Antarctic Krill: study finds krill releases iron, a part of the CO2 absorption process

Krill is one of the primary foundations in the ocean's food chain. And iron is an important component of sea water, involved in the complicated process of absorption of carbon dioxide (CO2) by microscopic plants. These two elements, krill and iron, were brought together in a press release released today from the British Antarctic Survey:

"A new discovery reveals that the shrimp-like creature at the heart of the Antarctic food chain could play a key role in fertilizing the Southern Ocean with iron – stimulating the growth of phytoplankton (microscopic plant-like organisms). This process enhances the ocean's capacity for natural storage of carbon dioxide.

Reporting this month in the journal Limnology and Oceanography, an international team of researchers describe how Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba), once thought to live mostly in surface waters, regularly feed on iron-rich fragments of decaying organisms on the sea floor. They swim back to the surface with stomachs full of iron, releasing it into the water.

Antarctic krill is the staple diet for fish, penguins, seals and whales; and is harvested by commercial fisheries for human consumption.

Lead author from British Antarctic Survey, Dr Katrin Schmidt says, 'We are really excited to make this discovery because the textbooks state krill live mainly in surface waters. We knew they make occasional visits to the sea floor but these were always thought as exceptional. What surprises us is how common these visits are – up to 20% of the population can be migrating up and down the water column at any one time.'

The scientists painstakingly examined the stomach contents of over 1000 krill collected from 10 Antarctic research expeditions. They found that the krill, caught near the surface, had stomachs full of iron-rich material from the seabed. The team also studied photographs of krill on the sea floor, acoustic data and net samples. All these provided strong evidence that these animals frequently feed on the sea floor.

This finding has implications for managing commercial krill fisheries and will lead to a better understanding of the natural carbon cycle in the Southern Ocean."

Iron is known to enter the seas through the upwellings of deep sediments, run-off and wind-blown dust from land, and melting icebergs. Iron stimulates plankton growth which, in turn, takes in CO2. Dying plankton settle on the bottom thereby capturing and holding the CO2 - and the iron. This new study indicates that krill may also be a vital component in the recycling of iron, thereby stimulating plankton growth, and the CO2 absorption cycle is further stimulated.

The need for managing commercial krill fisheries to ensure a healthy food cycle for a variety of sealife in the Southern Ocean is now given extra importance based on what disruptions could occur to the carbon cycle should krill be over-harvested.

Read the press release from the British Antarctic Survey.

Yellowstone River Oil Spill: 1,000 barrels pour into Montana river

When we think of oil spills, we first turn to the oceans - like the Gulf of Mexico's Deepwater Horizon or Alaska's Exxon Valdez spill. However, the transportation of oil is not limited to just the seas and spills can occur on land, impacting fresh water bodies of water in the process.

Late this past Friday, an oil pipeline that runs six feet beneath the Yellowstone River in Montana ruptured and before crews from Exxon Oil could manage to shut it off, as much as 1,000 barrels of oil spewed into the river, according to Exxon officials. Other oil company officials estimated the quantity of oil at about 42,000 gallons.

Due to record rains and a heavier than usual snowpack, the Yellowstone River is running fast and much deeper than normal, in fact it has caused some flooding as it runs from Montana to North Dakota, meeting up with the Missouri River. Moving at 5 to 7 mph, the oil plume was first reported to be 25 miles in length but later reports have suggested it has doubled that length.

Exxon response teams are using containment booms and absorbent sheets to clean up the spill as the oil makes it way into the river's marshland banks. No chemical dispersants have been suggested as of this writing - in reviewing several news reports, I did not find anyone venturing an opinion as to how a body of fresh water could handle oil broken down into micro-globules; whether there are organisms that can consume the oil as was always touted regarding ocean spills and dispersants.

The spill occurred near Billings and downstream 140 residents from the town of Laurel were evacuated for a brief time as strong, overpowering fumes and the fear of a possible explosion prompted city officials to take action.

The Associated Press reported, "'The timing couldn't be worse,' said Steve Knecht, chief of operations for Montana Disaster and Emergency Services, who added that the plume was measured at 25 miles near Pompeys Pillar National Monument. 'With the Yellowstone running at flood stage and all the debris, it makes it dang tough to get out there to do anything.'"

Oil can have the same disastrous effect on animal and plant life as occurs in ocean spills. However, in this case, it is complicated by a fast-moving river at flood level, making containment more challenging. Residents will have to wait and see as to what becomes of the river and its ecosystem due to this spill, both in the short-term and long-term consequences.

