The distribution patterns of Atka mackerel Pleurogrammus monopterygius were examined, both seasonally and spatially, to identify essential feeding habitat and to add to existing knowledge of diet composition. The study focused on two local aggregations in the Aleutian Islands, Alaska: one at Seguam Pass and one near Amchitka Island. At each locale, we examined the mean stomach fullness (i.e., feeding intensity) and diet composition of randomly selected fish within and outside of trawl exclusion zones (TEZs). The trawl exclusion zones extend out 10–20 nm from Steiler sea lion Eumetopias jubatus rookeries and haulouts; no trawling is allowed inside these zones. During four of the six periods examined, mean stomach fullness was higher inside the TEZ than outside it. At Seguam Pass, fish were distributed into northern and southern aggregations and diet composition varied by age, season, and location relative to the TEZs. Feeding intensity appeared to be greatest inside the TEZ in the northern portion of Seguam Pass near a productive frontal region characterized by a transition zone of well-mixed (upwelling) and stratified water. At Seguam Pass, piscivory occurred almost entirely inside the TEZ in June. Near Amchitka Island, feeding intensity was significantly higher inside the TEZ, which coincided with an increase in egg cannibalism in October. Based on these observations, we suggest that the areas of increased feeding activity in conjunction with diet composition at Seguam Pass and Amchitka Island represent essential feeding habitat for Atka mackerel.
Every fish species utilizes a particular habitat for feeding, growth, and reproduction. To ensure the availability of these habitats to managed fish species, we need to not only identify habitat critical to fish species but also understand how this habitat is utilized. Congress recognized the importance of habitat to fish, and in 1996 made significant revisions to the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act. The revisions emphasized the need to protect fish habitat from adverse impacts of human activity. Specifically, the act required that fishery management councils identify as essential fish habitat (EFH), those areas necessary for fish to perform their basic life functions. Essential fish habitat is defined as “those waters and substrates necessary to fish for spawning, breeding, feeding, or growth to maturity.”
There are several mechanisms that have been used to identify EFH. In the Aleutian Islands, Alaska, Rooper and Boldt (2005) found a significant correlation between catch per unit effort (CPUE) of juvenile Pacific ocean perch Sebastes alutus and sponge and coral habitat. In the United Kingdom, results from a survey by local fishers helped identify areas of consistently higher gadoid abundance and the habitat features associated with those areas (Bergmann et al. 2004). A more quantitative approach was taken by Levin and Stunz (2005), who identified sensitive life history stages of red drum Sciaenops ocellatus, and then determined what, if any, habitats were important to the those life stages and where critical life stages and EFH overlapped. One useful way to identify potential EFH is to examine fish abundance using survey and fishery catch data. Areas of high fish concentrations can be an indication of favorable habitat for reproduction, feeding, or both (Valavanis et al. 2004; Bergmann et al. 2004). Several factors can determine what makes a particular habitat favorable for feeding. Areas of high relief may support a complex community of benthos and offer protection while foraging (Rooper and Boldt 2005). Water column structure can also play an important role in determining areas that may be optimal for foraging. For example, nutrient rich upwellings, meso-scale eddies, and transition zones between well-mixed and stratified waters are often associated with increased fish abundances (Thomson et al. 1992; Maravelias 1997).
Under this umbrella, we examined the spatial and temporal feeding habits of adult Atka mackerel Pleurogrammus monopterygius to identify areas that may be important for feeding. Atka mackerel make up the largest fraction of groundfish biomass in the Aleutian Islands, Alaska (Rooper 2008), generally aggregating in dense patches and inhabiting sites of strong current and rocky relief, such as in the Aleutian Island passes. Their center of abundance lies within the Aleutian Island archipelago, where a large-scale commercial fishery is conducted (Lowe et al. 2009). Atka mackerel are considered semipelagic; they have been described to engage in diel movements in the water column, the majority of vertical migrations taking place during daylight hours and little to no movement off the bottom during night (Nichol and Somerton 2002). These migrations are presumably to feed on migrating euphausiids and other prey in the water column. Despite their semipelagic movements during feeding, Atka mackerel are demersal spawners. Females deposit egg masses on the bottom, and males guard nests for several months (Zolotov 1993; Lauth et al. 2007). Atka mackerel are a crucial component to the Aleutian Island ecosystem. They are a major prey for Steiler sea lions Eumetopias jubatus, particularly in the western Aleutians, where they can be present in sea lion diets up to 92% of the time during summer months (Sinclair and Zeppelin 2002). Atka mackerel also play a significant role in the diet of other fish species (Yang 1999), such as Pacific cod Gadus macrocephalus, arrowtooth flounder Atheresthes stomias, and Pacific halibut Hippoglossus stenolepis.
To identify possible EFH for Atka mackerel feeding, we examined the patterns of feeding intensity and diet composition of two local populations in the Aleutian Islands, Alaska; one at Seguam Pass and one near Amchitka Island. We examined food habits in terms of location relative to trawl exclusion zones (TEZs), which were put into effect in 1992 in response to rapidly declining sea lion populations. The TEZs extend out 10 nautical miles (nm; 18.52 km; Amchitka Island) or 20 nm (Seguam Pass) from sea lion rookeries and haulouts, and no trawling is allowed inside these zones. However, the Atka mackerel commercial fishery is allowed to harvest outside the TEZ, which is regulated by annual quotas based on stock assessment forecasts (Lowe et al. 2009).
A two-sample t-test was used to test for differences in the mean stomach fullness of fish inside and outside the TEZs at Seguam Island and near Amchitka Island during the summer and fall months. At each area we qualitatively described the diet composition of Atka mackerel by age-class within a 1-year period (intra-annual) and over a 2–3-year period during the month of October (interannual). We then grouped the age-classes and examined diet composition inside and outside the TEZs.
Data collection.— Study sites were located at Seguam Pass and Amchitka Island in the Aleutian Island chain, Alaska (Figure 1). The study platform was a commercial fishing vessel chartered for an Atka mackerel mark-recapture study (McDermott and Haist 2011, this issue). All demersal trawl hauls targeted locations that had both suitable habitat for trawling, and historically large fishable aggregations of Atka mackerel. However, no formal sampling via grids or transects was conducted. Instead, subareas were defined within each study area. Trawls were limited by the number that could occur per subarea, and the amount of time between each trawl was limited (S. McDermott and V. Haist, National Marine Fisheries Service, unpublished data). For this study, hauls were conducted both inside and outside the 20-nm TEZ at Seguam Pass. At Amchitka Island, hauls were conducted at the north and south end of Amchitka Island, both inside and outside the 10-nm TEZ. Commercial trawl gear (nonstandardized) was used for all fish collections as part of the mark-recapture platform; therefore, the gear selected for commercial sizes of Atka mackerel, generally fish age 3 or greater (approximately 28 cm). Hauls generally remained under 2 metric tons during June and July sampling (to obtain live fish for tagging), and were less than 25 metric tons, on average, during October.
At Seguam Pass, samples were collected in June, August, and October of 2002 and in October of 2003 and 2004. At Amchitka Island samples were collected in July and October 2003 and October 2004. Samples collected in June or July were during daylight hours over a 12-h period. In August and October, collections were over a 24 h diel period. At Seguam Pass, large Atka mackerel aggregations are often observed in the northern portion of the study area. To verify this observation as an index of abundance, catch per unit effort (CPUE; metric tons/h) for October in 2002, 2003, and 2004 was estimated for the northern portion of the study area, both inside and outside the TEZ, by dividing the total Atka mackerel catch by the time spent towing.
A total of 213 hauls were conducted at Seguam Pass and Amchitka Island between 2002 and 2004. Approximately 10 fish (5 males and 5 females) were collected from each haul. Fish were randomly chosen from each haul, and their fork lengths (mm) and weight (g) were recorded and their gonads, stomachs, and otoliths (age structures) collected. A total of 2,018 fish were collected and analyzed between 2002 and 2004. Results of the diet composition were summarized by total number of fish examined. For the two-sample t-test, stomach fullness was averaged for the 10 fish per haul, and the haul was defined as the observation. Diet was examined by age rather than size because spatial stratification based on maturity stage is hypothesized for this species (Cooper and McDermott 2011, this issue), and age is a better predictor of maturity than length in this species (Cooper et al. 2011, this issue)
Fish were aged in conjunction with the Alaska Fisheries Science Center's age and growth program following the protocol outlined in Anderl et al. (1996). Stomach samples were fixed in a solution of 10% buffered formalin in the field and neutralized in the laboratory with Neutralex (Tissue-Tek-Neutralex). After neutralizing the specimens for several hours, the samples were stored in a solution of 70% ethyl alcohol (EtOH) until laboratory analysis. In the laboratory, stomach contents were excised, excess moisture was blotted, and all nonprey items were removed (e.g., rocks). If a stomach contained no prey items, it was recorded as “empty.” The wet weight of stomach contents was recorded to the nearest 1.0 mg. All prey items in each stomach sample were sorted to the lowest possible taxonomic level, weighed to the nearest milligram, and aggregated by prey groups (related taxa). When Atka mackerel eggs were present in the stomach, the total number and weight of eggs was recorded.
Data analysis.— The diet composition of age-3–12 fish from both Seguam Pass and Amchitka Island were examined by year and month. Fish less than age 3 were seldom captured due to gear selectivity and, therefore, were not included in the analysis. Diets of age-7–12 fish were combined because diet composition varied little in this age range. To examine diets both intra-annually and interannually at each study site, predominant prey species by weight were placed into broad taxonomic categories, and the percent by weight (g) of the diet was calculated. The taxon categories included Copepoda, Amphipoda (Gammaridea, Hyperiidea, Caprellidea), Euphausiidae, Chaetognatha (arrow worms), nongadoid fish remains (unidentified fish, Myctophidae, and northern smoothtongue Leuroglossus schmidti), Atka mackerel eggs (cannibalized), and “other.” The latter includes species of the order Copelata (class: Larvacea), Mysidae, Gastropoda, Polychaeta, Cephalopoda, and Decapoda. To examine diets relative to TEZs, the percent weight (g) was calculated for all taxa identified for June, August, and October 2002 at Seguam Pass and for July and October 2003 at Amchitka Island.
Stomach fullness was expressed as a percentage of the fish's body weight and was used as a proxy for feeding intensity. Stomach fullness was averaged by haul (sexes combined), that is,is the mean stomach fullness per haul (h), i is the specimen, n is the number of specimens in the haul (∼10), Ci is the total prey weight for specimen i, and Wi is the total body weight (including the stomach and its contents). The sex ratio of males to females was assumed to be close to 50:50 over a given sampling period, based on approximately 150 sexed-lengths that were randomly collected from each haul.
Mean stomach fullness as a percentage of fish body weight is highly variable. Because mean stomach fullness is a proportion and values are close to zero, the data were arcsine transformed to meet the assumption of parametric statistics (Zar 1999). We tested for differences in mean stomach fullness between inside and outside the TEZ for six periods and both study sites (two sample t-test). The significance level was set at 0.05.
