Sea Monster

Author: Emmett Duffy

  • A fish out of water — and lookin’ for love

    “Fish gotta swim”, as Julie put it in explaining why she can’t stop lovin’ dat man in the 1927 musical Show Boat. And we all know what she meant. But do they? Not this one. The Pacific Leaping Blenny (yes, that is its real name) wants to do anything but swim. It literally flees from…

  • After six millennia, the elusive Northwest Passage is open for business — and conflict

    The race is on. The European Space Agency (ESA) reports that the Arctic is  into another year of below-average sea ice cover, and that the big melt has opened two major shipping routes. After five centuries of imperial intrigue, papal declarations, naval battles, failed commercial ventures, and rueful ends to frostbitten voyages, the elusive Northwest…

  • Shark in the streets of Puerto Rico. (OK, we ARE making this up.)

    Late-breaking erratum: My initial suspicion of this one was confirmed by our intrepid readers and commentors Mark and David. It is, in fact, bogus. Thanks Guys! Doh! Just missed shark week on this one. I am going somewhat against my better instincts as a scientist cum journalist in reproducing this without a full background check.…

  • Blue sway

    Tired of sitting at the computer? If you’re one of the great majority of us who, alas, can’t just toss it all and walk out and plunge right into the real ocean, a passable substitute is the fantastic footage in this inspiring video from award-winning surf filmmaker Jack McCoy. Not Paul McCartney’s finest moment with…

  • What if you really were ruler of the world? Here’s a taste.

    Here’s a little something on the lighter side (or not, if you start thinking about it . . .) for a lazy Saturday morning: I’m not a gamer — missed that generation — but this looks mildly intriguing: a strategic battle of ideas and action for the future of the planet: eco types vs free…

  • Bluefin land on the Red List: SeaMonster interviews the expert team

    Every five or ten years since 1963 a growing number of wild animal and plant species have been assessed for their risk of extinction to provide hard data useful to conservation and management. The unlucky ones found to be slipping go on the “Red List” overseen by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature…

  • Bali-wood turns to the ocean

    [Sorry, I couldn’t resist.] May I say that this video is awesome! This is the sort of thing that reminds me why I got into the marine biology business in the first place. Plus, hard on the heels of shark week, it provides lots of great material for my planned grand opening of (wait for…

  • Resurrection of a collapsed ecosystem: Cod rebound in North Atlantic

    The catastrophic collapse of the mighty cod in the early 1990s was an iconic disaster in the history of humankind’s relationship with the ocean. New research now shows that, after decades of near extinction, cod is rebounding and dragging the collapsed ocean ecosystem back with it — bringing a rare and welcome ray of hope…

  • Government scientist who reported dead polar bears is suspended

    Remember all the hoopla about polar bears facing a grim future as Arctic warming eliminates the pack ice that the bears live on? Polar bears went viral and became the poster children for the impending loss of biodiversity in the face of climate change. It all started when biologist Charles Monnett, employee of what was…

  • How leaders in the real world are dealing with climate change

    We hear a lot of hot air, if you’ll pardon the pun, about whether the climate is changing or not. But this is not a game — climate change is already affecting people throughout the world. And those who have something real to lose, as opposed to political support of the tea party and coal…