Read about it from Associated Press/Yahoo.
Watch a video from Associated Press/The Washington Post.

Ghost Fishing: derelict fishing gear continues to ensnare sealife

When you think of ocean trash, what comes to mind? Plastic bags? Soda can rings? Plastic water bottles? Divers sometimes see more unusual things: lawn chairs, shopping carts; I was diving off Southern California's Catalina Island and came upon a complete porcelain toilet sitting upright in the sand. There's plenty of debris in the ocean, whether floating or sedentary, and there are many organizations dedicated to rounding up as much of it as possible.

But there's another type of debris that can be even more sinister in its impact on the seas: fishing gear in the form of derelict nets and traps. These are items originally designed to catch animals and, when lost or abandoned, continue to ensnare and destroy sealife.

In the latest issue of Sport Diver magazine, Project AWARE reported that in northeastern United States' Chesapeake Bay, a recent removal project recovered more than 60,000 derelict crab traps. These traps would eventually corrode, but that can take well over a decade. In the meantime, they continue to trap crabs - "ghost fishing" as it is called. The Chesapeake Bay project also reported that as many as 150,000 traps are lost annually, with as many as a quarter of a million traps lost in the Gulf of Mexico.

On the west coast, fishing nets snagged on wrecks and reefs pose both a problem with ghost fishing and with damaging the reefs themselves. The nets can smother reef growth or, in some cases, animals like anemones, sponges, and mussels can begin to grow on the nets but, as the nets slowly break down, this artificial strata collapses and more sealife is lost.

Ocean Defenders Alliance, a non-profit based in Huntington Beach, CA, is working to address the issue. It solicits help from local divers and identifies wrecks or reef areas blighted by lost nets. Using volunteers to remove derelict nets, much of their efforts are limited to depths and diving conditions that are safe for recreational divers, but this has not stopped them from pulling up thousands of pounds of netting.

According to Project AWARE, fishermen themselves are now getting involved in the training, locating, and removal of abandoned fishing gear. The motivation? In some areas, they are unable to effectively lower their traps because of the level of debris. Now, for anyone strongly opposed to commercial fishing and thinks that whatever problems the fishermen may have in deploying gear could be a good thing, keep in mind that until clean, efficient aquaculture becomes the dominant commercial activity, these fishermen will continue to struggle with getting their traps out and, in the meantime, abandoned gear is wrecking havoc.

Project AWARE has established a Dive Against Debris program designed to develop, with the help of trained recreational divers, a database of information to assist government agencies and decision-makers in fully comprehending the scope of the problem and how it might be managed in the future. Interested divers can visit Project AWARE's website to learn how to get involved.

Visit the Project AWARE website.
Visit the Ocean Defenders Alliance website.

Penny Palfrey & Bad Buzz: misreporting about killed sharks detracts from her accomplishment

News reports that the support crew, for ocean endurance swimmer Penny Palfrey, killed several curious oceanic whitetip sharks during the course of her swim from Little Cayman to Grand Cayman are now having to do an about-face. The Cayman Islands Department of Tourism looked into the reported killings and found there was no evidence of any sharks being harmed. Several were hooked and towed away to be released at a safe distance - and that's a far cry from saying they were killed.

A variety of information outlets ricocheted the story like a steel ball in a pinball game, from respectable news sources to the blogosphere where, unfortunately, attitudes can get nasty. I read many of the reports and chose not to report it in my blog until Monday, when I mentioned it in regards to Diana Nyad's upcoming swim. Based on what she was hearing in the press, Diana decided to do an 11th-hour revamping of her security protocols and, in the end, it was a wise move regardless of what did or did not take place during Penny's swim.

But there were many who took poor Penny to task in a big way and it illustrates the zealous passion that some people have regarding the preservation of sharks, how it is becoming a hot button news topic, and how dangerous the entire "social media" craze is to the tenants of accurate and balanced reporting.

According to The Daily News of Open Water Swimming, Penny Palfrey's man in charge of security may have used a poor choice in words which was misinterpreted by some news outlets, and so the bad buzz began. "The findings were that The Cayman Islands Department of Tourism contacted the individual named in the original report, Charles Ebanks, who confirmed that he did not kill any sharks during the historic Bridging swim and states that reports to the contrary are inaccurate. He stated that he 'hooked the sharks and lead them away', he further added, 'I was there, I did not kill any sharks. They are assuming I did something which is not true and you can quote me on this.' Charles stated that the boat captain from the boat asked him what he did with the sharks and he replied, 'I got rid of them.' He said he thinks this could have been taken to mean that they were killed."

