News | Ocean Doctor

A record 129 dolphins have stranded in Cape Cod over the past 3 weeks. (CNN)

February 9, 2012/in Ocean Newswire/by Newswire

(CNN) — The unexplained beachings of scores of dolphins over the past month along Cape Cod, Massachusetts, is the largest “single-species event” of its kind on record in the northeastern United States, a marine mammal specialist said Monday.

A total of 129 common dolphins have been found since the animals began stranding themselves in early January, said Katie Moore, marine mammal rescue and research manager for the International Fund for Animal Welfare.

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Note: Newswire stories are provided as a courtesy of OceanDoctor.org. Content of these articles is provided by external sources.

Salmon Leaps in Fish Farm Boom

February 9, 2012/in Ocean Newswire/by Newswire

A million portions of salmon each day, and that’s in the U.K. alone.

Even while the retail consortium reports continuing strong food price inflation this morning, it’s worth remembering how salmon prices have fallen over recent years.

What was a luxury has become commonplace in the 40 years since the first commercial haul of 14 tonnes of salmon from cages in Loch Ailort near Fort William.

Celebrating that anniversary with its annual report today, the Scottish Salmon Producers Association has set out a goal of 4% growth per year over this decade, increasing production from 144,000 tonnes last year to 210,000 tonnes by 2020.

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Note: Newswire stories are provided as a courtesy of OceanDoctor.org. Content of these articles is provided by external sources.

Parrot Fish: The Constant Gardeners of the World’s Reefs

December 9, 2011/in Ocean Newswire/by Ocean Doctor

Australian scientists have urged greater consideration for the brilliantly-hued parrot fishes that tend and renew the world’s imperilled coral reefs.

“Parrotfishes are the constant gardeners of the reef. They play a crucial role in keeping it healthy, suppressing weed, removing sediment and helping the corals to regrow after a setback,” explains Professor David Bellwood of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies and James Cook University.

In a major new study published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society, Prof. Bellwood, Dr Andrew Hoey and Prof. Terry Hughes have investigated parrot fish populations on 18 coral island reefs extending from Mauritius in the west Indian Ocean to Tahiti in the central Pacific.

“Parrot fish fulfill a number of key roles on the reef. They remove sick and dead corals and clean areas for new corals to settle, they remove weedy growth, and they cart away literally tonnes of sand and sediment that would otherwise smother the corals,” Prof Bellwood explains.

Read the rest of this article at ARC Coral Reef Studies…

Note: Newswire stories are provided as a courtesy of OceanDoctor.org. Content of these articles is provided by external sources.

U.S. Autumn and November Both Warmer Than Average – Nation Sets Record with Dozen Billion-Dollar Weather Disasters in One Year

December 7, 2011/in Ocean Newswire/by Newswire

November and the September-November autumn season were warmer than average across the contiguous U.S., according to scientists at NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) in Asheville, N.C. Precipitation totals across the country were also above average during November, but near the long-term average for the autumn season.

Read the NOAA News Release.

Note: Newswire stories are provided as a courtesy of OceanDoctor.org. Content of these articles is provided by external sources.

New Pacific Trade Deal Could Help Save Marine Species (Reuters)

December 7, 2011/in Ocean Newswire/by Newswire

New Pacific trade deal could help save marine species. (Reuters)

Ocean Today

Note: Newswire stories are provided as a courtesy of OceanDoctor.org. Content of these articles is provided by external sources.

Video: 49 Penguins Freed After Oil Spill Cleanup in New Zealand

November 22, 2011/in Ocean Newswire/by Newswire

Nearly 100 happy feet waddle to the shoreline of a beach near Tauranga, New Zealand. The 49 little blue penguins were released back into the wild after being rescued and cleaned up following the oil spill from the cargo ship, Rena, grounded off the coast.

Full story and video at MSNBC

Note: Newswire stories are provided as a courtesy of OceanDoctor.org. Content of these articles is provided by external sources.

Manta Ray Added to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (IUCNRedList.org)

November 22, 2011/in Ocean Newswire/by Newswire

Manta ray added to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. (IUCNRedList.org)
Full story from SouthernFriedScience.com

Note: Newswire stories are provided as a courtesy of OceanDoctor.org. Content of these articles is provided by external sources.

NOAA Awards a Total of $10.8 Million to Four Minority Serving Institutions to Train Next Generation of Scientists

November 22, 2011/in Ocean Newswire/by Newswire

NOAA’s Office of Education announced that it has awarded grants totaling $ 10.8 million to four lead minority-serving institutions across the country to train and graduate students who pursue applied research in NOAA-related scientific fields.

Read the NOAA news release.

Note: Newswire stories are provided as a courtesy of OceanDoctor.org. Content of these articles is provided by external sources.