Voxy

Deep sea technology that will provide some of the world’s most accurate and useful marine sustainability research is being launched today.

In a world-first, New Zealand fishing company Sealord has invested more than $750,000 in a new multi-frequency Acoustic Optical System (AOS).

At an event on-board Thomas Harrison, prior to the vessel taking the new equipment on its first sea-trial, Minister of Primary Industries Nathan Guy launched the new AOS which will provide a boost to the science that contributes to New Zealand’s world recognised Quota Management System.

The equipment allows scientist to use acoustics (sound) at different frequencies; and optics (visual) to understand what is happening with the fish in the ocean, and the marine environment.

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Barents Observer

The first salmon genome — of a female fish named Sally — will be fully sequenced by the end of 2013 and researchers from around the world are already exploring ways to use this reference genome to address challenges in salmon farming and production.

“The expectations are that this will make aquaculture better, more directed and more sustainable,” explains Steinar Bergseth, chair of the International Collaboration to Sequence the Salmon Genome and advisor for the Research Council of Norway. “We can tap into the genes and understand how these are regulated with regard to diseases, food uptake, treatment of the animal and environmental adaptations.”

The sequencing of the salmon genome began in 2009 after research funding bodies from Norway, Canada and Chile pumped millions of dollars into the project. The genome sequence was supposed to be completed this spring, but the complexity of the sequencing meant timelines had to be pushed back.

“It’s not a very straightforward genome to sequence,” Bergseth says.

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Pacific News Center

A veteran group of scientists and fishers will embark on a weeks-long journey through the Pacific in search of better fishing practices, identifying techniques that reduce the potentially wasteful catch of unwanted species. They’ll be onboard the Cape Finisterre, part of Tri Marine’s fleet of fishing vessels, for the sixth leg of the ISSF #BycatchProject in a region where roughly 51 percent of the world’s tuna is fished. At least 75 percent of the catch is made by purse seine vessels, which use a net to encircle and catch tuna. The #BycatchProject aims to reduce bycatch associated with purse seine vessels, particularly those that utilize floating objects, called FADs.

The research team will focus on three main projects, including observing tuna swimming underneath fish aggregating devices (FADs), as well as studying how these fish behave inside the fishing net. This information helps to determine how different species might separate when encircled in a net, which could provide opportunities for releasing the non-targeted catch.

“We’re thrilled to get back out on the water, along with this crew in order to build upon our successes from last year,” said lead scientist Jeff Muir. “And these truly are ‘our’ successes. The guys that work on this vessel played an important role in our project last year and they will be just as important to the discovery process this time.”

Researchers will also spend part of their trip tracking large marine animals. The survival of these species – such as sharks and manta rays – will be studied through tagging onboard the Cape Finisterre.  When the opportunity arises, researchers will handle the animals using identified best practices, tag them and then release them back into the Pacific.  Stress or physical damage can prevent them from thriving once released, so tagging and following the released sharks and rays can help to determine their chances of survival.

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The San Francisco Chronicle

New research indicates that Lake Superior’s warming water is probably already affecting its most abundant big fish: the cold water-loving siscowet lake trout.

Increasing water temperatures over the last three decades have made conditions more favorable for chinook salmon, walleye and lean lake trout but less favorable for siscowet lake trout.

The study conducted by the University of Wisconsin-Madison estimates that fatty siscowets have lost about 20 percent of their historic habitat because of the temperature changes that have already occurred.

The research used a mix of computer modeling and temperature measurements. It was funded by Wisconsin Sea Grant.

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Wisconsin Watch

Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee have found that low doses of a chemical mixture of an herbicide and a plasticizer can lower testosterone levels in fathead minnows.

Testosterone plays a key role in male human health, regulating everything from the development of reproductive tissue to the building of bone and muscle.

The researchers exposed the fish to a blend of linuron, an herbicide used to control grasses and weeds, and DEHP, a plasticizer used to make medical products.

The chemicals are each known as potent disruptors of testosterone at high levels. But less is known about the effects of low doses and mixtures of chemicals, which is how humans and wildlife are usually exposed.

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