Hooking a shark (basically fishing for them with a baited line) is the last ditch approach to be taken with a shark that is proving to be intensely curious to the point of being a threat to the swimmer. There are several other steps that are taken to ward off the shark before one decides to catch it and then quickly motor a mile or so away and release it. It's a bit more involved than a straight forward catch-and-release because the shark needs to be transported out of the area.

Apparently, Penny Palfrey's crew felt compelled to take that step because a shark was reported to have bumped her during the night - and you can imagine how that could rattle a swimmer's concentration.With all the questionable reporting that has been swirling about for the past week, I have no reason to question the actions of Penny's staff. Is the loss of three sharks worth an ocean swim record? I think not. And it now appears that, for Penny, that dilemma does not have to be debated.

Hopefully, Penny will be able to regain some of the attention regarding her accomplishment that was lost due to the media storm. In my brief time so far with Diana Nyad, I have come to appreciate the dedication and commitment these ocean endurance swimmers invest into their sport. So, let me join the chorus of others who are saying, "Bravo, Penny! Bravo!"

In the meantime, I wait for the call to join up with the film crew as she prepares for her Cuba to Florida swim, a staggering 103 miles in 60 hours. One for the record books.

Read about the investigation in The Daily News of Open Water Swimming.

Filmmaker's Journal: getting the call to join the Xtreme Dream

This past April I had the opportunity to film long distance ocean swimmer Diana Nyad at the Pepperdine University pool in Malibu, California. My friend and photographer, Budd Riker, and I spent the day shooting Diana for CNN as she obligingly swam lap after lap. Diana was in serious training for a proposed open ocean swim from Havana, Cuba to Florida - a distance of just over 103 miles and one for the record books.

You can read my blog post about that day in Malibu when I first met Diana, a very dedicated and inspiring person to say the least. At the end of the day, we all wished her well and that was that.

Time marches on and now, as we approach July, I find myself again in the company of Diana and her support team as they are in the final stages of preparation for her momentous swim. Diana prefers to swim without the aid of a shark cage, as that is considered a crutch by many swimmers because the cage has a tendency to smooth out the water that the swimmer is moving through. It puts an asterisk next to your name in the record books and Diana would prefer not to have that diminish her feat.

Just a few weeks ago, another ocean swimmer, Penny Palfrey, did a similar swim (but not as far as Diana is planning) from Little Cayman to Grand Cayman Islands. But her accomplishment was completely overshadowed by the fact that her support crew killed three oceanic white tip sharks that apparently came close to her. Oceanic white tip sharks are both dangerous and intensely curious, but their numbers are, like many other sharks, in peril due to international commercial shark fishing.

Diana, wisely made the decision to re-think her shark safety protocols to both ensure her security and to avoid the bad publicity that would ensue if a shark was harmed during her attempt. So the call went out to find a crew who could look after Diana and deal with any curious sharks in a safe and humane manner - and have it documented. And that's where our paths crossed again.

I will be a member of the team, doing underwater filming of Diana and her accompanying flotilla of support vessels for a documentary produced by Tim Wheeler of Documenting Life Productions.

All of us constitute an experienced team dedicated to Diana's safety and the conservation and well-being of sharks - no cowboy shark killers here. In the next week or so, when the water temperature reaches the optimum level Diana requires and the weather reports point to calm seas, then we will all get the call, grab our bags that have been waiting by the front door, and head to the Florida Keys to board boats that will take us to the start of what will prove to be a marvelous adventure - the Xtreme Dream as Diana's website calls it.

Oh, and did I mention that Diana took a 30-year break from endurance swimming and came back to take on this challenge at age sixty-one? Makes one think twice about a lot of the things we whine about in our daily lives.

Check out Diana's website to learn more about her background and where she is today. CNN will be doing live coverage throughout her entire swim - which will last about 60 hours non-stop. If there's a lull in my regular posts, you'll know that I got the call and rushed out the door to be a small part of something very momentous, all due to one woman's determination to set goals that are just outside her reach . . . and reach them.

