The Extreme Life of the Sea – book review
By Gabriel Thoumi The Extreme Life of the Sea, written by father and son team Stephen R. Palumbi and Anthony R. Palumbi, is simply a tour de force, a splendid must read for any natural history enthusiast. In The Extreme Life of the Sea, we are taken through the challenges of the Earth’s oceans. From its great depths and abysses to extreme pressures and anaerobic environments, and in each location, we learn about the remarkable...
Happy world oceans day! (photos)
Coastline in Colombia. Photo by: Rhett A. Butler. Celebrated since 1992, today is World Oceans Day! As apart of the day’s festivities, conservation organization Oceana is asking people to become Ocean Heroes by pledging to recycle, clean up a local waterway, or eat only sustainable seafood for the summer! Purple-striped jellyfish at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Photo by: Rhett A. Butler. Leopard shark in a kelp forest at Monterey...
Happy world turtle day! (photos)
Baby marine turtle taking its first step out to sea in Costa Rica. Photo by: Rhett A. Butler. Yes, there is a World Turtle Day created by the American Tortoise Rescue! And today (May 23rd) is that day! Ancient leopard tortoise in Uganda. Photo by: Rhett A. Butler. Sumatran freshwater turtle. Photo by: Rhett A. Butler. Sumatran freshwater turtle. Photo by: Jeremy Hance. Radiated tortoise in Madagascar. Photo by: Rhett A....
Economic worth of living sharks (video)
It turns out that sharks are worth more alive than dead. According to a new study, a single shark is worth $1.9 million over its lifetime as a tourist attraction in the island nation of Palau. Sold for consumption the shark is worth around $108. In this case a shark is worth a stunning 17,000 times more alive than dead. Sharks worldwide are being decimated, largely for the Asian delicacy shark fin soup. Some populations have fallen by...
Conservation on the ground: how traditional fishermen saved sharks in Madagascar
Malagasy family helping fisherman take his boat out to sea . Photo by Rhett A. Butler. Or, Guitarfish a Go-Go- Bribes and barrages in Belo-sur-Mer By: Brian Jones, Blue Ventures Conservation in Belo-sur-Mer, Menabe, Madagascar. YOU’VE got to admire the mettle of people who, despite the cards being seemingly insurmountably stacked against them, can still stick to their guns and stand up for what they believe in. I didn’t give...
Activism: nominate an Ocean Hero!
Green anemone at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Photo by: Rhett A. Butler. Ocean conservation organization, Oceana, is asking for nominations for its 3rd Annual Ocean Heroes Contest. According to their blog: “Think of the person you know doing the most for the oceans — and maybe it’s yourself! […] Past nominees have included educators, scientists, fundraisers, activists, and that’s just a start. And like last year, we...
“I hope that I never have to see it again”: oil spill hits penguins on Nightingale Island (video)
Video documents the oil spill on Nightingale Island in the remote Southern Atlantic ocean, which has taken a particular toll on Endangered northern rockhopper penguins Over a week ago conservation workers have hundreds of oiled northern rockhopper penguins (Eudyptes moseleyi) after a cargo vessel wrecked on Nightingale Island, a part of the remote UK’s Tristan da Cunha archipelago. According to a press release by BirdLife...
Photo: oil spill hits endangered penguins
Northern rockhopper penguins covered in oil. Photo by: Tristan Conservation Team of Simon Glass, Wayne Swain and Matthew Green. Courtesy of: The Tristan da Cunha Website. Northern rockhopper penguins (Eudyptes moseleyi) hit hard by an oil spill from a wrecked cargo ship on Nightingale Island in the Southern Atlantic. Already listed as Endangered by the IUCN Red List, the oil spill threatens nearly half of the northern rockhopper...
Video: saving cape fur seals from fisheries’ trash
Innovative program by Two Oceans Aquarium in Cape Town, South Africa to save wild fur seals from dangerous, and in some cases deadly, trash from local fisheries.
Activism: the great bluefin tuna boycott
Note: mongabay.com does not endorse the action below, but believes its readers may be interested in taking action or discussing the issue in comments. Bluefin tuna. Photo by: NOAA. The Center for Biological Diversity has launched a bluefin tuna boycott after the fish’s regulatory body, the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tuna (ICCAT), failed to drastically limit the catch this year. The group has also...