marine life

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New, Giant Oil Plume Found in Gulf

Scientists believe cleanup chemicals to blame

(Newser) - Just when the Gulf of Mexico thought the hurting had stopped, marine scientists have discovered a huge new undersea oil cloud drifting toward Alabama. Hydrocarbon readings confirm that the plume, which starts near the blown-out well and is 6 miles wide and 22 miles long, is not naturally occurring. It's...

Dead Turtles Washing Up Near Gulf Spill

Experts suspect slick is to blame

(Newser) - Dozens of dead sea turtles have washed up along the Mississippi coast over the last couple of days and wildlife officials fear the endangered creatures are among the oil spill's first victims. Necropsies on 5 of the turtles have so far turned up no evidence of oil contamination, although experts,...

Asian Nations Torpedo Shark Protection

Endangered species conference labeled 'a disaster for conservation'

(Newser) - Conservationists were left fuming yesterday after a UN conference on endangered species failed to win protection for a single marine species. Asian nations, led by Japan, defeated efforts to restrict trade in coral, sharks, and bluefin tuna. The one species to be given protected status, the porbeagle shark, had its...

Japanese Fear Oarfish Sightings Are Quake Omen

Superstitious worry as deep-sea dweller begins surfacing

(Newser) - Dozens of sightings of a very rarely seen fish have raised Japanese fears that their country may be the next one rocked by a major quake. The appearance of oarfish—which can grow to up to 16 feet long and frequent depths of up to 3,300 feet—is considered...

'Plastic Sea' Found North of Caribbean

Atlantic plastic patch threatening food chain

(Newser) - Researchers trying to determine just how much plastic trash is building up in the world's oceans have found a large concentration just north of the Caribbean. The study—based on more than 22,000 plastic fragments collected over the years—found that a huge area between 22 and 38 degrees...

Great Whites Now Rarer Than Tigers

New study finds sharks much closer to extinction

(Newser) - Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water...it probably is. Great White sharks are now even more endangered than tigers, according to a new study. Researchers who tagged and tracked the sharks determined that their numbers have fallen below those of the 3,500...

Coconut-Carrying Octopus Stuns Scientists

Homebuilding is first time tool use has been seen among octopi

(Newser) - Australian scientists observing octopi on the sea floor near Indonesia were amazed to discover that the creatures scoop up coconut halves, empty them out, and carry them around to assemble into shelters. The behavior shows a surprising level of intelligence, the researchers say, and is the first recorded instance of...

Team Discovers Mini-Monsters of the Deep

Thousands of bizarre creatures discovered in blackest black

(Newser) - A team of scientists have discovered thousands of incredibly bizarre new creatures living in the blackness of the deep Atlantic ocean. They range from "Jumbo Dumbo," an octopod that swims by flapping a pair of ear-like fins, to shining golden crustaceans. Most of the animals found are only...

Giant Jellyfish Sink Trawler
 Giant Jellyfish Sink Trawler 
Nov 3, 2009 4:22 AM CST

Giant Jellyfish Sink Trawler

Net filled with 400-pound creatures capsizes boat

(Newser) - A 10-ton fishing trawler sank off the coast of Japan after its crew tried to haul in a net filled with gigantic jellyfish. The three crew members were pitched into the water as the ship capsized and were rescued by another boat, the Telegraph reports. Nomura's jellyfish can weigh up...

Taxi-Sized Squid Caught off Louisiana

20-foot creature is the first giant squid ever netted by Gulf researchers

(Newser) - Scientists studying whale diets in the Gulf of Mexico unexpectedly hauled in a giant squid half as long as a school bus, Reuters reports. The 19.5-foot-long creature dragged up from 1,500 feet below the sea off Louisiana is the first giant squid found in the area in over...

Picky-Eater Tiger Shark Gives Aquarium Heartburn

(Newser) - Tiger sharks are known for eating anything—including metal junk, other sharks, and people—but the Long Beach Aquarium seems to have landed the world's choosiest one, the Los Angeles Times reports. The new arrival, one of very few tiger sharks in captivity in the US, regularly turns up its...

'Makeovers' Spell Doom for Oceans' Ugliest Fish

Even the once-shunned are now overfished

(Newser) - Don't like the sound of slimefish fillets? How about some orange roughy instead? Efforts to "rebrand" ugly, unpopular types of fish to make them more palatable to consumers have been successful—too successful, the Washington Post reports. Many species once considered "trash fish" have become dangerously depleted...

Discovery's Shark Week Back With a Bite

(Newser) - Just when you thought it was safe to go back to the Discovery Channel, Shark Week is back. The channel's wildly popular annual look at the predators returns next week with six new documentaries, including a look at the deadly 1916 shark attacks off New Jersey that inspired Jaws. Channel...

Attack Survivors Snap Up Chance to Save Sharks

(Newser) - Victims of shark attacks have gathered in Washington to lend a hand to their one-time foes, reports the Washington Post. The survivors plan to lobby senators to pass a bill setting new restrictions on shark fishing in US waters. A third of the world's shark species are now classified as...

Fishermen Land Rarest Shark— Then Eat it

Megamouth shark found in Philippine waters, cooked in coconut milk

(Newser) - An incredibly rare find at sea ended up as an incredibly rare dinner for some Filipino fishermen, National Geographic reports. The 13-foot megamouth shark that died in the men's nets was only the 41st ever found. Local conservation officials asked the men to keep the filter-feeder's 1102-pound carcass intact, but...

Aussie Oil Spill 10 Times Worse Than Thought

Government blamed for slow response to disaster

(Newser) - The oil spill that’s polluting beaches along the northeast coast of Australia is 10 times worse than originally thought, reports the Sydney Morning Herald. Officials now say that about 253 tons of oil leaked from a Hong Kong ship on Wednesday, damaging dozens of beaches that span 37 miles...

Octopus Muffs Intelligence Test

What a sucker: 7-foot octopus gets boxed in while trying to unlock lunch

(Newser) - Truman the octopus did a reverse Houdini act at a Boston aquarium yesterday, reports AP. Biologists seeking to keep the 7-foot octopus' brain busy gave him food inside a latched 14-inch cube. But the impatient contortionist skipped the locks and squeezed himself through a small gap in the cube. After...

140-Year-Old Lobster Liberated
 140-Year-Old Lobster Liberated 
Jan 10, 2009 3:04 AM CST

140-Year-Old Lobster Liberated

Restaurant heeds PETA call to let old-timer return to the sea

(Newser) - A lobster almost as old as the Lincoln presidency will return to the ocean today after being freed by PETA, the Village Voice reports. The animal rights group persuaded a New York City seafood restaurant to release George, estimated to be 140 years old, and plans to free the old-timer...

Team Frees Snared Right Whale
 Team Frees Snared Right Whale 
Dec 30, 2008 5:55 AM CST

Team Frees Snared Right Whale

Critically endangered right whale was snared in hundreds of feet of fishing line

(Newser) - A team of experts managed to free a right whale that became entangled in fishing lines off  Florida, the Washington Post reports. Rescuers took three days to cut away hundreds of feet of line that had been trailing the young whale. Only 400 right whales are believed to remain in...

Fifth of Coral Reefs Dead: Study

Pollution leads to warmer, more acidic seas, scientists say

(Newser) - A fifth of the world’s coral reefs have died or been destroyed, says a study released to the UN yesterday. In it, marine scientists warned that the future of marine life and the $30 billion economic value of reefs are increasingly threatened by climate change. The report also zeroed...

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