Seguam Pass Diet Composition
Euphausiids dominated the Atka mackerel diet by percent weight for all 3 years in October (Figure 2). Overall, diets remained similar among years, the only shifts being in the percent composition of prey species (Figure 2). For 2002, intra-annual diet composition by age-class varied between months and ageclasses (Figure 3). Consumed prey species shifted between June and August from primarily copepods (ages 3 and 4) and fish (ages 5 and 7–12; Figure 3A) to euphausiids for all age-classes combined (Figure 3B, C). In October, the diets of age-3–4 fish were dominated by euphausiids, those of age-5–6 fish by Atka mackerel eggs (cannibalism), and those of age-7–12 fish by fish (Figure 3C).
The age distribution of the June sample shows that approximately 56% of the total sample consisted of Atka mackerel age 5 and older (Figure 3A), which are the main consumers of fish, although fish first appear in their diet at age 4. A large shift in the age composition takes place between June and August because the percentage of age-3 mackerel increased substantially during that period (Figure 3A, B), representing just over 50% of the sample in August and October (Figure 3B, C). This influx of young fish diluted the age-5 and older age-classes to less than 20% of the total sample size by the August sampling period.
The calculated CPUE for Atka mackerel inside the TEZ at Seguam Pass during the October sampling was 266 metric tons/h in 2002, 130 metric tons/h in 2003, and 250 metric tons/h in 2004. The respective CPUEs in the area outside the TEZ were 45, 81, and 73 metric tons/h.
Differences in diet composition between inside and outside of the TEZ were observed in 2002 (Table 1). Fish consumption (all categories) almost exclusively occurred inside the TEZ (95%), very little to no fish consumption occurring outside the TEZ (Table 1). The consumption of copepods outside the TEZ was almost double that inside the TEZ, and the consumption of squid occurred almost entirely outside the TEZ in June (Table 1). Egg cannibalism only occurred inside the TEZ in August and October, and there was no egg cannibalism in June (Table 1).
Amchitka Island Diet Composition
Atka mackerel eggs dominated the diet by percent weight (g) in October 2003, whereas no particular prey items dominated in October 2004 (Figure 4). Similar to Seguam Pass, the diet composition remained similar between the 2 years, the only shift being in the percent diet composition (Figure 4). Intra-annual diet composition by age-class for 2003 is shown in Figure 5. In July the diets were dominated by copepods across all ageclasses (Figure 5A); by October, euphausiids dominated the diet for ages 3 and 4, whereas egg cannibalism predominated in ages 5 and older (Figure 5B). Approximately 92% of the total sample size in July consisted of age 5 and older (Figure 5A). By October these age-classes made up approximately 57% of the total sample (Figure 5B).
There were some observed differences in diet composition between inside and outside the TEZ in 2003 (Table 2). Squid consumption occurred almost entirely outside the TEZ in July; however, there is no difference in October (Table 2). Fish consumption, in general, occurred in October outside the TEZ, few fish being consumed inside the TEZ (Table 2). In October, egg cannibalism inside was almost double that outside the TEZ, and there was no egg cannibalism in July (Table 2).
Mean stomach fullness was significantly greater inside the TEZ than outside it in four of the six periods examined (Table 3). There was no significant difference in mean stomach fullness in inside versus outside the TEZ at Seguam Island or near Amchitka Island in October, 2004 (Table 3). Spatial patterns of mean stomach fullness between months (i.e., June–July and October) and inside-outside the TEZ were apparent at both Seguam Pass (Figure 6) and Amchitka Island (Figure 7). The harvest of Atka mackerel by the commercial fishery in 2003 and 2004 ranged from 2,741 to 10,964 metric tons at Seguam Pass (outside of the TEZ; Figure 6) and from 9,900–19,736 metric tons at Amchitka Island (outside the TEZ; Figure 7).
Areas inside the trawl exclusion zones may directly or indirectly enhance or preserve some essential fish habitat characteristics for feeding (and perhaps spawning) of Atka mackerel. Both feeding intensity and diet composition varied intra-annually, inside versus outside the TEZs, and between study areas. Our results of diet composition align with those published by Yang (1999) for the summer months; however, this study highlights food habit differences that occurred on a small spatial scale (i.e., 10–20 nm), both temporally (i.e., intra-annual) and spatially (i.e., between study areas and inside-outside TEZs within each study area). Based on the results of Cooper and McDermott (2011), we speculate that during the fall months, when Atka mackerel are actively spawning (age 4 and older; McDermott and Lowe 1997), their spawning habitat may overlap with their foraging habitat; fish not actively spawning (less than age 4; McDermott and Lowe 1997) may forage in the spawning habitat as well as other locations. This may explain our observations that age-4 fish at both study locations begin to cannibalize eggs from spawning habitat in October, whereas age-3 fish at both locations do not cannibalize eggs in October. The size of an Atka mackerel egg is similar to that of a small copepod, well within the size range of prey for age-3 fish at both locations, indicating that prey size is not a limiting factor for these observed prey preferences.
Diet composition at Seguam Pass by percent weight (g) inside and outside the trawl exclusion zone. Total number of fish (N) is reported with total number of haul observations in parenthesis; the observed fork length range (cm) of fish is reported in brackets below the sample size.
An important element of the Atka mackerel diet is fish consumption. Piscivory was a substantial part of Atka mackerel diets inside the Seguam Pass TEZ in June. Fish consumption only occurs in fish age 4 and older, probably because of small mouth gap size in fish younger than age 4. Yang (1999) found fish consumption was less than 5% by weight of total stomach contents during the 1991 Alaska Fisheries Science Center's (AFSC) summer survey season. Also, Logerwell et al. (2005), who summarized diets over several years, report fish consumption as being a small percentage of the Atka mackerel diet in the Aleutian Islands. The disparity in these studies compared with our study is probably due to spatial locations of demersal trawls, the timing of data collections, the scale at which diets were examined, and the fact that age-class was not taken into account in either study. Few AFSC survey trawls have occurred inside the TEZ at Seguam Pass because the habitat is not conducive to trawling. Also, the commercial fishery is only allowed access to areas outside the TEZs at any point during the Atka mackerel commercial fishery, which primarily occurs in the fall and winter months. Piscivory can be a major component of the diet of other greenlings. Fish consumption by the masked greenling Hexagrammos octogrammus was over 33% by weight for fish age 3 and older in the summer months (Pushchina and Antonenko 1999), and for the whitespotted greenling H. stelleri, it varied from 30% to 100% by weight, depending on greenling size and year (Napazakov 2008). This intensive period of piscivory inside the Seguam Pass TEZ in June may provide essential caloric needs for fish going into a reproductive season.
Diet composition at Amchitka Island by percent weight (g) inside and outside the trawl exclusion zone. See Table 1 for additional details.
Atka mackerel eggs are cannibalized from demersal nests and composed a significant portion of Atka mackerel diets during October, especially at the Amchitka Island study site, where almost 50% of the diet consisted of such eggs (mostly inside the TEZ). This result also coincides with results from Cooper and McDermott (2011), who examined the reproductive organs of the same Atka mackerel specimens we collected and found that male nest-guarding mostly occurred inside the TEZ. In addition, egg masses collected from the demersal trawls were primarily found inside the TEZ (Cooper and McDermott, 2011). Similar results of egg cannibalism were reported for the masked greenling (Pushchina and Antonenko 1999), where 15–20% by weight of their fall (September–October) diet was composed of conspecific eggs. Similar to the intensive period of piscivory observed at Seguam Pass, egg cannibalism at Amchitka Island is an important part of their fall diet.
Results of the two-sample T-tests for average Atka mackerel stomach fullness inside trawl exclusion zones and outside the trawl exclusion zones for Amchitka Island and Seguam Pass in 2002, 2003, and 2004 (α = 0.05). There were too few data at Seguam Pass in October 2002 to test for differences.
At Seguam Pass, results showed that feeding inside the TEZ was significantly greater than feeding outside the TEZ, particularly in the northern portion. It is likely that this pattern, as it relates to feeding, could be attributed to the unique habitat and oceanographic features of this local area. Water movement and water column mixing within Aleutian Island passes are primarily dominated by tidal currents (Hunt and Stabeno 2005; Stabeno et al. 2005) and are highly variable and dynamic; Seguam Pass is known to be a deep and highly mixed pass (Coyle 2005). Very large aggregations of Atka mackerel have been captured within this vicinity of strong mixing and upwelling (Fritz and Lowe 1998). The observed spatial patterns of mean stomach fullness evident at Seguam Pass may be a reflection of Atka mackerel aggregating to feed near a well-documented frontal zone (Coyle 2005; Mordy et al. 2005). In June 2001, Coyle (2005) collected temperature, salinity, fluorescence and Zooplankton data within Seguam Pass on a transect that ran through the pass in a north—south direction. Coyle (2005) reported well-mixed water within Seguam Pass and observed a high abundance of Zooplankton in a frontal region at the north end of the transect, where there is a transition zone between the well-stratified and well-mixed water column. This frontal zone may be an important feature, making this optimal foraging habitat for Atka mackerel.
Atka mackerel in the Amchitka Island and Seguam Pass study sites differed in diet composition but had similar spatial patterns of mean stomach fullness. As at Seguam Pass, it appears that at Amchitka Island feeding intensity is higher inside the TEZ than outside; however, we speculate that this is for different reasons. The TEZ at the Amchitka study site (10 nm around sea lion rookeries) bisects the 90–150-m bathymetric range. As a result, we would expect feeding intensity to be the same inside and outside the TEZ boundary, but in fact, it is greater inside the TEZ. At Seguam Pass, the 20-nm TEZ, by chance, happens to encompass a well documented frontal zone. One possible explanation for the observed differences in mean stomach fullness at Amchitka Island is that the habitat inside the TEZ is relatively undisturbed (i.e., no bottom trawling) compared with sites outside the TEZ, where there is a commercial fishery that operates in January and September. Also, inside the TEZ, Atka mackerel nests are relatively undisturbed, and egg cannibalism is double of that outside the TEZ in October.
In summary, we found that diet composition differed temporally, spatially, and by age-class at both the Seguam Pass and Amchitka Island study areas. The existing TEZs may provide protected habitat for Atka mackerel foraging, which coincides with management objectives requiring identification of essential fish habitat.
We would like to thank Dan Cooper, Susanne McDermott, Susan Picquelle, Liz Conners, Peter Munro, Libby Logerwell, and the Alaska Fisheries Science Center (AFSC) age and growth program. Thanks also to the crew from the vessels Pacific Explorer and Seafisher, all those who helped in collecting samples and providing laboratory analyses—Jesse Aggee, Teresa A'mar, Barney Baker, Alicia Billings, Ruth Christiansen, Chris Derrah, Eric Dobbs, Rob Freyer, Alan Halvarson, John Hargrove, Justin Keesee, Bob Lauth, Scott McKillip, Adam Mitchell, Ivonne Ortiz, Suzanne Romain, and Ty Yasanak—and those providing laboratory assistance—Katie Dodd, Rick Hibpshman, and Andy Whitehouse. Funding was provided by Joint Institute for the Study of Atmosphere and Ocean at the University of Washington and AFSC.


