News Article: December/January 2009Local NewsCommercial Seaweed Harvest14-12-2009New Zealand Government announced commercial harvesting of seaweed cast up on beaches would now be permitted around most of the North Island coast. While beach-cast seaweed might appear to be dead, it forms a habitat in itself, supporting myriad forms of life and is a source of food, shelter and nesting material for other marine and coastal species, says Forest and Bird. It also protects beach sand from erosion and assists formation of dunes. When washed back into the sea seaweed is an important habitat for young fish and is eaten by species such as paua and kina. More Sea Shepherd - Earthrace Antarctica14-12-2009The unveiling of Earthrace Antarctica was held at the floating pavilion in Auckland, New Zealand recently. It will be heading to Antarctica to disrupt the Japanese whalers. Watch for our interview in an up-coming issue of Dive New Zealand / Dive Pacific magazine with skipper Pete Bethune. More Accumulation Defence Regulations14-12-2009Effective 1 October 2009 are new rules relating to paua and rock lobster. The 'accumulation defence' (large numbers of the shellfish in your freezer from many previous days fishing) no longer applies. The New Zealand Fisheries (Amateur Fishing) Regulations 1986 have been changed for every area (except Fiordland); to restrict the amount a person can have in their possession on any day. Visit www.fish.govt.nz More Banned Poacher Sentenced14-12-2009A 56 year old beneficiary from Kaitaia in New Zealand's Northland was caught fishing while under a court order banning him from fishing. He was sentenced to two months' community detention, placed under a seven-day-a-week curfew and his borrowed boat, trailer, outboard motor and fishing gear were forfeited to the Crown. He was originally convicted of illegally taking large numbers of flounder and selling them. Members of the public who see illegal or suspicious activity on or near our beaches are encouraged to phone 0800 4 POACHER, 0800 476224. More New Zealand's First Bio-Fuel14-12-2009Environ Fuels Ltd will supply biodiesel to Explore NZ's marine fleet located in New Zealand's Auckland and also the Bay of Islands. The agreement between the two companies is valued at over NZ$3,000,000 and comes on the back of the recent National Party bio-fuel policy. Manufactured in New Zealand, the biodiesel supplied under the agreement will result in a significant reduction of carbon emissions from the Explore New Zealand vessel fleet in Auckland and the Bay of Islands. More International NewsArctic Ice Thinning14-12-2009Scientists evaluated the thickness and volume of Arctic sea ice (checking shrinkage since 2004) across the Arctic Ocean basin in a new study from NASA and the University of Washington. Even where the sea ice cover persists despite regional climate change, a vast portion of the remaining ice layer has become thinner, the study found. Boat Sunk to Build Ecosystem14-12-2009A former Norwegian fishing vessel, MV Sipadan Mermaid, was sunk near Reef Dive Resort at Mataking Island off Semporna to help the fragile ecosystem at the island whilst easing pressure involving diving activities off Sipadan Island. The Mermaid is the Reef Dive Resort's second artificial reef. Mataking Island is a hide-away island of just some 20 acres divided between two islands, namely Mataking Kecil and Mataking Besar. Its surrounding seas and wildlife are very previous to the island and conservation is taken very seriously. More Bluefin Tuna14-12-2009Four countries announced support for the suspension of international trade in bluefin tuna under the convention for International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). Franc, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Germany have pledged support for the proposal introduced by Monaco. Since 2006 scientists have been sounding the alarm on the dire state of the northern bluefin tuna stock. More Immortality 20 Years Away14-12-2009Scientist Ray Kurzweil says nanotechnologies capable of replacing many of our vital organs could be available in 20 years time (artificial pancreases and neural implants are already available). Mr Kurzweil calls his theory the Law of Accelerating Returns and believes we will have the means to reprogramme our bodies' stone-age software so we can halt then reverse, ageing. 'Ultimately, nanobots will replace blood cells and do their work thousands of times more effectively. Within 25 years we will be able to do an Olympic sprint for 15 minutes without taking a breath, or go scuba-diving for four hours without oxygen. More Planet Shark: Predator or Prey?14-12-2009The Georgia Aquarium (USA) debuted a comprehensive and innovative out-of-water shark exhibition to tour the world.. The 10,000-square-foot interactive exhibition explores unique relationships humans have forged with one of the world's most feared predators. It includes lectures from world-renowned shark experts, shark-themed film festivals, and other interactive opportunities. It features full-scale shark models cast from real specimens, including an 18-foot great white shark caught in South Australian waters; an extensive collection of real shark jaws, teeth and fossils dating back 350 million years; shark cages and authentic artefacts from the movie 'Jaws'; stories on human/shark encounters as told by survivors and shark experts. More Salt Water Affects Kiribati’s Food14-12-2009Salt water is seeping into the earth, polluting the underground freshwater supply and affecting the roots of plants. Gardens are being ruined by the salt water and threatened by tidal surges and sea-level rise. Kiribati is officially four metres above sea level but most people lived 'at eye level' with the sea. The Kiribati Government has been working to educate people so they can move overseas if sea levels swamp the low-lying atolls. More Waste Plastics Toxic14-12-2009Scientists identified a new source of chemical pollution released by plastic rubbish found floating in the oceans. A study found that as plastics break down in the sea they release potentially toxic substances not found in nature and which could affect the growth and development of marine organisms. It was originally though that plastic rubbish was relatively stable chemically; its principle threat coming from its ability to choke or strangle any animals that either got caught in it or ingested it thinking it was food. More Slaughter Outcry14-12-2009A Japanese fishing town that holds an annual hunt to kill and sell dolphins for meat released 70 of the animals from its first catch. The was the result of a growing international outcry since the award-winning documentary The Cove showed dolphins being herded into an inlet and killed by fishermen with spears. More Cars Mimic Fish14-12-2009Nissan looked at the behaviour of schooling fish to move as one without colliding into each other, regardless of the environment and will demonstrate their robot car (EPORO) which will navigate instinctively through a course, without colliding, at the CREATEC annual exhibition in Japan. Research could see a future where traffic flows more freely and accidents are a thing of the past. More UK's Victory Wreck14-12-2009
