Water wars: Who controls the flow?

NPR So often, we take water for granted. We turn on the faucet and there it is. We assume it's our right in America to have water. And yet, water is a resource. It's not always where we need it, or there when we need it. Rivers don't follow political boundaries — they flow through states and over international borders. And there are endless demands for water: for agriculture, drinking, Read More…

Southern Oregon ranchers seek court order to stop water shutoffs

The Record SearchlightSome of the ranchers facing irrigation shutoffs in the upper Klamath Basin are asking a judge to stop state officials from enforcing newly recognized water rights held by the Klamath Tribes.Klamath County Circuit Judge Cameron Wogan has scheduled hearings Friday in Klamath Falls.State watermasters started telling ranchers Wednesday that they had to stop irrigating in order Read More…

Ocean’s little fish are a big deal

The Christian Science MonitorWhen people think of a healthy ocean, the first thing that comes to mind is usually a large iconic animal, perhaps a humpback whale leaping majestically out of the water or a pelican swooping low across the ocean surface. In my case, I’m hooked by the thrill of a big salmon as it pulls the line off my reel.All of these animals dine on vast schools of tightly packed Read More…

Fishermen demonstrate almost zero discards in latest MMO trial

The Fish SiteDiscards have now been virtually eliminated in some species by fishermen taking part in current trials, according to the latest catch quota report from the Marine Management Organisation (MMO).The report shows discards of important stocks such as sole, cod, plaice, megrim and anglerfish have been drastically reduced in the trials carried out by the MMO through 2012 with North Sea and Read More…

Fish 2.0 tries to find new models to keep fish alive and feeding us

Co.EXISTFor the last 50 years, commercial fishing has meant massive trawlers catching as many fish as possible until they ran out. As fish populations have plummeted around the world, this business-as-usual has become a death sentence for species from cod in Canada to tuna in the tropics (PDF) (both fisheries are now functionally extinct). Because fisherman can now wipe out a tenth of a species Read More…

Only one half of wild salmon stocks are healthy

FISOnly half of the wild Pacific salmon stocks are healthy, according to the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership’s (SFP) first edition of its sustainability overview of fisheries. The five commercial species in the overview are chinook, chum, coho, pink, and sockeye salmon and the data are based on information from SFP’s online fisheries information resource FishSource.com.  Fifty-one per cent Read More…

California House members convene on Bay-Delta water plan

The Sacramento BeeWater brought California lawmakers together on Tuesday. Or, at least, it got a bunch of them in the same room.In two separate sessions on Capitol Hill, one held for House Republicans and one held for House Democrats, California Natural Resources Secretary John Laird briefed members of the state's congressional delegation on the touchy subject of the Bay Delta Conservation Plan, Read More…

Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Plan slammed with lawsuits

Sacramento Bee A planning document intended to resolve decades of water conflict in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta was instead greeted by a flood of lawsuits on Monday.At least seven lawsuits were filed in three counties against what is known as the Delta Plan. The plan, which lays out a long-term strategy for developing and managing the sensitive estuary, is required by 2009 state Read More…

San Joaquin Valley farmers get bleak report on water supply

Fresno Bee Growers jammed into the Westlands Water District field shop Tuesday to hear bad news: Expect a zero percent water allocation next February if winter doesn't start out stormy.A leader with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, which sells water to the farmers, described a bleak situation, but stopped short of predicting zero next year. Westlands general manager Tom Birmingham didn't Read More…

Soft tissue reconstructed on 380 million year old fish using…

Red Orbit Swedish, Australian and French researchers present for the first time miraculously preserved musculature of 380 million year old armored fish discovered in north-west Australia. This research will help scientists to better understand how neck and abdominal muscles evolved during the transition from jawless to jawed vertebrates. The scientific paper describing the discovery is published Read More…