Yalong Bay Underwater World (Sanya)
Yalong Bay Underwater World is located in the Sanya Coral Reef National Marine Nature Reserve. In the clear blue waters, there are many varieties of hard and soft corals. Visitors can not only enjoy views of the seabed, but also try a variety of water sports.
Sanya Yalong Bay boasts an area of azure sea extending 7 kilometers from its beautiful beach. The seawater here is clean and transparent, and from a distance appears in a range of different blue hues.
At Yalong Bay Underwater World, visitors can enjoy more than 20 water activities such as sailing, diving, water skiing and parasailing, as well as the "half-submarine" sightseeing experience which enables tourists to see the amazing underwater world through a glass-sealed, submarine-like boat.
Opening hours: 8 am – 5:30 pm
Address: 2 Longhai Road, Jiyang district, Sanya
Tourists enjoy the beautiful coral reefs and marine creatures at Yalong Bay Underwater World via a "half-submarine" sightseeing experience. [Photo/WeChat account ylwhdsj]


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RESCCUE activity in Vanuatu : Conservation Fund
RESCCUE Project in a Nutshell Take off to Vanuatu where RESCCUE established the North Efate Conservation Trust, financing environmental management activities.
RESCCUE activity in French Polynesia: ecological anchorage
RESCCUE Project in a nutshell For the first video of a series, we are embarking for French Polynesia, where ecological anchorages have been set up.
The Wake up! project explained in 5 minutes
"Wake up !" or how to engage Pacific youth in efforts to control NCDs
Responsible sport fishing - Handling fish caught on surface lures and jigs
Produced by Nearshore Fisheries Development Section of the Pacific Community (SPC) and the Southern Province of New Caledonia. Scientific adverser: Michel Blanc, Nearshore Fisheries Development Adviser, Pacific Community (SPC) Emmanuel Coutures,…
An overview of RESCCUE’s actions in Fiji
RESCCUE Project, Fiji: "People's self-belief in strengthening their adaptive capacity and soci-ecological resilience"
Season's Greetings from everyone at the Pacific Community
Season's Greetings from everyone at the Pacific Community to our friends and extended family around the world. Our sincere thanks for your continued support throughout the past year and we look forward to working with you again in 2019.
RESCCUE Project in Vanuatu - Theme 3: Waste Management
RESCCUE Project in Vanuatu - Theme 4: Protect Marine Resources
RESCCUE helped develop a marine monitoring toolkit for the local communities in North Efate (Vanuatu) to use to manage their marine resources. The toolkit brings traditional knowledge, which is plentiful, and science together in a tool that is both…
RESCCUE Project - Theme 1: Efate Land Management Area (ELMA)
RESCCUE supported a rapid biodiversity assessment in the Efate Land Management Area (ELMA) in Vanuatu to help the Government of Vanuatu, SHEFA Province and local communities protect this area which provides key ecosystem services.
Wake Up! 2018: Engaging Pacific youth in efforts to control NCDs
The goal of the Wake up! project is to get younger generations involved in efforts to control non-communicable diseases (NCDs) by providing them with an opportunity to speak out on this topic through the media and the arts. Following the project’s…


Citizen science: If you see a blue land crab at the beach, researchers want to know about it
Biologists are asking visitors to eastern North Carolina’s beaches to be on the lookout for a crab species that’s not native to the Carolinas.
The first confirmed blue land crab sighting in the state occurred early this summer and researchers don’t yet know the extent of the crab’s distribution in the region. That’s why they’re turning to citizen scientists for help.
North Carolina Museum of Science researcher Dr. Bronwyn Williams said a blue land crab was first found in Emerald Isle this summer.
“It was the first report of a blue land crab in North Carolina,” she said.
Occasional sightings of the large crabs have been reported in South Carolina since 2008.
Since the sighting was reported in Carteret County, Williams said there have been, “A handful of other reports in and around the Bogue Sound area that certainly suggests that this was not just a single crab that hitched a ride, you know, let's say on somebody's boat trailer or outside vehicle luggage.”
The crab isn’t being treated as an invasive species, but a non-native one, because Williams said it’s too early to tell if it may have a negative impact on the beach environment.
“What sort of impacts it might have, whether it be on native crabs or other animals, or, more likely, vegetation since blue land crabs are, are known to be vegetarians and love to eat little tender shoots of grasses and other plants,” she explained.
Williams said anyone that spots a blue land crab along Bogue Sound is being asked to report the sighting online – with any photos or videos of the crustacean.
Despite their name, the crabs vary widely in color. She said adult males tend to have the characteristic blue-gray coloring, but females can also be white or ash-gray, and juveniles can range from orangish to dark brown to purple.
They’re also hoping to collect a few live crabs for testing. However, she said catching one of the elusive crabs should be done with some caution.
“These crabs can be quite large, and they have a very large claw. The going, it's going to hurt.” Williams said, “So, some caution is certainly warranted in trying to capture these crabs.
She said covering the crab with a bucket or container may be the safest way to avoid a pinch.
The museum and the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality are working together on the research project.
People that spot a blue land crab can report that sighting HERE.
Click on the "listen" button above to hear the full interview with Dr. Williams.


Paleoceanographic records in the Chukchi Basin, western Arctic Ocean during the late Quaternary
- 海洋环境－已发表论文
The late Quaternary paleoceanographic changes in the western Arctic Ocean are revealed by quantitative studies of foraminiferal abundance, ice-rafted detritus (IR)) and its mineralogical and petrological compositions, planktonic Neogloboquadrina pachyderma (sin.) (Nps)-delta O-18 and -delta C-13, biogenic and non-biogenic components in Core M03 token from the Chukchi Basin during the Second Chinese National Arctic Expedition cruise. Seven IRD events appeared at MIS 7, 5, 3 and I. These IRD were carried in massive icebergs, which were exported to the Beaufort Sea through the M'Clure Strait Ice Stream, Canadian Arctic Archipelago, and then transported into the Chukchi Basin by the Beaufort Gyre. Low IRD deposition occurred during the glacial times when more extended ice cover and weakened Beaufort Gyre, while the open water condition and the intensified Beaufort Gyre during interglacial periods favored the I RD deposition. Therefore, the IRD events not only indicate the provenance of coarser detritus and ice export events, but also reflect the evolutionary histories of the Beaufort Gyre and North American ice sheet. Seven light Nps-delta O-18 and -delta C-13 excursions could respond to enhanced rates of sea ice formation resulting in the production and sinking of isotopically light brines, but was irrelevant to the warm Atlantic water and freshwater inputs. Whereas, the heavy Nps-delta O-18 and -delta C-13 values separately reflect the lessened Arctic freshwater and Pacific water, and well-ventilated surface water from the continental shelf and halocline water. Variations of CaCO3 content and planktonic foraminiferal abundance during the interglacial mid glacial periods can demonstrate the incremental or diminishing input of the Atlantic water, while the total organic carbon (TOG) and opal contents increased and decreased during the glacial and interglacial periods, respectively, which could be related to the TOC degradation, opal dissolution and redox conditions of interface between the bottom water and sediments.