The US salvage company, Odyssey Marine Exploration, dropped its claim to an English Channel wreck now confirmed to be that of the 18 th century's impressive warship, HMS Victory , which carried gold bullion and coins. Salvaging the wreck would be going against guidelines of the Annex of the UNESCO Convention on the Protection of Underwater Heritage. Britain has endorsed the Annex which bans salvage for profit, even salvage per se, unless a site is under threat. MoreFish Sex Defects14-12-2009United States government scientists figure one in five male black bass in American river basins have eggs cells growing inside their sexual organs, a sign of how widespread fish feminising has become. The Geological Survey studied intersex fish in America, a problem linked to women's birth control pills and other hormone treatments that seep into rivers. Sporadic reports of feminised fish have been reported for a few years. More Maldives Underwater Cabinet Meeting14-12-2009Maldives' President, Mohamed Nashees, held an underwater cabinet meeting after instructing his Ministers to train for the sub-aqua session. Dressed in full scuba gear the ministers held their meeting at a depth of six metres. During the meeting the ministers ratified a treaty calling all countries to cut greenhouse emissions. Nasheed, the leader of a nation made up of 1200 atolls, 80% are no more that a metre above sea level, has made the issue of climate change one of his most pressing priorities. He has also established a fund to seek an alternative home for 330,000 Maldivians. More Ocean Observatories Initiative14-12-2009The National Science Foundation announced an agreement for a vast undersea observing network. Called the Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI) it will provide a network of undersea sensors for observing complex ocean processes such as climate variability, ocean circulation and ocean acidification at several coastal, open-ocean and seafloor locations. Continuous data flow from hundreds of OOI sensors will be available to scientists, policy makers, students and the public. Remotely operated and autonomous vehicles go deeper and perform longer than submarines. Underwater samplers do in minutes what once took hours in a lab. More US Navy Patrol Boat Found14-12-2009A NOAA-led research mission identified the final resting place of the YP-389, a US Navy patrol boat sunk 20 miles off the coast of Cape Hatteras by a German submarine during World War II. Six sailors died in the attack on 19 June 1942. There were 18 survivors. The wreck is located in about 300 feet of water in a region off North Carolina known as the 'Graveyard of the Atlantic'. www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2009/20090909_battleofatlantic.html More England Flooding14-12-2009A study at the University of Southampton found sea levels rising across the south coast of England over the past century. Computer and paper-based records from across the south of England from the Scilly Isles to Sheerness were combined to form a single data set which shows the rate of rise in the range 1.2- 2.2 mm per year, with 1.3 mm per year recorded at Southampton. Coastal engineering expert Professor Robert Nicholls, comments: 'While these changes seem small, over a century they accumulate and substantially increase the risk of flooding, unless there have been corresponding upgrades to flood defences'. The findings are published in the journal Continental Shelf Research. More Shark Report14-12-2009A report by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) classified 35 out of 64 known pelagic shark and related ray species around the world as threatened or near threatened with extinction. Up to 70 million sharks are killed worldwide annually for the shark fin market, virtually all caught in areas where there is no management regime in place to ensure their sustainability, said Joshua Reichert, managing director of the Pew Environment Group More AquaMap Diver for China14-12-2009The Archaeological Research Centre, National Museum of China, has an underwater positioning system which consists of six hand-held diver stations. It allows divers to track their positions underwater as well as monitoring from the surface. The Museum of China will use the system to conduct investigations and excavations of sunken vessels such as the Nanhai I, and other underwater artefacts. More Marine Park Whale Protection14-12-2009Western Australia is to protect and manage a key nursery of the world's largest humpback whales. The marine park will be at Camden Sound, 400km north of Broome, which is said to be the biggest calving area for humpback whales in the southern hemisphere. More than 1,000 are found in the 'maternity ward' during calving season. Humpbacks are protected from whaling in the southern hemisphere since 1963, when numbers in Western Australia fell below 1,000. Their numbers are recovering at 10% each year. More Submarine Archaeology14-12-2009The Australian government conducted a survey to examine the wreckage of a World War II Japanese submarine in Sydney Harbour using a SeaBotix LBV, looking for clues on how the submarine sank. They discovered a large rope wrapped around the aft section of the submarine as well as a dense cluster of fishing nets around the forward portion. The LBV accessed tight areas for close-ups of the conning tower, props, battery compartment, cutting tool, bulkhead and hatch. More |
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