Shark and Elasmobranch Education and Research Grouep / GEERG, this is probably a southern sleeper…

As a CEO of Save Our Seas Foundation, we get some great opportunities. One of those was a visit to Professor Emerita Eugenie Clark, also known as the ‘Shark Lady’. Genie, as she prefers to be callled, has an impressive career. In 1955, she was is the Founding Executive Director…

Long before humans first appeared on Earth, sharks were swimming the seas. They predate dinosaurs by about 200 million years and were revered by ancient human societies as gods. Sharks come in all shapes and sizes. There are angel sharks, basking sharks, blues sharks, bull sharks, gray sharks, lemon sharks,…

Jellyfish blooms have finding their way into the media recently – clogged nets for fishermen, stinging waters for tourists, even choked intake lines for power plants – creating a perception that the world’s oceans are experiencing increases in jellyfish due to human activities such as global warming and overfishing. A…

University of Massachusetts Amherst fish biologists have published one of the first studies of deep-sea fish sounds in more than 50 years, collected from the sea floor about 2,237 feet (682 meters) below the North Atlantic. With recording technology now more affordable, Rodney Rountree, Francis Juanes and colleagues are exploring…

This year’s Beneath the Waves Film Festival takes place from March 21-24, 2012 in Norfolk, Virginia, and the organizers have sent word that they are accepting submissions until February 24th: The organizers of the Festival are currently seeking original films less than 10 minutes in length that highlight ocean/marine/aquatic themes…

Three new studies looking at ocean acidification have shed light on some of its effects on marine organisms. Since the beginning of the industrial revolution, human activities have accelerated the release of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide mixes with water. The two molecules combine to become carbonic…

Semporna, Malaysia is home to many species of shark, from the extremely rare and elusive Borneo and hammerhead shark to the largest fish in the sea, the graceful whale shark. A local group of conservationists and divers are petitioning the local state government to set up a Semporna Shark Sanctuary,…

Prof. Mahmood Shivji, director of the Save Our Seas Shark Centre at Nova Southeastern University, Fort Lauderdale, United States, and colleague scientists have made a remarkable discovery. Through sampling and DNA analysis, the scientists have further confirmed the existence of a cryptic species of hammerhead shark that looks very similar…

Often called the “evil twin” of climate change, ocean acidification results from fairly simple chemistry and yet has significant implications for marine species and ecosystems. While scientists have resolved the details of many of the physical and chemical processes related to ocean acidification, they have not yet built a parallel…