By MAUREEN PENJUELI, Pacific Network on Globalisation (PANG)
[The following article was first published in the Spotlight on Sustainable Development 2019 report.]
Global powers and Pacific Island nations are racing to divide up the ocean’s resources using the narratives of Blue Economy and Blue Growth to justify their exploitation. Technology advances make once-unfeasible seafloor depths increasingly viable and will allow corporations to plunder oceanic resources in a bid to secure food security and alternative sources of minerals and energy for rapid growing populations.
The Blue Economy concept grew out of the broader green growth concept and a growing concern about the heavy damage wrought on our ocean ecosystems by overfishing, habitat destruction, marine pollution, ocean acidification and climate change. The science behind the health and resilience of the ocean to sustain human activities and life on the planet remains little discussed, a gap that SDG 14 and the 2030 Agenda attempt to address. For Pacific people who have a spiritual relationship with the ocean, its industrialization reshapes the way its value was defined by former colonial rulers into that of transnational corporations and multilateral financial institutions. Such a move must be resisted not just for the benefit of the Pacific people but for all of humanity and the planet.
Ocean resources have been the foundation of global trade and economic activities, a major source of food, energy and livelihood for centuries. Oceans provide 50 percent of atmospheric oxygen and absorb 25 percent of human-induced CO2 emissions and the circulation dynamics make our planet habitable. Oceans are home to extraordinary biodiversity and unique ecosystems. Science is only just discovering how much of a global service to the functioning of our planet our oceans provide.
Increasingly over the last 13 years, international concerns have focused on the health of the world’s oceans and threats to marine biological diversity, including illegal, unrecorded and unreported (IUU) fishing and destructive fisheries practices, bottom trawling and climate change along with emerging issues such as bio-prospecting in the deep sea.
At least 40 percent of our oceans are already heavily polluted and showing signs of ill health. In the past decades, as scientific understanding increases, concerns over how to manage and conserve the areas beyond national jurisdiction have heightened. Scientists admit to having a poor understanding of the deep ocean; more is known about the surfaces of the moon, Venus and Mars. The 2018 special report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) on the effects of global warming of 1.5 degrees or more and its catastrophic impact on oceans and consequent sea level rising shows the urgent need for new tools and methods for the governance of the world’s oceans.
Harvesting the oceans under the Blue Economy
The UN puts the value of the coastal and marine resources at US$ 3 trillion or about 5 percent of world GDP. According to a 2014 report, China’s ocean economy is worth US$ 962 billion or 10 percent of its GDP while the USA values its at US$ 258 billion, or 1.8 percent of GDP.
Updated figures from the European Union estimate the value of new ocean industries at 5.4 million jobs, and gross added value of € 500 billion. The OECD suggests that the ocean economy is likely to outpace the global economy in the next 15 years. Even so, some commentators caution that the true value of oceans remains undervalued.
Framed as perhaps the last untapped, under-explored and under-exploited region in the world, the Pacific Ocean is set to be a contested space for resources. The Blue Economy heralds a new race to carve up the Pacific, turning the Pacific Ocean, from surface to seafloor, into a crowded and contested space. Pacific state leaders are courted with economic gains that are a fraction of the value of the ocean resources that will be extracted. The destruction of Pacific fish stocks after years of licensing to allow uncontrolled commercial fishing extraction is a case in point.
Box 14.1: Significance of the Pacific Ocean
Covering approximately 59 million square miles and containing more than half of the free water on Earth, the Pacific is by far the largest of the world’s ocean basins. Its vastness is illustrated by the fact that all of the world’s continents could fit into the Pacific basin.
Pacific Island countries retain considerable control and power over their ocean territory which comprises a significant portion of the world’s ocean – on average 28 times more than actual land area. For example, the Republic of Kiribati has a land-size half that of London but has the 13th largest exclusive economic zone in the world, making it a large ocean state.
The indigenous view of the Pacific Ocean is that it is our home and our source of life, one inherited from our ancestors who paid attention to the protection and conservation of ocean resources. The People of Oceania’s well-being never derived solely from the land (which is small in comparison) but equally and perhaps more significantly from the Ocean, which, was treated as a single, sacred unit, integral to life and culture in the region.
Legal instruments: Still fit for purpose?
There are a number of relevant UN legal instruments governing different uses of the ocean, yet each is aimed at a different use or need. Shipping is governed by the International Maritime Organization (IMO), while fisheries are governed by the Fisheries Stocks Agreement although managed by regional fisheries management organizations (RFMOs). Deep sea minerals are governed by the International Seabed Authority (ISA) while the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) primarily governs the oceans. Matters relating to trade such as fisheries subsidies are dealt by the World Trade Organization (WTO). There is currently no mechanism or framework that deals with how to coordinate these different sectors that are under distinct legal frameworks, making it difficult to effectively address the various conflicts of interests.
Protection of the ocean was included in the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), specifically in Article 4.1 (d) concerning the sustainable management, conservation and enhancement of sinks and reservoirs of greenhouse gases including ‘oceans, coastal and marine ecosystems’. Issues such as equity, benefit sharing, traditional knowledge and capacity building for small island developing states to benefit from ocean resources and to ensure their sustainability can be found in several instruments, most notably the Convention on Biodiversity and a new instrument on the conservation and use of areas beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ), currently being negotiated.
But despite its critical role as a carbon sink, the ocean has largely been ignored by the UN climate change negotiations.
Box 14.2: The ocean’s crucial role in climate regulation
Recent scientific research has revealed that deep seabed and hydrothermal vents make potentially critical contributions to both biodiversity and global climate regulation. First discovered over 40 years ago, these unique hydrothermal vents and habitats play a significant role in sequestering both methane and toxic sulphide. Scientists conclude that the life forms in these vents and seeps consume 90 percent of the released methane—considered 25 times more potent than carbon dioxide– and keep it from entering the atmosphere. These life forms are literally saving the planet. A 2016 study released by 14 Universities and oceanographic institutions confirmed that carbon sequestration by hydrothermal vents and seeps were even more extensive in space and time than previously thought. There is more methane on the ocean floor than there are other forms of fossil fuels left in the ocean, its release would be a “doomsday climatic event”. Recent scientific breaks through have further revealed that most of the excess heat resulting from atmospheric Green House Gas (GHG) concentrations has been absorbed by the deep ocean, thereby significantly limiting climate change impacts on the ocean’s surface and on land.
Even as researchers learn more about the deep sea habitats role in sustaining a healthy planet, these habitats are being threatened by a wide range of human activities, including deep sea mining, bottom trawling and energy harvesting. In addition, the deep sea mining industry has heavily promoted the need for these rare earth minerals for ironically, ‘green’ technology.
SDG 14 and the 2030 Agenda
The inclusion of the oceans as a stand-alone goal was heralded as a breakthrough, focusing on ocean acidification as a way to bridge the 2030 Agenda and the UNFCC process. It also attempts to address the issue of IUU fishing by tackling the issue of fisheries subsidies, currently under consideration by the WTO.
Yet SDG 14 is disturbingly quiet on deep sea minerals particularly in the area described as the common heritage of mankind (Clarion Clipperton Zone). The UN Ocean Conference in June 2017 highlighted seabed mining under a Blue Economy narrative with side events and voluntary commitments pushed by the International Seabed Authority (ISA).
A review of SGD 14 raises significant questions on whether the existing and somewhat fragmented institutional structures and arrangements established under UNCLOS are still fit for purpose. The question is whether they can be re-designed to rebalance the growing economic demands under a Blue Economy narrative and at the same time protect the health of the oceans necessary to ensure life itself on the planet.
The UN Conference to Support the Implementation of SDG 14 (the Oceans Conference) in June 2017 sought to engage “all stakeholders” in fulfilling Goal 14 through “innovative new partnerships”. It issued a Call to Action and announced a list of voluntary commitments to fulfil the goal. One, called the Abyssal Initiative,jointly announced by UN DESA and the International Seabed Authority (ISA) intends to promote the Blue Economy as a means of enabling Small Island Developing States (SIDS) to benefit fully from the sustainable development of deep sea mineral resources. However, a review of model legislation, funded by the European Commission, found that it focused more on ensuring a clear licensing regime and conditions favourable to industry rather than establishing effective safeguards and sufficient environmental protection for Pacific peoples and the environment.
Several Pacific island states have made applications on behalf of mining companies, including Nautilus Minerals, Deep Green and Chinese Oceans Minerals Resources Research and Development Association (COMRA), all without explicit consultation with their own people. There is a seemingly revolving door for governments acting as agents for industry interests, as is evident in the ISA.
Box 14.3: Cautionary tale of deep sea mining and oceans’ untapped riches