Filmmaker's Journal: when mother nature says no, you can't film here

This past weekend, my dive buddy, still photographer Bidd Riker, and I tried once again to dive on the wreck of the "ACE" off the coast of San Clemente, California. I say tried once again, because this was to be our 4th attempt at trying to reach the ship. Three previous attempts were met with poor visibility to the extant that it made for unsafe dive conditions. We were past the "third time is the charm" mental attitude and were now bordering on the "we better find this bloody #@!!% thing" philosophy.

The "ACE" is a 58-foot fishing boat - a drum seiner, to be exact - that sank in the fall of 2006 during rough seas with a full load of sardines and mackerel. With a measure of air trapped in its holds, the ACE drifted a bit across San Clemente's sandy bottom before finally settling down on its port (left) side at a depth of 114 feet. That drifting made it hard to locate for officials and salvagers, and so it remained out of sight until a year ago when a local dive boat charter set about to find the ACE based on rumors and speculation provided by local fishermen.

On this fourth attempt, Budd and I once again found visibility to be very poor at around 5-foot - not dangerous diving but certainly not what you're hoping for when shooting video and hoping to capture images that show the size and overall condition of the wreck. The ship is nearly covered from bow to stern with white metridium anemones which are startling for their bright white color against the backdrop of rusting steel and dark water. In addition, the ship is littered with sculpin, a type of scorpionfish, that prefer resting on the bottom quietly waiting for small fish to pass by and inadvertently become today's meal.

Wrecks of just about any size are fascinating subjects to film. Their appeal works on several different levels: they are something out of place (its supposed to be floating on the surface, not resting here in the murky depths); man-made objects are a testament to our folly either to the ravages of war, as with the South Pacific wrecks from World War II, or to underestimating the power of nature; and they can be marvelous artificial reefs that attract a wide variety of marine life.

However, on this occasion, there were to be no sweeping panoramic shots of the ACE - not when you can only see a few feet in front of your face. And that points out one of the challenges faced by nature photographers and filmmakers. You may have phenomenal skills and all the equipment in the world at your disposal, but you are still a slave to the devilish whims of mother nature. Many times, the footage you see on television or in the theater, or the images you see in books, are the result of many, many repeated attempts. And the more unusual the subject matter, whether it be a particular animal or a certain animal behavior (or simply a capsized fishing boat), the more challenging it can become to find just the right conditions that will enable you to get what you had hoped for.

But when the dice roll in your favor, you can come away with some startling imagery. And this can raise another issue: are we doing the oceans a favor when we show it in all of its visual glory, when we show the best of the best of our photographs of video? Or are we presenting the general populace with a false impression of the actual health of the oceans? When I have had the opportunity to speak with renown underwater photographer David Doubilet, he often asks this same question. Can we effectively talk about, say, fragile coral reefs that are in decline when every book on the subject is full of glorious and stunning images of vibrant fish and reef communities? One would hope that the viewing audience would appreciate the diversity and color of underwater life as seen in photographs and film and, by extension, want to preserve it. But it's a thought that gnaws away in the back of the minds of some of the great craftsmen who so beautifully chronicle the world's marine ecosystems.

For Budd and me, such heady questions needed no pondering this weekend. Skunked again by mother nature and its millions of sand particles, plankton, and animal larvae that can make for a thick soup of poor visibility, we decided we would try again in the fall when changing temperatures and currents can make for a few more days of acceptable conditions.

Of course, we're bound to hear how great it was the very next day. "Oh, you should have been there. . ." Shoulda, coulda, woulda - words to live by for the underwater filmmaker.

Tagging of Pacific Predators: a decade of data reveals important migration patterns

In California, many people involved in ocean conservation are familiar with the ground-breaking work of Dr. Barbara Block and the program she started, TOPP (Tagging of Pacific Predators). Using various types of telemetry and satellite tags, the TOPP crew has tagged a variety of ocean animals, from sharks to tuna, to turtles and more. Doing so has enabled them to determine many of the key migration routes these predators take - quite often of a seasonal nature, traveling great distances back and forth between key locations year after year.

After 10 years of tracking using over 4,000 tags and accumulating data from over 23 different species, TOPP has released a final report of its findings in conjunction with the Census for Marine Life, published online in Nature. The report shows that migration patterns play a very crucial role in the lives of many ocean predators. Writing in the Washington Post, Julie Eilperin repeated TOPP's description of the eastern Pacific Ocean as being akin to Africa’s Serengeti, teeming with wildlife and crisscrossed by migration corridors used by sharks and seabirds. Two currents play a key role in the migrations: the California Current - which stretches from western Canada all the way south to Mexico - and the North Pacific Transition Zone - which travels east and west between the sub-arctic and subtropical waters.

