Chinook Salmon Are Able to Ascend Upper Auburn Ravine to Spawn

Daily Kos — Chinook salmon have always spawned in Auburn Ravine Creek, a tributary of the Sacramento River in Northern California northeast of Sacramento, but biologists have been uncertain if salmon could get past the Chaparral Cascades. “As a result, some people have flatly stated that those cascades are a total barrier to upstream migration,” reported Friends of Auburn Ravine in Read More…

Work group’s final report offers no solid fish recovery…

The Challis Messenger — A group brought together by Idaho Gov. Brad Little to find ways to bolster faltering salmon and steelhead populations has agreed to encourage habitat restoration but avoided making a decision about breaching dams. The report by the Republican governor’s work group flatly states it’s not a recovery plan. Rather, it’s a list of recommendations approved Read More…

Costa Rican Tuna should be for Costa Rican Fishermen

The Costa Rica News — Costa Rica has a wealth of tuna in its seas like few other countries in the world. The problem is that most of this wealth is stolen from us by foreign ships using industrial fishing methods that are extremely harmful to the marine ecosystem. They rob us of economic resources at the same time that they generate environmental damage. And we say they steal those resources Read More…

Current drought conditions contributing to historically dry year

Turlock Journal — The local region’s current water year is shaping up to be one of the driest on record according to Turlock Irrigation District, with below-average rainfall amplifying California’s existing state of drought. Data provided by TID Hydrologist Olivia Cramer during Tuesday’s Board of Directors meeting showed that from September 2020 through Jan. 10, 2021, the Tuolumne River Read More…

Atmospheric river wallops Pacific Northwest with flooding, landslides…

Washington Post — Because of the high winds, more than 600,000 customers were without power in the Pacific Northwest on Wednesday morning (about 540,000 in Washington, and 74,000 in Oregon), according to PowerOutage.us. At its peak Tuesday, the atmospheric river was trucking ashore 665 million gallons of moisture every hour, about a quarter of the flow rate of the Mississippi River. Read More…

“Salmon cannon” successor automatically shoots fish up over dams

New Atlas — Back in 2014, we heard about a so-called "fish gun" or "salmon cannon" that safely shot spawning fish up over river-blocking obstacles such as dams. Its successor is now in use, offering a couple of key advantages over the original system. Manufactured by Seattle-based Whooshh Innovations, the salmon cannon's actual name was the Whooshh Transport System. To recap our previous Read More…

Researchers say Europe’s ban on throwing unwanted fish overboard is…

Science Magazine — Two years ago, a law banning the wasteful practice of tossing unwanted fish overboard came fully into effect in European waters. But a study reveals the law, intended to reduce overfishing, has led to the opposite: To allay industry concerns, regulators have significantly increased fishing quotas, while providing ever more exemptions that make the policy even more Read More…

Baby sharks emerge from egg cases earlier and weaker in oceans warmed…

The Guardian — Baby sharks will emerge from their egg cases earlier and weaker as water temperatures rise, according to a new study that examined the impact of warming oceans on embryos. About 40% of all shark species lay eggs, and the researchers found that one species unique to the Great Barrier Reef spent up to 25 days less in their egg cases under temperatures expected by the end of the Read More…

The Diminishing California ‘Fossil Water’

Nature World News — When hearing the word 'Fossil,' most people automatically think about dinosaur bones or frozen remains from the ice age, while others may immediately think about fuels. But, those are not the kind of 'fossils' that will be highlighted in this article.  Because buried deep within the earth, another type of fossil is unknown to many, one produced by ancient aquifers like Read More…

Big differences in how coral reef fish larvae are dispersed

ScienceDaily — Right after most coral reef fish hatch, they join a swirling sea of plankton as tiny, transparent larvae. Then currents, winds and waves disperse them, frequently to different reefs. During seven years of surveys of coral reef-dwelling clownfish, scientists measured how the dispersal of larvae varied over the years and seasonally, including during monsoons, according Read More…