Consumer demand for electronic minerals such as copper, lithium, rare earth minerals, cobalt, and manganese nodules coupled with advances in technology and infrastructure is set to make the ocean floor the next frontier for exploitation.
The total area of seabed covered under deep sea mining (DSM) licenses is over 1.3 million square kilometers. At the time of writing, the ISA had issued 29 licenses, 22 of which are located in the Pacific Ocean, 16 of them in the Clarion Clipperton Zone, approximately 500 miles southeast of Hawaii. While the ISA is still in the process of developing a mining code for a little-known part of the world, it ultimately plans to award contractors with 30-year exploration licenses.
In the Pacific, Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Papua New Guinea (PNG), Solomon Islands and Tonga are some of the first to undertake seabed mining within their Economic Exclusive Zones (EEZ). PNG has already issued the world’s first commercial license due to start exploitation by 2019 although Nautilus Inc has run into financial difficulties in the Solwara 1 project.
Proponents argue that sea floor ores are exceptionally rich and that as it takes place in smaller areas, DSM is more environmentally friendly than land-based mining. This low-risk and high-return rationale is being pushed strongly by the ISA and UN DESA, despite the fact that it is not known what the full impact will be on the deep seabed and the waters where it will take place.
Scientific knowledge is only just beginning to catch up to the significance of deep seabed, seamounts and hydrothermal vents and their critical contribution to both biodiversity and global climate regulation. Scientists have discovered over 300 new species, 80 percent of which are endemic around vents where temperatures can be as high as 113 degrees Celsius, making each vent system unique. Studies have found that there would be immediate adverse impacts on ocean ecosystem health, species abundance and biodiversity, with little or no recovery of biodiversity in mined sites. Moreover, the impact of industrial-scale operations (in terms of size, intensity and duration) would be devastating, covering on the order of 10,000 to 100,000 sq kilometers of the ocean floor.
Many of the projected impacts on biodiversity and species extinction would likewise hurt communities. Pacific communities in New Ireland and East New Britain in PNG are already experiencing negative impacts from exploratory mining and drilling occurring 30 to 50 kilometers away. Villagers have reported increased frequency of dead fish washed up on shore, including a number of deep sea creatures hot to the touch. The PNG Fisheries Authority warned that “vast areas could be polluted and with tuna being a highly migratory species, contamination of stock could have dire consequences for the entire region, far overstretching the immediate impact zone of the mine”.
What’s worrying is that the ISA assumes that the governance of the area considered the common heritage of mankind, the Clarion Clipperton Zone, is the sole responsibility of States to act on our collective behalf without requiring indigenous peoples and communities’ participation let alone their free, prior and informed consent. However, in this new era of ocean exploitation, Pacific Island states are in uncharted territory as their knowledge of the resources in their EEZs is limited. At least four Pacific Island states (Tonga, Nauru, Kiribati and the Cook Islands) are actively involved in the Zone.
Caught in the net
In 2017, following the Oceans conference on SDG 14, members of the WTO set a deadline of 2020 to rein in harmful subsidies in the fishing industry that have led to widespread collapse of global fish stocks. Their mandate, as part of the Doha Development Agenda (DDA) and the Hong Kong Ministerial Declaration, is to clarify disciplines on fish subsidies. Despite no consensus in 16 years of negotiations, members seem closer to a potential agreement on the issue than ever before. In part this is due to SDG target 14.6, which includes a mandate to, among other things, “by 2020, prohibit certain forms of fisheries subsidies which contribute to overcapacity and overfishing, and eliminate subsidies that contribute to illegal, unreported and unregulated [IUU] fishing…”
Any outcome will have major implications for Pacific Island states as fish provide 50–90 percent of animal protein in rural areas (primarily from subsistence fishing), and 40–80 percent in many urban centres. Fisheries is also a key driver of developing country economies with fish and fish products generating a higher export value than coffee, bananas, cocoa, tea, sugar and tobacco combined.
Fisheries subsidies by developed countries have long been contentious for Pacific Island states which see their natural resources exploited by highly subsidized foreign fleets at the expense of their own potential local industries. As reported by IUU Watch, in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean, illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing “claims at least € 470 million annually, with actual lost revenue to Pacific Island countries around € 140 million.”
Countries with huge industrialized fishing fleets are using these negotiations to try to include matters such as management measures under the ambit of the WTO. Any outcome must ensure that small-scale and artisanal fisherfolk can be supported, that the policy space of Pacific developing countries and Least Developed Countries (LDCs) is protected through effective special and differential treatment, and that there is no undermining of fisheries management measures.
Call to ensure indigenous peoples and communities’ participation
Although the potential negative environmental impacts of DSM are increasingly being documented, less attention is being paid to the human rights violations, particularly of indigenous peoples and communities.
The legal assumption is that because most of the DSM activities are designated in areas beyond national jurisdictions, the rights of indigenous peoples and communities including those living in coastal states closest to proposed sites, are not impacted. This ignores the fact that effects are experienced inside and outside national jurisdictions. Indigenous peoples can credibly claim they are entitled to invoke the highest protection of international law. Moreover, indigenous communities have obligations to sponsoring states (Tonga, Kiribati, Nauru and the Cook Islands) to ensure their compliance with the highest standards of environmental and human rights laws.
A recent assessment of the regulatory frameworks governing DSM shows why it is so important for the principle of free, prior and informed consent for indigenous peoples and communities to be applied to deep sea mining particularly, particularly in the Pacific region, where numerous indigenous communities stand to be directly and disproportionately impacted by DSM. The authors argue that UNCLOS clear parameters on the prevention of harm to the marine environment have created a due diligence standard that is imposing even higher duties on an increasingly wide range of actors.
A review of SDG 14 provides the global community with the opportunity to further consider how to strengthen global governance of oceans. It is clear that there are significant gaps and a need for strong accountability mechanisms to resolve what are clear conflicts between different users in areas beyond national jurisdictions to ensure the health of the oceans for future generations. It may require a new UN body on Oceans.
Maureen Penjueli is Coordinator of the Pacific Network on Globalization (PANG) based in Fiji.
The ocean is a primary source of protein for over 3 billion people (www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/oceans/).
Oceans contain nearly 200,000 identified species, but actual numbers may lie in the millions (www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/sustainable-development-goals/goal-14-life-below-water.html).
Over 3 billion people are dependent on the coastal and marine environment for their livelihoods, with more than 200 million people employed directly or indirectly in the fisheries sector (www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/oceans/).
“Defining and quantifying China’s ocean economy”, Marine Policy, Vol 43, January 2014, pp. 164-173.
The SPC-EU Deep Sea Minerals Project has 15 Pacific Island states: The Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Timor Leste, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu. See the SPC-EU DSM Deep Sea Minerals Project, Secretariat of the Pacific Community (http://gsd.spc.int/dsm).
Blue Ocean Law (2016a) and (2016b).
ISA licenses have been awarded to: Cook Islands Investment Corporation (July 2016); Marawa Research and Exploration Ltd (Kiribati Jan 2015); Tonga Offshore Mining Ltd (Jan 2012); Nauru Resources Ltd (July 2011).
It is estimated that every mobile phone needs 0.02kg of copper; Volkswagen will need at least a third of the global supply of cobalt by 2025 for energy efficient cars; while if all European cars are electric by 2040 (using Telsa Model 3), they would require 28 times more cobalt than is produced now (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/resources/idt-sh/deep_sea_mining). See also Hein et al. (2013).
Nautilus Minerals forecasts that in copper alone, seabed mining could be worth US$ 30 billion a year by 2030 (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/resources/idt-sh/deep_sea_mining).
See e.g. Dando/Juniper, eds. (2001) and Tunnicliffe (1992).
Blue Ocean Law (2016b).
Blue Ocean Law (2016a): An Assessment of the SPC Regional Legislative and Regulatory Framework for Deep Sea Minerals Exploration and Exploitation. Guam.
Blue Ocean Law (2016b): Resource Roulette: How Deep Sea Mining and Inadequate Regulatory Frameworks Imperil the Pacific and its Peoples. Guam.
Dando, Paul/Juniper, S. Kim, eds. (2001): Management and Conservation of Hydrothermal Vent Ecosystems. Sidney (Victoria), B.C., Canada: Institute of Ocean Sciences.
Gillet, Robert (2016): Fisheries in the Economies of Pacific Island Countries and Territories. Second edition. Noumea, New Caledonia: Pacific Community.
Hein, James R. et al. (2013): Deep-ocean Mineral Deposits as a Source of Critical Metals for High and Green Technology Applications: Comparison with Land-Based Resources, Ore Geology Reviews, Vol. 51, June 2013, pp. 1-14.
IPCC (2018): Global warming of 1.5°C. An IPCC Special Report on the impacts of global warming of 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels and related global greenhouse gas emission pathways, in the context of strengthening the global response to the threat of climate change, sustainable development, and efforts to eradicate poverty. Summary for Policymakers.
Tunnicliffe, Verena (1992): The Nature and Origin of the Modern Hydrothermal Vent Fauna. In: Palaios Vol. 7, No. 4 (August), pp. 338-350.
World Bank (2016): Precautionary Management of Deep Sea Mining Potential in Pacific Island Countries. Washington. D.C. (Pacific Possible series).


