Exploring ecosystems takes plenty of guts

Sydney Morning HeraldBy Nicky PhillipsJune 7, 2012 At the headquarters of the Secretariat of the Pacific Community in Noumea, Elodie Vourey pulls the stomach of a bigeye tuna from a large plastic bag and puts it on a white tray. With tweezers in one hand and a scalpel in the other, the laboratory assistant carves a deep incision into the fleshy organ, revealing the fish's last meal. Inside, a Read More…

North Coast Marine Protected Areas Adopted in Final Coastal Ocean…

Fish & Game NewsJune 6, 2012 A major milestone was reached today in the effort to establish Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) along California’s coast. In a 3-0 vote, the California Fish and Game Commission (Commission) today approved and adopted regulations for the north coast MPAs, completing the network of MPAs in California’s open coastal waters, from Mexico to the Oregon state line. The Read More…

Mercury Bigger Worry Than Radiation in Tuna

Huffington PostBy Michele SimonJune 5, 2012 Few things get a media frenzy going like the combination of two words: radiation and food. Despite the ubiquitous availability of truly unhealthy foods 24/7, just raise the specter of radioactivity on our plates, and people suddenly get very serious about what they are eating. And the media fans the flames. So when scientists reported traces of Read More…

Eating fish to keep your vision sharp in old age

New York Daily NewsJune 5, 2012 In yet another study touting the benefits of omega-3s in healthy aging, a new study out of Canada has found that choosing fish for dinner could help stave off age-related vision loss. In normal aging, vision loss results from the accumulation of a toxic molecule at the back of the eyes which builds up in the retina. But after feeding lab mice with an omega-3 Read More…

NOAA to consider classifying herring species as ‘threatened’

Gloucester TimesBy Richard GainesJune 3, 2012 As part of the legal process of determining whether river herring, a close cousin of the commercially important Atlantic herring, qualifies for legal protection as a threatened species, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is launching a set of workshops in Gloucester on June 22. The protection was requested last August by the Natural Read More…

Eating Fish Can Protect Against Alzheimer’s

Fisher Center for Alzheimer's Research FoundationJune 4, 2012 Eating fish has long been linked with heart health. Now new research adds to growing evidence that fish is good for the brain as well. Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh found that people who ate baked or broiled fish just once a week had a lower risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. They were also at lower risk of mild Read More…

Excess chinook there for the taking

Columbia Basin BulletinJune 1, 2012 Fisheries officials on Tuesday again downgraded their estimate of the number of adult upriver spring chinook salmon that are expected to return to the mouth of the Columbia, dropping the projection from 216,500 to 209,400 fish. In preseason estimate, federal, state and tribal experts had predicted that the 2012 return would total as many as 314,200 upriver Read More…

California Peripheral canal coming soon

San Francisco ChronicleJune 3, 2012 While the future of a proposed high-speed railroad to move people in California remains in doubt, a proposed giant canal to move water from Northern California to the south appears almost assured - with a little help from Washington. Now the questions are: How big? And whose hand is on the spigot? The project - 30 years in the making, including six years of Read More…

SF sale, treatment plant issues run like current through Modesto area

Modesto BeeJune 2, 2012 Water goes everywhere. It leaks, it gushes, it overflows. And these days it's seeping into and roaring through the community discussion on several levels. Today we provide updates and some thoughts on three water-related subjects: 1. The proposed sale of Modesto Irrigation District Water to San Francisco: The MID is waiting for a revised draft contract from San Read More…

Delta diversion gates near Walnut Grove stuck in open position

Sacramento BeeBy Matt WeiserJune 1, 2012 Water diversion gates in the Delta near Walnut Grove became stuck open Tuesday, posing a potential threat to juvenile salmon. The Delta cross channel gates, operated by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, divert Sacramento River water into the interior of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, then to pumps near Tracy. The gates are normally closed on weekdays Read More…