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Scientists fear rare dolphin driven to extinction by human activities
An international research team, including biologists from NOAA Fisheries Service, has reported in an online scientific journal that it had failed to find a single Yangtze River dolphin, or baiji, during a six-week survey in China. The scientists fear the marine mammal is now extinct due to fishing and commercial development, which would make it the first cetacean to vanish as result of human activity.
Small, smaller, smallest -- The plight of the vaquita
Research published in the academic journal
Mammal Review has uncovered the missing link in the depleting population of the vaquita.
Marine invasive species advance 50km per decade
A rapid, climate change-induced northern migration of invasive marine is one of many research results announced Tues. Nov. 11 during opening day presentations at the First World Conference on Marine Biodiversity, Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias, in Valencia.
1,000 tags reveal mysteries of giant bluefin tuna
A giant Atlantic bluefin tuna weighing more than half a ton had the honor of being fitted with the 1000th electronic tracking tag placed on this threatened species when it was caught and released on Monday (October 20) in the Gulf of St. Lawrence off Port Hood, Nova Scotia.
Study sets high economic value on threatened Mexican mangroves
The ecological value of coastal mangrove forests in Mexico has been apparent to marine scientists for years. Now, for the first time, researchers have used a wide-ranging compilation of fisheries landings, the official record of fish catches, to place an economic price tag on that value.
Scientists discover stinging truths about jellyfish blooms in the Bering Sea
A new study helps explain a cyclic increase and decrease of jellyfish populations, which transformed parts of the Bering Sea--one of the U.S.'s most productive fisheries--into veritable jellytoriums during the 1990s.
Saltwater sleuths: Seeking clues to help determine the ages of fish and shellfish populations
Fishery biologist Sandy Sutherland looks through the lens of the microscope at tiny sections of fish earbones, known as otoliths, each showing annual bands of growth. She carefully counts the bands to determine the age of the fish, then moves on to the next sample. Known as an age reader, Sutherland is one of a small team at NOAA’s Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC) whose aging work is critical to stock assessments needed to manage the nation’s fishery resources in the Northwest Atlantic Ocean.
In computer models and observations, researchers see potential for significant 'red tide' season
The end of April usually brings the first signs of harmful algae in New England waters, and this year, researchers from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) and North Carolina State University (NC State) are preparing for a potentially big bloom.