Dolphin watching tour
Dolphin watching tour lasts for 3 hours and it is designed for max 12 persons. In case you do not see the dolphins, you get the possibility to go one more time for free.
In cooperation with Blue World, Institute of Marine Research and Conservation, we have created a program in which you will have the opportunity to learn more about those wonderful creatures, and also learn how to behave in the vicinity of the dolphin.
Considering a way of life, love and respect for sea of our skipper, you will go in search of dolphins. It is necessary to know very well this area to notice even the smallest changes on the sea surface. Not every wave or jump means that there is a dolphin! Experience is required to spot the animals in the Lošinj archipelago.
The lectures about the dolphins, the behavior on boat and around the dolphins precedes the trip to the sea.
April - November


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Scuba Diving in Grenada Caribbean
Site: Hema 1
Location: 3 miles off the south coast of Grenada
Length: 50 metres (170 feet)
Depth: 30 metres (100 feet)
Visibility: 20 metres (65 feet)
In the early morning hours of March 5th 2005 a freighter who had offloaded its cargo in Grenada, was on its way back to Trinidad empty. Seas were rough and the freighter started to take on water. Unfortunately the bilge pump did not work as it supposed to. The owner/captain tried to make it back to Grenada's safe harbour but failed. Grenada coastguard rescued all crew members, but the ship had to be abandoned. It sank approximately 3 miles off the south coast of Grenada.
The freighter named Hema 1, was registered in Kingston, St. Vincent and its owner just had refurbished it with a new engine. For several years the ship served as an inter-island freighter. It was built in 1963 in Germany and delivered as 'Thomas Steven' of Denmark cargo around the Baltic Seas.
The 170 foot / 50 m Hema 1 is now the newest addition to the already diverse portfolio of Grenada's ship-wrecks. Lying on its side, still swaying in the current, in a depth of 30 m / 100 feet it will soon become a new attraction. On the first dive Aquanauts did one week after it sank, already reef and nurse sharks were investigating the new wreck as possible resting place. Like the Shakem which sank in 2001, it will be an interesting example to see how quickly marine life takes over and makes it a new artificial reef. Aquanauts will report and document the growth development on the new wreck regularly. But already it is clear that the wreck of Hema 1 will be one of the main attractions in Grenada's waters due to its location in the nutrient rich Atlantic current off the south coast where other wrecks like San Juan and King Mitch have an impossible to resist draw on experienced adventure seeking divers!
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Everyone knows that rubbish ends up in the ocean, but did you know that there is a patch of garbage twice the size of Texas floating between Hawaii and California?
Yup, that’s right. A large collection of mostly plastic items like discarded fishing nets , plastic bottles and polystyrene cups is currently swirling it’s way around the North Pacific ocean. It’s called the Great Pacific Garbage Patch (GPGP). It’s not alone though, in fact there are a number of these gyres in oceans around the world. This one just happens to be the largest. There’s one in the North Atlantic, another in the Indian Ocean in between Australia and Antarctica. Oh, and there’s two more in the South Atlantic and South Pacific.
So, What Is a Gyre?
Basically, thanks to ocean currents and the Earth’s rotation there are vortexes in all our oceans that pull together. The problem is that now there is so much plastic in the ocean, the garbage is being pulled along and forming these garbage patches.
- In parts of the GPGP there are over 2 million pieces of plastic per square mile of ocean.
- Marine life like turtles and fish mistake tiny pieces of plastic for sea plankton and ingest items their bodies cannot break down
- By 2050 it’s estimated that there will be more plastic in the ocean than fish
- 80% of the garbage found in the ocean is from land based sources, leaving the other 20% coming from commercial cruises, fishing and shipping
- Ocean pollution kills an estimated one million seabirds each year
Why Are the Garbage Patches There?
The GPGP was first documented in 1988 but scientists believe over the last decade or so the patch has rapidly accelerated in size. The solution seems quite simple: locate the garbage patch and remove it. But it’s actually a lot more complicated than that. It’s difficult to locate from air and it’s even harder to get close enough to it to actually remove it. It’s not a massive island of floating garbage but more of a cloudy ocean soup of micro-plastics. However, the biggest thing standing in the garbage patch’s removal is the fact that no country wants to take responsibility for it. Although it lies off the coast of The United States, a lot of the rubbish is believed to have originated from East Asia. This is mainly because thanks to the ocean highway, a piece of plastic discarded into the ocean in Japan will take roughly 1 year to reach the patch whereas the same plastic would take 6 years from California.
Can Anything Be Done?
While people were up in arms when Coles and Woolworths stopped handing out single use plastic bags, it’s actually a great step in the right direction. Cutting down on single use plastics in every aspect of your life can reduce the amount that eventually ends up in our oceans. Easy things to cut out are coffee cups, straws and excess plastic when grocery shopping. Do you really need that extra plastic bag for your spuds? Or how about using eco-friendly skin and beauty products? Micro-beads that go into face and body washes end up washing down your drain and into the stomachs of turtles. If you are really keen to help save our oceans then volunteer for a ocean clean up day, or next time you’re at the beach or river why not pick up a couple pieces of rubbish while you’re there?
What do you think LiveTribers? Is it time to ditch the plastic for good to save our oceans?


How climate change changes the oceans
The life insurance system of the planet is at risk. The ocean and coastal regions are changing more rapidly than it has ever been recorded in history and the cause for this is the climate change, enhanced by humanity. This statement was recently made by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in its fifth paper, in which the international committee of 800 scientists summarises the current state of affairs regarding global warming and new, worrying predictions for the future.
The last thirty years were the warmest in the last 1.400 years. Whilst global temperatures have risen by 0.14 degrees Celsius in the last decade (with 0.6 degrees since the industrialisation), ocean temperatures have risen by 0.4 degrees between 1970 and 2010. And the end is not yet in sight: A new temperature record for the North Pacific, Mediterranean and parts of the North Atlantic were recorded in 2014. Global warming will, according to the IPCC, rise by another 4 degrees Celsius by the end of this century, if we don’t reduced emissions.
When glaciers sink into the ocean…
The rising temperatures are leading to an explosion of the ocean, as warmer waters have a larger volume, meaning that the sea level is rising continuously. Current estimates state a sea level rise of between 28 and 98 centimetres, with regional differences, and there is no end in sight. Partially this is also made up of land-based input from melting glaciers – 80 percent of land based ice masses are retreating. The Greenland ice sheet loses 100 – 350 billion tons of ice annually. Once all of this ice has melted, the sea level will have risen by 7 metres. In order to stop the complete melting of the ice sheets globally the “2 degrees Celsius goal” was put in place as an upper limit for global warming.
For floating arctic ice global warming also poses a threat. Feedback effects have lead to a reduction in the previously 16.2 million square kilometres ice coverage to 14.5 million in the last 30 years (a difference equal to the size of Iran). The population of polar bears and other species that are reliant on the ice sheets have been decreasing with an alarming speed. Through the rapid melting of ice in spring a high amount of ice bound algae are being released, which then sink in the water column where they feed bacteria, which in turn leads to a reduction in oxygen in the water and the creation of dead zones in the Arctic.
But not only the highly sensitive poles are suffering from global warming. The tropic and sub-tropic regions, too, are suffering, leading to extreme temperature variations, storms and massive downpours. The loss of habitat affects many species, and land-based nutrient input is doing its part to increase the stress on the ecosystem. Even global currents, formed by the salinity and temperature gradient in the ocean, have changed, just as it has in the past.
… and the ocean can barely buffer any longer…
Global warming through greenhouse gasses is mostly driven by the emission of carbon dioxide. Next to all the other gasses, this one is also a vital component for the geochemistry and biology of the ocean. Until now, the ocean has functioned as a sink for carbon dioxide, being able to take up more then 60 times as much carbon dioxide as the atmosphere.
Through the burning of fossil fuels the carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere has risen to 395 ppm – the fastest increase in the last 800.000 years. And the carbon dioxide concentration is the ocean is rising, too. Currently the ocean is taking up approximately a quarter of global emissions. However, the ocean is becoming increasingly acidic through this uptake, as it’s uptake leads to the formation of carbonic acid. Extrapolations show that the northern Indian Ocean has become 10 percent more acidic. But colder waters such as the waters off the coast of Siberia and Alaska (the Bering Strait is considered the most acidic ocean), the Antarctic and the northern Pacific, due to the deep water formation and the algal blooms, are more affected by this and are changing rapidly.
The pH value of the ocean has changed 0.1 since the start of the industrialisation – a value shift that is very drastic for many ecological processes. If the pH goes below 7.5 the calcite shells of many organisms will dissolve. The so-called biological carbon dioxide pump for the storage of this gas could thus come to a halt, after having functioned well and efficiently for more than 20 million years. Living in acidified waters first harms deep sea corals and planktonic organisms, but other corals and tropical organisms are not spared. Effects on the coastal protection from stores, tourism and global fisheries are unavoidable.
…risks are being exponentiated
By now the creeping effects of climate change can be witnessed everywhere in the marine ecosystems. On top of this there are further pressures through problems such as overfishing, increasing populations, pollution and the loss of species diversity and richness, to name a few. In the world climate report of the IPCC possible consequences of climate change for global food security are being discussed. Along with wheat, rice and corn, fisheries are most important, as around 500 million people are directly reliant on the ocean for its food provision. Ocean-sourced products provide about a fifth of the global protein.
The experts of the IPCC state that climate change will lead to more productive fisheries in some regions, like the north Atlantic waters for example, due to a reduction in ice masses. In all tropical waters, however, the rising temperatures, acidification and loss of habitat will reduce the productivity of the ecosystems drastically. Africa, East Asia and the Island states will be the first to lose: Through coral bleaching and the rising sea level the coastal regions will suffer drastic economic losses.
Fisheries in the south rely on a healthy ecosystem. However, the productivity, species richness and planktonic dispersion will change in the warming tropical waters. According to the IPCC, landings for thousands of commercially exploited fisheries will be drastically reduced by 2060, in comparison to landings between 2001 and 2010. In the Caribbean the landings will continue to reduce and through the increase of oxygen-depleted zones many species, like the Humboldt squid, will extend their habitats globally. They could then be a competition to industrially exploited species, such as salmon.
Although the consequences of climate change have not yet been noticed strongly in the rich waters off Peru or Namibia, however, these ecosystems, too, are not safe from the damage. With increasing upwelling events the open ocean species could profit from algal bloom events whilst populations closer to the coast would suffer from reduced oxygen concentrations and increased nitrogen input through fertilisers. A lack of upwelling would lead to a decrease in nutrients and biomass in all involved ecosystems. These kinds of “years of famine” can have drastic effects for birds, marine mammals and lastly also for fishermen.
Climate change is showing rapid changes in the marine ecosystems with direct consequences for the food security for society, especially in the southern regions. And in these regions most cannot afford the possible yet expensive adaptation options such as coastal protection, relocation and development of alternative food sources or industries. However, exactly in these regions – for example, through the collapse of fisheries – many people are living on the brink of poverty, making malnutrition a serious threat. As long as there are no sufficient countermeasures this bares serious risks for conflict in the future.
Text: Onno Groß, 2016


CALCIUM CARBONATE SEDIMENTS
Made up of broken down skeletons, shells, and tests, calcium carbonate sediments comprise a large portion of the benthic habitat of coral reef ecosystems. The topography and coarse nature of these sediments generates an advective flow of overlying seawater, which supports large benthic oxygen and carbon fluxes despite their low organic matter content. These shallow sediments undergo intense diel cycles of photosynthesis and respiration driven by the microbes and other organisms that live within them. The metabolic uptake and production of carbon dioxide can also drive diel cycles in calcium carbonate precipitation and dissolution, making these sediments a very dynamic system to work in. My research utilizes novel and traditional techniques to investigate the biogeochemical cycles that occur within carbonate sands and their larger role in coral reef ecosystems.


