December 26, 2009 The New York Times For the many disappointments of the recent climate talks in Copenhagen, there was at least one clear positive outcome, and that was the progress made on a program called Reducing Emissions From Deforestation and Forest Degradation. Under this program, key elements of which were agreed on at Copenhagen, [...]

Posted in Climate Change, News 2 Comments »

Our beautiful nudibranch won in last week’s EOL photo contest! The Encyclopedia of Life has a lively EOL flickr group with regular contests themed around various aspects of the Planet’s amazing biodiversity. So it was a great surprise that our humble but very handsome Chromodoris lineolata won the contest about ‘stripes’. Other entries included spectacular [...]

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By Lawrence Bartlett Yahoo News 29 Oct 09; HONG KONG (AFP) – The live fish facing death in the glass tanks in Hong Kong’s famous seafood restaurants tell a strange and haunting tale of a looming global tragedy. At the heart of their story is the bizarre fact that there are more fine fish swimming [...]

Posted in Fisheries, News 1 Comment »

Combined land and ocean surface temperatures for the world are fifth warmest on record The ocean surface temperature was the warmest on record for July, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in the US. Incidentally, on 28 June 2009, the Hantu Blog recorded an underwater temperature of 31 degrees C, up from [...]

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Scientists are set to study the earbones and organs of more than 2000 albacore tuna to better understand the growth, age and breeding patterns of this increasingly important species. Albacore tuna are harvested from tropical to temperate waters, mainly for canning, but also to satisfy the growing market for fresh fish in Europe and the [...]

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A statement yesterday of the Mindanao Economic Development Council (MEDCo) said that the sub-ASEAN grouping, composed of Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines, is now finalizing the draft memorandum of agreement (MoA) crafted by the Philippine EAGA Working Group on Fisheries with the help of the German Technical Cooperation. Among others, the proposed framework [...]

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NOAA scientists announced the arrival of El Niño, a climate phenomenon with a significant influence on global weather, ocean conditions and marine fisheries. El Niño, the periodic warming of central and eastern tropical Pacific waters, occurs on average every two to five years and typically lasts about 12 months. NOAA expects this El Niño to [...]

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The world’s oceans which cover two thirds or more than 70 percent of Earth’s surface, are an important source of life. Millions of people depend on oceans and coastal areas in earning a living. Indonesia’s marine tourism revenue reached US$2 billion per year and the country earned around US$2.2 billion from fish exports in 2008, [...]

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Overfishing threatens to drive a third of the world’s open-ocean shark species to extinction, say conservationists. Hammerheads, giant devil rays and porbeagle sharks are among 64 species on the first ever red list for oceanic sharks produced by the World Conservation Union (IUCN). Sharks are vulnerable because they can take decades to mature and they [...]

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Mark L. Harrison, a resident of Southport, Fla., and Harrison International LLC, a Florida corporation, today pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Atlanta to violating the Lacey Act, a federal fish and wildlife trafficking law, by dealing in shark fins, the landing of which was not reported as required by law, the Justice Department [...]

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