Federal scientists disagree on why Atlantic cod struggled to recover

CanadaBy Randy BoswellMay 3, 2012Two teams of federal fisheries scientists are clashing over their interpretations of why Atlantic cod struggled to recover following the population's devastating collapse in the early 1990s, raising fresh questions about the best way to sustain the resource in the future.Less than a year ago, a high-profile study published by Department of Fisheries and Oceans Read More…

Sustainable fisheries fund launched

Fish News EUMay 2, 2012The Sustainable Fisheries Partnership (SFP) has announced the formation of a new fund to support fisheries improvement projects (FIPs) around the world. The fund will be used to: Work with producers and the seafood supply chain to initiate the development of more FIPs in critical areas. Train producers and exporters on how to lead and report on their FIPs, and Read More…

Killer fish looked half shark, half tuna

Discovery NewsBy Jennifer Viegas May 2, 2012The appropriately named Rebellatrix, a shark-like predatory fish that partly resembled tuna, terrorized ocean dwellers 240 million years ago.Rebellatrix, meaning the rebel coelacanth, is described in the latest issue of the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. Coelacanths are iconic fishes today, well known as living fossils. Coelacanths are thought of Read More…

Reef sharks and humans don’t mix

The New York TimesBy Douglas M. MainMay 2, 2012Sharks may have more reason to fear people than ever. In reefs surrounding Pacific islands inhabited by people, there are 90 to 97 percent fewer sharks than in similar areas without people, according to a study in the journal Conservation Biology.“Wherever there are humans, the reef shark numbers are much, much lower,” said one of the study’s Read More…

Global ocean drifter deployed off Santa Cruz Island in California

NOAA NewsMay 2, 2012Yesterday, two students from Oak Park High School in Oak Park, Calif. deployed a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) ocean drifter into the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary, contributing to a global array that yields vital environmental data. Calvin Earp and Nirupam Nigam deployed the buoy from the Sanctuary's research vessel Shearwater. "We're Read More…

Fishermen fire shot in California water wars

Courthouse NewsBy William DotingaMay 3, 2012 California fishermen and crabbers call the federal decision to divert water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta "a charade devoid of any effective environmental review," in Federal Court. The Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Associations and the San Francisco Crab Boat Owners Association sued the U.S. Department of the Interior and the Read More…

Canada water pact aids salmon, hydro

ETCBy Steven JohnsonMay 3, 2012BPA and the British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority have signed an agreement that officials say will help better manage water flows on the upper Columbia River in Canada.That could help BPA as it tries to control hydro and wind generation, while safeguarding the region’s $800 million annual investment in fish and wildlife protection. “This agreement supports Read More…

Squaxin Island Tribe releases salmon to find out where they go

Northwest Indian Fisheries CommissionMay 2, 2012The Squaxin Island Tribe released thousands of juvenile coho into the Deschutes River to see where they go. “In order to find out where the good coho habitat is in the Deschutes, we need to put some coho in the river,” said Scott Stetlzner, salmon biologist for the tribe.Increasingly low runs of coho to the Deschutes in recent decades mean there Read More…

California set for salmon gold rush

Fish News EUMay 2, 2012May 1 saw California’s commercial salmon fleet ready to launch from dozens of ports with high expectation for the biggest commercial salmon season the state has seen since 2005.According to the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations (PCFFA), natural resource managers have predicted an ocean abundance of some 820,000 fall-run Chinook from the Sacramento Read More…

Officials mark completion of Delta-Mendota Canal/California Aqueduct…

ACWABy Lisa Lien-MagerMay 5, 2012Federal, state and local partners marked the completion Wednesday of an intertie connecting the Delta-Mendota Canal and the California Aqueduct five miles west of Tracy.The intertie connects the federal and state canals through two 108-inch-diameter pipes and a pumping plant with a pumping capacity of 467 cubic feet per second. The connection between the federal Read More…