Author: Helen Scales
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Oceans at Rio +20
Next week sees the start of Rio +20. It’s the follow up to the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro and hopes are high among some conservationists and scientists that this time positive change will be made for the oceans. You can keep up to date with the blue issues as they unfold at the…
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Giant headbutting fish
The world’s biggest parrotfish – the bumphead parrotfish Bolbomepoton muricatum – have been caught on camera for the first time headbutting each other. [vimeo]http://vimeo.com/43626409#[/vimeo] The finding was published in the open access PlosOne (so go have a read) and as Roldan Muñoz and his colleagues point out, the only way they got to observe this crazy behaviour…
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New underwater sculptures from Jason de Caires Taylor
Underwater sculptor Jason deCaries Taylor has unveiled pictures of his latest works at the MUSA (the Museo Subacuático de Arte) in Cancun, Mexico. They include this stunning piece called Phoenix. As Jason says: Constructed from high strength pH-neutral cement and incorporating tensile stainless steel…
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The Endless Summer
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zLYHu4dL7kA[/youtube] Check out a few digitally remastered clips from The Endless Summer and that iconic sound track by the Sandals.
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Surfing N’Gor right
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hlnz_OeCxbk[/youtube] The 1966 surf classic, The Endless Summer, followed two Californians as they chased the summer around the world, surfing as they went. One of the iconic waves they surfed was the n’gor right in Senegal, just off the îsle de n’gor. I’ve not surfed it myself yet but I can see it from my hotel.…
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Weird seahorse cousins found in stone for first time
My seahorse fossil-finding friend, Jure Žalohar, has made another amazing discovery. Back in 2009 Jure and his friend Tomas found the first fossils of extinct seahorses in his home country of Slovenia. His latest find is the world’s first fossilized pygmy pipehorse – a…
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Senegal cancels foreign fishing deals
Encouraging news emerged last week for West African fisheries as the new government of Senegal announced it has cancelled all deals with foreign fishing companies. All foreign-owned trawlers are to unload their final catch and leave for good. The problem of industrial…
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Happy Birthday Genie Clark
Today is Eugenie Clark’s 90th Birthday. HAPPY BIRTHDAY GENIE! To celebrate I’m reposting my story about meeting my shark hero last year. They say never meet your heros, but after meeting one of mine I can thoroughly recommend it. During my recent visit to Mote Marine Labs in Florida I had the chance to meet Eugenie Clark –…
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Stunning reminders of why the oceans are awesome
Here’s a few of the amazing pictures that won this year’s underwater photography contest run by the University of Miami Rosentiel School. Make sure you check them out in their full glory at the 2012 Winners website.
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Teeny tiny glowing sharks could be missing link
Take a tour of sharks around the oceans and you’ll find that around one in ten has the ability to glow, sparkle and twinkle its own eerie light. Some of the tiniest and most mysterious sharks – the pygmy and lantern sharks – are the subject of a new study looking into how glowing sharks…