At least 279 dolphins have become stranded across much of the US Gulf coast since the start of February, triple the usual number, and about 98% of them have died, scientists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa) said. Scientists will investigate whether lingering effects from the 2010 BP oil spill and more immediate […]
Tag: national oceanic and atmospheric administration
Petition: Urge the U.S. to Deny Import of Captive Dolphins
An application has been filed by The Chicago Zoological Society and the Brookfield Zoo to import three bottlenose dolphins to the United States. The dolphins are currently held at Dolphin Quest Bermuda and would either be sent the to Brookfield Zoo in Brookfield, IL or to the Coral World Ocean Park in St. Thomas, U.S. […]
Fisherman Risks His Life to Save a Humpback Whale
As they headed back toward the central California coast after fishing for slime eel in the Pacific Ocean, Sam Synstelien and Nicholas Taron made a troubling discovery: a humpback whale was entangled in a buoy’s rope, frantically trying to free itself. Synstelien immediately called the U.S. Coast Guard but was told it might take a […]
No Calves This Year Means Right Whales Are Closer to Extinction
Scientists were already worried about the survival of North Atlantic right whales following a slew of tragic deaths over the past year. Now, even more concerns are being raised about the lack of calves this year. Once considered the “right” whales to kill, this species was nearly hunted to extinction. Today, there are estimated to […]
Climate Change is Turning These Green Sea Turtles Female
Australia’s iconic Great Barrier Reef is home to one of the largest populations of green sea turtles on earth, but warming temperatures there linked to climate change are having a bizarre and worrying impact on them – they’re turning an alarming number of hatchlings female. Unlike most animals, genetics don’t determine the sex of sea […]
Trump plan to shrink ocean monuments threatens vital ecosystems, experts warn
The Trump administration’s plan to shrink four land-based national monuments has provoked howls of anguish from environmental groups, Native American tribes and some businesses, such as the outdoors company Patagonia. Accompanying changes to protected monuments in the oceans – vastly larger areas than their land-based counterparts – have received less attention, but could have major […]
Heroic Boat Captain Rescues Entangled Great White Shark
The Southern California coastline never used to be much of a hub for shark sightings, but that has changed this year. Great white sharks have been spotted from Long Beach to San Diego. Hoping to catch a glimpse of some sharks for themselves last month, Chris Pica and three of his friends took a skiff […]
Bottlenose dolphins off US coast hit by measles-like virus
More than 1,000 migratory bottlenose dolphins have died from a measles-like virus along the US eastern seaboard in 2013 and the epidemic shows no sign of abating, a marine biologist said on Monday. The death toll exceeds the 740 dolphins killed during the last big outbreak of the then unknown virus in 1987-88. “It is […]