Because of my interests with great white sharks in California and Mexico, I have watched the TOPP data over the years and was fascinated by the migration patterns taken by the sharks, seeing the same sharks return to locations like Isla Guadalupe, Baja year after year after year. You could predict with near certainty when sharks would be reported along the California coast based solely on the time of year and where that coincided with their migrations.

“Just off the West Coast may be one of the greatest hot spots for open ocean predators in the world,” said Dr. Block. “They have their favorite haunts, they clearly have the places they keep going back to. The upwelling [of nutrients] is so intense there in the springtime it really sets the table for the whales, the tuna and the sharks. They come and lunch at that table, from everywhere in the entire Pacific realm.”

The data collected in the TOPP program consisted of more than just the whereabouts of an animal. Water conditions including temperature, salinity, chlorophyll, and more enable researchers to examine the environments that might help to explain the migration patterns more thoroughly.

“It’s precedent-setting. It’s a tremendous tool for conservation and management,” said Jesse Ausubel, vice president of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and co-founder of the Census of Marine Life. “We were literally blind. We can now see. We know what’s underneath now.”

Read Julie Eilperins' article in the Washington Post.
Learn more at the TOPP website.
Migration Maps: TOPP.

Oceans On the Edge of Extinction: international scientific panel issues report that demands our attention

A story is moving quickly through the news media like an Arizona wildfire - from England to India, from the New York Times to Al Jazeera. It's not the latest scandal by a self-indulgent politician or the embarrassment of a foul-mouthed entertainer. It's something that many of us who love and respect the oceans have been wrestling with for some time: multiple man-made stresses on the oceans are threatening marine life with inevitable extinction.

The International Programme on the State of the Ocean (IPSO) has released a summary of a study undertaken by a group of world renown scientists who examined all of the solid data on the condition of the oceans. Presented at the United Nations on June 20th, the summary's conclusions have been picked up by hundreds of media outlets and for good reason: the prognosis does not look good if things continue as they currently are, with a "high risk of entering a phase of extinction of marine species unprecedented in human history."

"The findings are shocking,"" said Alex Rogers, scientific director of IPSO. "As we considered the cumulative effect of what humankind does to the ocean, the implications became far worse than we had individually realised. This is a very serious situation demanding unequivocal action at every level. We are looking at consequences for humankind that will impact in our lifetime, and worse, our children's and generations beyond that."

The summary report concludes with four case studies that focus on several of the key issues. Climate change and acidification, loss of coral reefs, pollution, and overfishing are highlighted not only as activities that are threatening the oceans but also activities that mankind can actually do something about.

I could go on detailing the findings of the IPSO but, instead, I would suggest you read the report yourself - it's available in a long version and shorter version. And I would recommend you read through the IPSO website as it discusses the findings and includes several enlightening videos from many of the scientists involved in the study. These are not just names on a document, hiding behind pronouncements that were destined for oblivion on a library shelf; these are concerned individuals willing to be front and center in announcing that things must change for the better and they must change right now if we expect to have any kind of natural marine resource left for future generations. Visit the State of the Ocean.org website.
Dan Laffoley, of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), said, "The world's leading experts on oceans are surprised by the rate and magnitude of changes we are seeing. The challenges for the future of the oceans are vast, but unlike previous generations we know what now needs to happen. The time to protect the blue heart of our planet is now, today and urgent."

Read about the report at State of the Ocean.org.

Ocean Conservation and Culture: one does not have to look far to find conflict

Ocean conservation requires not only an understanding and appreciation of the various worldwide marine ecology and the species that contribute to their existence; an understanding of the specific environmental threats to ecosystems and specific sealife, whether directly man-made or occurring naturally through cyclical patterns. We also need to understand the cultural histories that formulate the attitudes of people regarding the ocean and its future.

In the case of endangered species, likes sharks, whales, tuna, or a wide range of commercially harvested animals, we often turn towards Asian or developing island nations and the long-standing culture steeped in the use of seafood. We wring our hands when considering how these societies can appear to be so singular in purpose and dedicated to consuming natural marine resources - both locally and in international waters.

