... in Iraq, a shark was found 160 miles from the sea in an irrigation canal that joins the Euphrates River. "I believe America is behind this matter," said the Iraqi who netted it ...
... the seasonal growth of water hyacinth disrupted local fishing activities along the coast of Lagos in Nigeria. The plant can grow rapidly enough to choke waterways overnight ...
... Turkish academics decided to establish the country's first rehabilitation center for sea turtles ...
... salmon fishing on Oregon's Rogue River was poor this season ...
... the New England Fishery Management Council decided not to end its scallop season on Nov. 1, a move usually made to protect sea turtles off the eastern U.S. coast ...
... an ocean quahog clam dredged up off the coast of Iceland was thought to be the oldest living creature ever discovered. The clam was nicknamed Ming in reference to the Chinese dynasty that was in power at the time of its birth 405 to 410 years ago. The clam died when the researchers counted its rings ...
... a long-nose lancetfish washed up on the shore in California. Usually found at depths of 6,000 feet, the deep-sea fish is known as "the wolf of the sea" ...
... an analysis by Food & Water Watch determined that a plan to allow fish farming in the Gulf of Mexico could threaten the half-billion dollars the region earns each year from recreational fishing ...
... the Argo Project, a plan for scientists to monitor ocean vitals worldwide simultaneously, is nearing completion ...
... a fishing skipper was on trial in New Zealand for allegedly dumping hundreds of tons of southern blue whiting when the fishmeal plant could not process the catch ...
... a man who had been attacked by two captive killer whales failed to gain the legal right to bar the video of the attack from being aired on television ...
... a study by the Icelandic Marine Research Institute suggested that minke whales eat more cod than previously assumed. The study found that cod could make up to 7 percent of the whales' diets ...
... professional surfer Dave Rastovich and "Heroes" star Hayden Panettiere swam in bloody Japanese waters to protest the ongoing annual slaughter of Taiji dolphins. Each year more than 25,000 dolphins die in the hunt.
Top 25 reasons to give a damn about climate change
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Comments
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caniscandida Posted 5:54 am
04 Nov 2007
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bristlecone_pine
Aside from that quibble, the long-lived quahog clams found near Iceland are remarkable, and surely the longest-lived animals. But turtles, especially the larger tortoises, seem to stop aging rather early on in their development, and in principle could just keep going. Many tortoises are documented to have lived well into their second century; presumably they could live even longer, but are at last cut down by one or another environmental disaster.
And that, apparently, is the sort of thing that ended the life of this poor quahog: it was doing fine, until the scientists had to poke at it with their instruments to find out how old it was.
It is reasonable to suspect that the largest of the dinosaurs, the sauropods, especially the really big ones such as Brachiosaurus, Ultrasaurus and Seismosaurus, could have lived a couple of centuries, once they had grown to a size that put them out of danger of predators. But that would have been possible for relatively few in a population. And even for the most lucky and enduring, a five-century life span is hard to imagine.
On sea turtles and the scallop fishery off New Jersey:
This is a troubling, confusing story. Is it or is it not true, that the seasonal whereabouts of sea turtles are so poorly known that it makes no sense to assign a specific location where dredging for scallops may take place? At least it is good for the turtles, that they have some Oceana experts looking out for them. And it is good for Oceana, that they have found some fair-minded and interested journalists in Bruce Springsteen's hometown.
How visible, by the way, are sea turtles in the waters off the US Northeast coast? A couple of summers ago, the last time I was on a whale-watch cruise out of Provincetown, MA, the naturalist on board was showing us pictures of all the prominent fauna of the Stellwagen Bank, including a sea turtle, the loggerhead I think. He told me that yes, they are occasionally sighted -- but apparently not easily enough to inspire the captain and crew to go looking for them.
