Illegal acts pervaded the seas, waves were promoted as renewable energy, and Brooklyn got a new resident in a busy week for the oceans. This week in ocean news …
… The Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organisation voted to immediately reduce cod bycatch by 40 percent off Canada’s eastern coast at its annual meeting …
… nine Pacific nations concluded Operation Big Eye, a 10-day, $15 million sting on illegal fishing boats. Patrols boarded 38 vessels …
… another multinational effort in the north Pacific captured photographic evidence of 10 vessels rigged with driftnets, which are banned by the United Nations …
… humpback whales began their annual migration from North Queensland, Australia, to the Antarctic. They will complete the 15,000-mile trip at three to five miles per hour …
… a 27-foot humpback whale calf washed up on a southern California beach. Authorities are trying to determine the cause of death …
… A group of fishermen in Trinidad and Tobago attempted to prove that an oil platform had experienced a spill. The group took pictures of an alleged spill, but the oil company denied any such spill took place …
… A walrus born at the New York Aquarium made its public debut at four months old. It is expected to eventually weigh 1,000 pounds. “Talk about a Brooklyn attitude, big time!” said the borough president …
… 79 dolphin carcasses were found near the coast of Jask, Iran. Oil pollution is considered a likely suspect …
… Portugal was poised to open a test version of the world’s first commercial wave farm if calm weather held out. With tubes the size of small commuter trains, the farm will harness energy produced by waves moving the tubes up and down …
… animal rights groups held Japan Dolphin Day, designed to bring attention to the annual slaughter of dolphins in Taiji, Japan …
… scientists ruled out a neurotoxin in the deaths of three blue whales hit by ships off the California coast in recent weeks. The theory had been that the toxin disoriented the whales. Now scientists believe they were in the wrong place at the wrong time …
… a study suggested that kelp forests may flourish in wider temperature ranges than previously thought, hinting at the existence of 9,000 square miles of previously undiscovered forest …
… 600 fish died mysteriously at a Malaysian aquarium. Foul play is suspected …
… and two Cambodians died from eating salted puffer fish, or fugu, a delicacy well known to be potentially deadly if not prepared correctly, prompting a trade ban. In other puffer news, Japanese beverage companies worked to create a new energy drink using a safe puffer extract.