The Ocean Cities Snapshot for Policy-makers serves as a companion document to the Ocean Cities Regional Policy Guide. The Ocean Cities concept is an integrated policy approach for ocean-focused and climate-responsive urban development strategies, with a focus on urban areas in Pacific island developing States. Ocean Cities are where urban landscapes and seascapes meet, where built and natural environments near coastlines interface and where human behaviour and urban development have profound impacts on both terrestrial and marine ecosystems. Ocean Cities are at the forefront of the climate change impacts, the urbanization challenges and other development pressures. Within the context of ongoing urbanization processes in Pacific island developing States, the guide recognizes the important links between the impacts of urban growth and development, climate change impacts, ocean health and coastal systems, and the effect these factors have on the development and resilience of Ocean Cities.
This Snapshot provides an Executive Summary of the Ocean Cities concept, the context, challenges and opportunities of Ocean Cities, and outlines several policy recommendations for the implementation of solutions for simultaneously achieving urban climate resilience, improved sustainability of ocean resources and better integration of landscape and seascape planning. Interested parties are encouraged to refer to the Regional Policy Guide document (also available on the Urban Development Resources webpage) for additional in-depth content.


Coral reefs are incredibly biodiverse ecosystems, harboring sponges and seastars, octopi and sharks. The reefs themselves are built up over thousands of years by hard corals with the help of their symbiotic partner, Symbiodinium. Symbiodinium are basically a single-celled algae that lives within the coral tissue – a symbiont. Corals harbor Symbiodinium from herbivores and a harsh environment, and provide their symbionts with nutrients such as phosphorus and nitrogen. In return, the Symbiodinium photosynthesize, creating useable carbon from sunlight and giving nutrients back to the coral. Thus, both species benefit from the interaction. Ecologists call this type of positive-positive interaction a mutualism.
There are hundreds of coral species and potentially hundreds of Symbiodinium “types”. Each coral and Symbiodinium has its own characteristics: where it likes to live, how it responds to the environment, and how cooperative it is with mutualistic partners. Because of this variability, each potential pairing has different characteristics and some partnerships might be more effective than others. For instance, certain Symbiodinium are better photosynthesizers, while others can withstand environmental disturbances like increased water temperatures and prevent corals from bleaching. As a starting point, we need to know which pairings are possible and why.
In a new article in the journal PLoS One, I use social network theory to ask:
- Which corals have very few Symbiodinium partners and which corals have many?
- Are there specialist (few partners) and generalist (many partners) Symbiodinium?
- Do any coral traits influence interaction patterns within coral-Symbiodinium social networks?
To answer these questions, I worked with a research group at the Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology (there are very few coral reefs in Davis, CA). Hollie Putnam, Erik Franklin, Michael Stat, and Ruth Gates had assembled a large database of coral-Symbiodinium interactions that they named GeoSymbio. The data within GeoSymbio comes from locations around the world, including Hawaii, Thailand, the Caribbean, and the famous Great Barrier Reef in Australia. We created social networks to show the connections between corals and Symbiodinium, much in the same way that I have connections to my friends on Facebook.
We found that most corals have very few Symbiodinium partners, but that a handful of corals have many, many symbionts. This was important because it’s generally believed that most corals have few symbiont options to choose from. We also found that transmission mode was important in these communities: young corals get their Symbiodinium from their parents or from the environment, but not both. Symbiodinium types were usually passed on through only one of these strategies, nearly dividing the networks in half. This is like saying that my family members are “friends” on Facebook and my friends are “friends” on Facebook, but there are no connections between these groups.
Our research is important to understanding the basic interaction patterns between corals and Symbiodinium. With a greater understanding of this important mutualistic interaction, we’ll be better equipped to protect coral reef communities – and the species they support.
You can find our paper here.


Today July 3rd, the International Plastic Bag Free Day – an annual activity is dedicated to heightening awareness and pressing issues on overusing plastic bags.
Producing plastic bags requires large amount of fossil fuels, water and energy, particularly generating enormous amounts of waste and million tons of CO2 every year.
On average, plastic bags are used for 25 minutes.
It takes between 100 – 500 years for decomposition depending on the type of plastic bags.
One million plastic bags are used worldwide every minute.
80% marine trash is PLASTIC!
In the EU, people annually produced 3.4 million tons of plastic carrier bags whose equivalent weight is of more than 2 million cars.
Only 1% of total amount of plastic bags can be recycled, the rest might be stored at the landfill.


Open-access inshore fisheries : the economic performance of the purse seine fishery in Nha Trang, Vietnam
AuthorThi Tran, Thu Hoa
In Vietnam, the number of fishing vessels, especially near the shore, has increased continuously, despite the Government’s aim for reduction. In particular, 80% of the fishing vessels operate in the coastal areas that make up only 11% of the exclusive economic zone. Such heavy use of near-shore fish resources could imply overfishing and economic decline. Therefore, the economic performance of the inshore purse seine vessels in an open-access fishery have been investigated, based on a 2011 survey of cost and earnings data of a sample of 62 anchovy purse seiners, representing about 46 % of such vessels in Nha Trang, Vietnam. The empirical results show that an average purse seiner was able to cover all the costs and earned a profit margin of 17.41% and crew members earned their opportunity cost of labour or above. Engine power, number of crew size, number of fishing days and dummy variable for location are identified as the main factors affecting the annual vessel performance, represented by gross revenue. An application of the Salter diagram shows that a large number of vessels with high relative standardised effort are the most cost-efficient vessels. The majority of these vessels earned intra-marginal rent despite the open-access characteristics of this fishery.
PublisherUniversitetet i Tromsø
University of Tromsø
MetadataShow full item record
Copyright 2012 The Author(s)
The following license file are associated with this item:


While looking at the whales in the bay, you might not fully understand how giant these animals are.
This combo tour admission allows you to experience the different whales found around Iceland from both land and sea. So entry to the Whales of Iceland is included in your Whale Watching ticket.
Before or after your boat tour, we recommend visiting the Whales of Iceland Exhibition on the other side of Reykjavik’s Old Harbour area. The Whales of Iceland Exhibition showcases 23 life-size whale models with a lot of in-depth information, interactive experiences, and underwater footage of whales shown on an 8-meter screen. Part of the exhibition focuses on conservation, where whales’ multiple threats (and their solutions) are showcased today. The exhibition gives you a feeling of how small we are compared to the ocean wildlife.
On the Whale Watching tour, you will check in at the Special Tours Ticket Office in Reykjavik’s Old Harbour before you sail out to Faxaflói Bay. Here we will search for the most common whales in the area, such as humpback whales, minke whales, white-beaked dolphins, and harbor porpoises.
During the tour, we observe their behavior in the wild while learning more about them from one of your expert guides. If there are no sightings on our tours, you are entitled to a ticket to try again for free.