On protesting the Japanese dolphin slaughter: Good for the protesters! From older videos that I have seen, it is a startlingly gory and cruel event. No wonder the protesters came away from their experience nearly in a state of shock. Unfortunately, it is possible that many Japanese, and not just the dolphin-killers, will consider the protest an intrusive, offensive act of cultural imperialism.
Chickens are our cousins! So are fish! So are other sentient animals! Let us learn to be kind.
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suzannah Posted 9:27 am
04 Nov 2007
On the ages of beings, I don't doubt that large dinosaurs were long-lived. It's a strange thing, though, since large size in animals like dogs and horses generally corresponds with shorter lifespans. It's like their bodies can't keep tending to such large frames - they age more poorly when they become elderly.
You astutely noted a problem with sea turtle conservation. No, we don't know where they go when we can't see them! We have an idea, and we can make educated guesses. But the scientific evidence on their exact range is very limited. Hopefully more information will come with time. It's something Oceana has hoped for.
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KenG Posted 10:57 pm
04 Nov 2007
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amazingdrx Posted 11:50 pm
04 Nov 2007
http://amazngdrx.blogharbor.com/blog
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amc89 Posted 1:11 am
05 Nov 2007
http://www.hsus.org/press_and_publications/press_releases ...
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caniscandida Posted 6:32 am
06 Nov 2007
KenG,
that certainly sounds right, that lifespan is closely related to the reproductive process of respective animals. In the unusual case of the quahog clams, their extreme longevity is made possible presumably by a stable and supportive environment, in which nutrients are reliably available, and predators and pathogens are either absent, or few, or easily defended against. But also, it must be true that the presence and numbers of the old individuals do not endanger the success of at least a few of the young ones.
The genetic need of animals to reproduce and replace themselves with a couple of reproductively successful young, raises some interesting philosophical questions. Clams, like probably all mollusks, and like most marine animals, produce a huge number of viable offspring, of which only a very much smaller number can be expected to survive to reproductive adulthood. And the upshot is, countless numbers of individual immature living creatures are expected to be killed, by one cause or another.
Hence, those thinkers who would argue in defense of atheism, or at least against the concept of a supreme being such as is found in the biblical traditions, and who seek to refute those who think that belief in such a supreme being is compatible with acceptance of the biological theory of evolution, sometimes ask: How can a loving, all-knowing, all-powerful creator-god be responsible for such pointless, futile waste of life? Could such a god be considered deserving of worship?
It would be interesting to know what those committed workers think about these things, especially the volunteers working with either Oceana or other organizations dedicated in one way or another to animal welfare, who are involved in the conservation of beaches on which the arribadas of sea turtles take place, or in the defense of the hatchlings as they make their way down the slope of the beach to the sea. As with most reptiles, of course, female sea turtles lay a large number of eggs, many more than the small number needed to replace the individual parents.
And another kind of question, more ethical and less theological, is: Does that mean that baby sea turtles are somehow less precious, individually, than baby whales or baby seals? Are they less deserving of our sympathy and care?
AMC,
thanks for the news from the Humane Society of the United States on the cooperation of all these seafood distributors in the boycott of Canadian seafood. Let us hope it has a good effect on policy-makers in Ottawa and the eastern provinces.
Of course, this is a morally complex issue. Most of the commercial fishermen who engage in the seal slaughter are hardly well-off, nor can they even be said to have a secure livelihood. Their government does them a great disservice, by indulging them so far as the seal slaughter goes, but not doing anything to wean them to less objectionable kinds of productive labor.
Also, it is ironic that some of us at least who are committed to animal welfare and the ethical treatment of animals can congratulate the seafood distributors for joining the boycott, even as we look for the day when their industry is shut down or radically transformed. Well, that day is likely to be far in the future, and the struggle leading to it is hardly begun; so meanwhile the cooperation of every one of us, for whatever our reasons may be, is definitely desirable.
Chickens are our cousins! So are fish! So are other sentient animals! Let us learn to be kind.
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johnrplatt Posted 11:06 pm
07 Nov 2007
Extinction Blog
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