To be sure, these nations have long cultural histories intertwined with the bounty of the sea and it is a challenge to get them to objectively look at what is happening to their treasured ocean resources before it is too late. But internal progress is being made, although it is a slow process. "Outsiders" can have only so much of an effect; much has to come from self-realization within the culture itself. We see this with anti-shark positions being taken by citizens in Taiwan while a healthy trade in shark fins continues. Japan's harvest of whales and dolphins continues while the consumption of their meat is declining. These conflicting positions represent the achingly slow process of transforming a society to a new way of thinking.

Often, one does not have to travel far to find these same dichotomies at work. In the United States, take the State of Florida for instance. Surrounded on all sides, except for its northern border, by ocean, the "Sunshine State" has a long history with the sea and, in light of today's environmental concerns, we see a culture that is in flux with wasteful attitudes or activities colliding with conservation.

Four recent news articles highlight how Florida can have one foot in the past and one in the future. Reported in Ocean City Today, the 31st Annual Ocean City shark tournament concludes today. This three-day event brings in sportfishermen hungry to catch the largest or heaviest shark in the hopes of winning trophy money that can run into the tens of thousands of dollars. Sportfishing is not only part of the societal fabric of Florida, it's also big business, so the likelihood that it's going to go away anytime soon in deference to overfished species like sharks, tuna, billfish, or other game fish is fairly remote.

As reported in Ocean City Today, "The Ocean City Shark Tournament is the second of two fishing competitions that allow anglers to accumulate points toward the “Ocean City Sharker of the Year” title. The first event was Mako Mania, which took place June 3-5. Divisions for the event, which has become one of the largest shark tournaments on the East Coast, are: mako, open (threshers and blue shark only), release, bluefish, tuna and dolphin."

As much as shark advocates abhor these shark tournaments, within that listing of categories for the Ocean City Shark Tournament lies one ray of hope: the "release" category. The tournament directors are working to promote catch-and-release of sharks as opposed to bringing in dead ones. And they are trying to facilitate a change in attitude by using bait that is tantalizing to the human species; more trophy money is being diverted to catch-and-release prize categories based on species, size or number. Sure, I would be the first to say let's put an end to all shark sportfishing tournaments tomorrow, but that would be an easy pronouncement for me, coming from California where such events mostly don't exist. But to Florida and its long-standing history in sportfishing, baby steps are required.

However, it would appear that progress towards all catch-and-release is continuing. The Blacktip Shark Shootout, a two-day event which concludes today, has adopted an all catch-and-release format.

As reported in the St. Petersburg Times, "Shark, like tarpon, could be the next great catch-and-release fishery. Every angler knows that if you catch a fish and kill it, you've got dinner. But if let it go, it can be caught again and again. 'And they are pretty hardy,' {charter captain and tournament co-founder, Joel] Brandenburg said. 'Sharks put up a great fight, and after you release them, they will swim off as if nothing ever happened.'" Now, there are plenty of shark researchers who might want to argue that last statement, but that's a fisherman talking - albeit one who is making an effort to change the way things have been done for years.

However, attitudes about sharks as a food source still persist, and not just overseas in Asian restaurants and marketplaces. NaplesNews.com ran an article on Friday titled "Locals attack shark, buffet style at CJ's on the Bay." It seems that a popular local eatery is heralding in the summer with Loco for the Locals Luau, a Hawaiian island-style barbecue, and rather than use the more traditional roasted pig as the main course, this year the restaurant decided on a whole shark.

“We wanted to do something for our local customers as well, customers that may or may not be members of the Chamber [of Commerce, which held a prior event using roasted pig],” Chef Laura Owens said. “We threw some ideas around and I said, ‘lets roast a shark.’ We might be setting some new ground.” Well, I sure hope not. In fact, it's a slap in the face to Hawaiian culture to use the concept of a luau and, at the same time, roast an animal that is revered throughout Hawaiian tribal history.

However, while there is not a widespread understanding as to the perilous conditions to which shark populations are faced, even in the waters off Florida, progress is being made by Florida regulatory agencies to better protect more species of sharks that have been the target of sport and commercial fishermen for decades. KeysNet.com reports that the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Comission is considering protections for tiger sharks and hammerhead sharks - two species that have been popular with sportfishermen over the years and whose numbers have noticeably declined.

According to Neil Hammerschlag, shark expert from the University of Miami, "Tiger sharks and hammerheads do not reproduce often or quickly, and both are highly prized for their fins for use in shark-fin soup. The pregnant animals come into shallow water to give birth, where the pups can find food and protection from other predators. That tends to make them very vulnerable to fishing. Studies have shown that taking even a few large individuals can have a big effect on the population in a local area."