Fishing for oxygen
In Norway, aquaculture expert OxSeaVision and Trelleborg have teamed up to develop a system that pumps oxygen into offshore fish farms, helping fish remain healthy and grow bigger.
OxSeaVision made a commercial breakthrough towards the end of 2007 with the OxyVision controlled oxygen-injection system for offshore fish farms and already has hundreds of installations around the world. Pumping oxygen into fish pens to help keep fish healthy and allow them to grow bigger, the system is built exclusively with customised Trelleborg rubber hoses, fittings and connectors.
Oxygen is vital for all animals. In a fish pen, soluble oxygen can be adversely affected by salinity or other factors such as the number of fish, the season, seaweed blooms and so on.
The core problem is that fish need more oxygen as the water temperature increases. However, as the water temperature increases, the available oxygen and its solubility in water decreases.
Oxygenating a fish pen with a standard hose in the open sea would create such big bubbles that they would float to the surface and dissipate into the air, bypassing the fish.
The resulting unique OxyVision system consists of a grid of rubber hoses that is sunk about 10 meters down inside a net pen. Pure oxygen is then pumped through the system for dispersion throughout the whole volume of the pen. Micro pores ensure that oxygen is properly dissolved in the water and is spread vertically over large areas.
When the company was started, little academic or technical research had been done on the effects of low oxygen on fish performance. OxSeaVision, worked with EWOS Innovation, the world’s second-largest feed producer for fish farming and Rogaland Research, an independent Norwegian research institute, to do its own research.
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Basking sharks leave Irish waters in search of winter sun - PHOTOS
Previously hunted off the coast of Ireland, harmless Basking Sharks are studied intently by Irish group
‘Banba’ a female basking shark tagged in July with a satellite transmitter off Malin head, Co. Donegal has just released its transmitter west of the Cape Verde Islands, over 5000km away from where it was originally tagged.
The five meter long female shark was one of five basking sharks tagged as part of the Monster Munch Basking Shark Community Awareness Project run by the Irish Basking Shark Study Group in association with the Inishowen Development Partnership and Queens University Belfast.
The movement by the shark ‘Banba’ into warm tropical waters off West Africa, coupled with similar findings by leading American shark biologist Greg Skomal in the western Atlantic, questions the validity of the established theory that basking sharks inhabit temperate waters only. Previous basking shark tracking studies undertaken in the north east Atlantic have only recorded shark movements within temperate waters.
The majority of tracked sharks have displayed a seasonal onshore - offshore migratory pattern, with movements of one or two hundred miles offshore onto the continental shelf edge during winter and return shifts to coastal waters during summer months. This seasonal pattern allows the sharks to feed year round on copepods, a type of zooplankton, their stable food source. However, the recording of this magnificent journey by a basking shark from Malin head to warmer tropical waters questions many of the fundamental theories marine biologists have regarding the species and its lifecycle.
Basking sharks were once hunted off the coasts of Ireland, but they are now classed as endangered in the North Atlantic. The Irish Basking Shark Study Group have been pioneering research on the iconic marine leviathan which can weigh more than an African elephant and grow to over 11m in length. In recent years the group have had internationally significant findings in DNA sampling, population surveys, tagging and tracking.
The groups’ motivation is to see the shark protected in Irish waters, one of the last western European territorial water bodies where they remain unprotected. Emmett Johnston, a co-founder of the group, spoke briefly about Banba’s journey. “The group are delighted with the finding, but it is a bit premature to be rushing out to change the shark biology books. We are awaiting the pop-off of the remaining three satellite transmitters attached this summer, recovering five complete basking shark tracks will allow us to compare the data and make informed conclusions. Until then there is not much we can say other than this is a highly unusual place to find a species that is presumed to inhabit temperate waters.” The satellite transmitter tags used to track the basking sharks incorporate pioneering Fastloc GPS technology coupled with depth and water temperature sensors which will allow researchers to recreate the track of the shark in three dimensions.
Emmett added, “Understanding where the sharks are and what they do when they are there, is essential to making informed management decisions regarding this endangered species.”
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Two fishery resource disasters declared for Alaska, ‘The Blob’ could be a factor in both
U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross has declared two fishery resource disasters in Alaska.
The disasters occurred in 2018, impacting Gulf of Alaska Pacific cod and sockeye salmon in Chignik.
According to the Associated Press, Congress has appropriated $165 million for such help for fiscal year 2019, though it is spread across seven states. The Commerce Department decides allocations to eligible fisheries.
The cuts to the quota were expected to result in a $7-$8 million loss in revenue, Walker wrote at the time.
Steve Barbeaux, a resource biologist with the Alaska Fisheries Science Center at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, says that roughly 55% of the 2017 quota was actually caught by fishermen, meaning the 2018 drop was 63% of the 2017 catch.
In 2019, the Gulf of Alaska cod quota dropped again from 18,000 tons to 17,000 tons, another 5.5% drop.
Researchers say a marine heatwave that impacted the northwest Pacific Ocean from 2014-16, known colloquially as “the blob,” was likely responsible for the poor returns of Pacific cod. A resurgence of warm ocean temperatures has recently been identified in the same area but scientists say it is currently not as severe as before.
“We are waiting with bated breath,” said Dr. Nick Bond, a research meteorologist with the University of Washington, about whether the trend will worsen. Bond coined the term “the blob,” and says storms in the Gulf of Alaska could dissipate the warm water.
If conditions don’t return to normal, the quota could be cut again. Biologists with NOAA who advise the management of the federal Pacific cod fishery say that the management of the fishery is “conservative already.”
“Whether we recommend to the North Pacific Fishery Management Council of making further cuts based on ecosystem indicators will need to wait until November when we have more information on this heatwave and our survey results from this summer are finalized,” Barbeaux wrote in an email.
For Chignik, the 2018 commercial sockeye salmon harvest totally failed, devastating the community. Walker wrote to Ross that November, requesting federal help.
“In 2017, the community harvested 4.7 million pounds of salmon with estimated gross earnings of $2.2 million,” Walker wrote. In 2018, virtually no sockeye salmon were commercially harvested in the Chignik fishery.
The fishery employed 38% of Chignik residents that year, a small coastal community of 91 people, according to the 2010 U.S. Census.
Salmon in Alaska waters are controlled at a state level and management occurs dynamically. Commercial Fisheries Director Sam Rabung with the Alaska Department of Fish & Game, says returns are analyzed in real-time and are not projected ahead of time.
Fish are counted as they come back to rivers: if escapement goals are met, commercial harvests can begin, said Rabung. The process is known as inseason escapement-based management.
Although not definitively linked to “the blob,” researchers suspect that warmer ocean trends impacted zooplankton numbers in 2014-16 and how some salmon species that spend time feeding in the Gulf of Alaska were able to grow to maturity.
Some have suspected that curtailed the size of sockeye returning and how many survived their time in the ocean.
Bill Templin, the chief fisheries scientist with ADF&G, says there is speculation about “the blob’s” impact on Alaska salmon but no definitive connection. He says the earlier warming trend was also not uniform across Alaska.
To make matters more complicated for researchers, the department does not have the resources to study trends to salmon in real-time on the ocean.
For pink salmon, it is easier, Templin said. Researchers can study juvenile fish as they leave rivers and compare their size as they return.
In 2017, a federal disaster was declared for Gulf of Alaska pink salmon from the previous year. $56,361,332 was made available for fishermen, research and as a means to strengthen the fishery.
For fishermen, Dr. Brian Brettschneider, a climatologist at the International Arctic Research Center, says it is very difficult to tell if the storms needed to dissipate the warmer water in the Gulf of Alaska will come this winter.
Concerning as well for Alaskan fishermen is the lack of sea ice in the Bering Sea. Although not connected to “the blob,” warmer water in the area could be correlated to similar consequences.
Earlier in the month, NOAA declared an Unusual Mortality Event in the Bering and Chuckchi seas when 282 bearded, ringed, and spotted seals were found dead in the area. That represented a mortality rate five times higher than usual.
Brettschneider says warm water this summer in the Bering Sea means that it’s all but impossible for a typical sea ice year this winter. “With anthropogenic climate change we’ve really tipped the scales, these things are much more likely to occur now,” he said.


9th November 2001
Finally the weather has broken! It’s still not calm, but life has got back to more or less normal now. I got some sleep last night and had a shower today, so all in all I think I can say that I’ve weathered the storm.
It’s strange being at sea; it’s as much about your state of mind as anything else. I prepared for it to be challenging in lots of ways, but I didn’t expect it to be such a mind game.
We are fishing again now; only my second proper work day after so many days at sea. I observed the hauling from a little cubbyhole near the stern. It’s fairly safe there as it’s out the way of the trawl and of the crew, but fairly exposed to the weather and to be honest I couldn’t see any more from there than I could from the bridge so I think I might just watch from the bridge from now on.
The catch is poor today, probably only about a tonne in the last trawl. I climbed into the fish bin for a proper look. Wading among the fish I felt something clamp down on my welly boot – it was a big old wolffish. If like me, you have never seen an Atlantic wolffish before, imagine a blenny that you caught in a rockpool as a child, then enlarge said blenny to a metre long, add leathery grey skin and powerful canine teeth which are capable of crushing shellfish and crustaceans, then you have the Atlantic wolffish. Luckily the wolf fish didn’t bite very hard and didn’t puncture my boot. It was an interesting fish so I picked it up and carried it out into the factory for a better look. It was still very much alive and so I treated it with respect, both because I didn’t want to cause it undue stress but also because the potential damage it could inflict on me was evident by the powerful jaws and sharp teeth.
It didn’t take the crew long to process the catch and so I tried to count the boxes of fish to compare against the reported figures. It was more difficult than I thought it would be trying to keep track of the number of boxes of each species. Hopefully I’ll get my eye in soon and be able to produce some good quality data.
9th November 2017
One of the main roles of an observer is to independently verify the catch, i.e to ensure that the ship accurately records and reports figures for the fish they catch including bycatch species which have no commercial value and are thrown back into the sea, usually dead. This information is crucial in managing a fishery. Stock assessment scientists use this data to feed into computer models which predict how many fish there are, and how many can be caught without damaging the stock. The aim is to leave enough fish to breed and ensure the fishery is renewable and healthy. The models can only work accurately if they are supplied with accurate data to begin with.
Unfortunately in many fisheries effort is focused on the management of commercial species, and bycatch species such as the Atlantic wolffish are virtually ignored. Some modern fisheries are moving towards an ecosystem scale model, where the health of all species are considered.
Wolffish play a key role in the ecosystem, especially by keeping numbers of crab or urchins in balance. Too many urchins for example, may overgraze the kelp and diminish the habitat which acts as a nursery ground for many fish species. Therefore if you remove the wolffish you risk major knock-on effects to the whole ecosystem.
Wikipedia on Wolffish:
The numbers of the Atlantic wolffish are rapidly being depleted, most likely due to overfishing and bycatch, and is currently a Species of Concern according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration‘s National Marine Fisheries Service.
Apart from their unique appearance wolffish are distinguished by the natural antifreeze they produce to keep their blood moving fluidly in their very cold habitat, involvement by both the male and female in brood bearing, and the large size of their eggs. They are also an important factor in controlling green crab and sea urchin populations, which can become overly disruptive to habitats if left unchecked. Wolffish population success is also an important indicator of the health of other bottom-dweller populations, such as Atlantic cod.


ROVs play a vital role in making deep sea repairs that would be a challenge for divers. Global’s Cougar and Falcon ROV systems were mobilized to Hawaii to facilitate repairs on a 40” coldwater pipeline transition section in 500 feet of water off of Keahole Point on the island of Hawaii for the Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii Authority (NELHA).
The 40” pipeline is unique in the fact that it was installed with gravity anchors to a depth of 457 feet, and from there to a depth of 2000 feet it took the form of an inverted floating catenary. When the deep sea pipeline was installed in 1987, an error made then would lead to future failures of the chain bridals and anchor chains. In addition, growth on the pipeline was weighing it down.
Global’s ROV crew, operating off of the Healy Tibbitts 544 crane barge, was tasked with restoring the pipeline to as-designed condition. The Cougar ROV cut loose two 500-foot long, one-and-a-half-inch stud link restraining chain bridals and replaced them. The pipe was cleaned and obstructions cut loose for the installation of new pipe clamps in three places. One-and-a-half tons of flotation was added at each clamp location. Two one-and-a-half-inch stud link chain bridals were added at the bottoms of the clamps and secured to a 40 ton gravity anchor. A one-and-five-eighths-inch stud link chain bridal was added to the offshore bridal. Special underwater tooling was designed and manufactured for the project, including a hydraulic chain tensioner, three-and-a-half and 10 ton winches, and 40- and 48-inch hydraulic actuated pipe clamps that were tested in Seattle before being deployed to Hawaii.