Pet dogs trained to sniff out invasive fish species

Radio NZ – Household dogs are being trained to sniff out invasive fish species. If successful, the family pet could become a crucial tool in identifying new incursions of invasive fish such as koi carp and catfish, before populations become established. It is the work of researchers at Waikato University. Dog training expert and researcher Clare Browne said early research showed dogs Read More…

‘Tsunami’ fish shows up in Monterey Bay

Monterey Herald – An exotic “tsunami fish” has been hanging out near the Monterey breakwater wall off San Carlos Beach, for the past month. Since Oct. 15, Nicholas Ta,27, and Dennis Marshall Lewis, 23, divemasters of Bamboo Reef Dive Center, have spotted a non-native, lonely barred knifejaw several times while diving in the area. This is the fifth sighting of the fish in Monterey Read More…

New warm ocean Blob could affect Southeast winter weather, fisheries

KTOO – The Blob could be back. Or, maybe it’s the Son of Blob. Either way, the warm water phenomenon first discovered in the North Pacific five years ago is slowly reemerging in the Gulf of Alaska. Although it doesn’t appear to be as strong as the original, it could still affect weather and fisheries in Southeast Alaska. Nick Bond is the Washington state climatologist who coined Read More…

Researchers seek alternatives to Mekong River hydropower dam

Cornell Chronicle – The Mekong River, flowing from the Tibetan Plateau through Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam to the South China Sea, is a hotbed of ecological diversity. The roughly 60 million people who live in the region, many in poverty, depend on the river and its tributaries for food and income. But a surge in hydropower projects is threatening to plunge the Mekong River Read More…

Salmon Conservation & Water Science

World Water Monitoring Day – The Students for Salmon Program (SFS) engages 4th grade students in streamside science so they can better understand the health of their watershed and build stewardship ethics. Salmon, an icon of the Pacific Northwest culture, economy, and ecosystem, are used as a lens to inspire wonder in the natural world and catalyze an environmental ethic. SFS consists of two Read More…

Climate change is altering the way that sharks swim

Earth.com – A new study has revealed how increases in ocean temperatures are changing the way that sharks swim. Biologists from Macquarie University in Sydney incubated Port Jackson shark eggs in different water temperatures to see how projected changes in ocean temperature due to climate change might impact sharks. The researchers found that sharks incubated in warmer temperatures had Read More…

Aller Aqua to test insect meal in trout feed

Fish Information Services – Fish feed producer Aller Aqua Group has partnered with the Danish Technological Institute to develop the first industrial insect production so as to make insect meal as an ingredient for fish feed, among other uses. The goal of the project, carried out in collaboration with Hanneman Engineering and Champost, is to produce 30 tons of insects per day. The Read More…

‘Make better choices’: Endangered Hawaiian monk seals keep…

The Washington Post – A relaxed-looking juvenile Hawaiian monk seal lounges near a sandy white beach on some green foliage. Its eyes are half-closed, and it has a serene expression on its face. But the seal’s calm demeanor is surprising. Why? Well, there’s a long, black-and-white eel dangling from its right nostril. “It’s just so shocking,” Claire Simeone, a veterinarian and monk Read More…

Exchange: How to Rebuild a River

Wild Salmon Center – Nine of our Russian partners traveled across Montana and Idaho this fall to learn first hand how U.S. companies and government agencies rehabilitate fish-bearing creeks damaged by placer mining. The trip was part of Wild Salmon Center’s exchange program, which brings together Russian and American scientists and conservationists. The US Forest Service has been a long Read More…

Big setback for Gov. Brown’s twin tunnels delta water project

San Francisco Chronicle – A crucial certification needed to build two tunnels that officials believe would help solve California’s water delivery problems was withdrawn Friday, ensuring that Gov. Jerry Brown’s pet water project won’t be approved before he leaves office in January. The California Department of Water Resources withdrew its petition seeking approval of Brown’s $17 Read More…