With already 22 shark species protected in Florida, ranging from great whites to smaller Caribbean reef sharks, a prohibition on landing tiger and hammerhead sharks would not necessarily impact the sportfishing industry, according to Christy Johnson of SeaSquared Charters.

"We do catch and release for big sharks," she said. "I don't know anybody who takes the bigger sharks, except maybe trying for a mako."

So, one does not have to travel far to find conflicting attitudes about sharks or other dwindling fish stocks and what needs to be done about it. Progress is being made but old habits and cultures die hard. It will take patience and persistence on the part of those who recognize the need for immediate steps to preserve our natural resources while accepting the fact that some will need to come kicking and screaming - or may never come around at all.

Read about the Ocean City shark tournament in Ocean City Today.
Read about the Blacktip Shark Shootout in the St. Petersburg Times.
Read about the roasted shark Luau at NaplesNews.com.
Read about tigher and hammerhead shark protections in KeysNet.com.

Hawaiian Monk Seal: proposed protections need public support

When considering marine mammals, whales and dolphins are what come to mind for many. And that's understandable as these animals have been the subject of many conservation battles, from ongoing anti-whaling campaigns to inhumane treatment (as in my post on Wednesday of this week) to the tragedy of the Taji harvest as shown in the documentary, The Cove.

However, also included in the marine mammals group are seals and sea lions and while, perhaps, less severely threatened as whales and dolphins, they are not completely out of the woods. Once extensively hunted for their fur, hide, blubber (for making seal oil) and meat, the populations of many seals and sea lions declined rapidly. But large scale seal hunting has declined, much like whaling in the past, and the number of seals and sea lions have improved despite continued hunting by several countries - personified largely by the harp seal hunts that take place in Canada and Northern Europe and Scandinavia, although it does still take place worldwide.

Being based in Southern California as I am, I have had the opportunity to come in contact in the wild with California sea lions, harbor seals and, occasionally, northern elephant seals. Typically curious and playful, I have had them nipping on my dive fins for fun, sneaking up on my game bag (in my early days of diving when I would go for the occasional lobster or abalone), or I have been repeatedly dive bombed underwater, as many other local divers have experienced, either as playful exercise or as a means of shooing us away if we appeared to be a threat.

Unfortunately, even where hunting is not taking place or is even prohibited, seals and sea lions are still set upon with challenges: caught in fishing nets, tangled up and choked by plastic garbage, poisoned by pollution or naturally occurring substances like domoic acid from algal blooms, and even shot by the occasional fisherman who felt the animal was affecting his potential catch. Add to that, changes in their natural habitat from climate change, and we find seals and sea lions - animals that are important members of the ocean community and add to its natural balance - are in a perilous position not much different than whales and dolphins.

One species of seal I have not had the pleasure yet of seeing in the wild is the Hawaiian monk seal, unfortunately one of the most endangered of all marine mammals. Once heavily hunted, their numbers were reduced to a level that has had them continually at that tipping point of total population collapse. Designated as endangered under the Endangered Species Act, the number of Hawaiian monk seals continues to slowly decline to just a little over one thousand in number. Further reductions would certainly put it on a slippery slope towards extinction.

Several conservation organizations have taken the U.S. government to task to ensure that all is being done to give these ocean mammals a fighting chance. Kahea - The Hawaiian-Environmental Alliance and the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) are petitioning concerned citizens to be the voice of the Hawaiian monk seal in demanding the Obama administration to adhere to the Endangered Species Act and grant the seal protected habitat not only on the northwestern islands where it is currently protected but on the main islands as well. Just this month, such a proposal was made, expanding the seal’s habitat to 11,000 square miles, including beaches and coastal waters on all the main Hawaiian Islands and increasing its protected habitat in the Northwestern Islands.

But it is not yet a done deal and so both Kahea and CBD continue to exert legal and public pressure (there's even a Facebook page dedicated to saving the Hawaiian monk seal) through public petitions and filings in the courts to make sure that the National Marine Fisheries Service makes good on the expanded habitat proposal. There is still a chance that one of Hawaii's unique species can be saved from extinction.

Learn about Kahea - The Hawaiian-Environmental Alliance.
Learn more about The Center for Biological Diversity and its Hawaiian monk seal campaign.