Diving News

Loggerhead sea turtles dug their fewest nests in two decades on Florida beaches this year, their ninth straight year of decline, initial tallies show. That is making some scientists worry about the long-term survival of Florida's best-known sea turtle and one of its top ecotourism attractions. Brevard's beaches are the largest nesting site in the Western Hemisphere for loggerheads. Thousands of people are drawn to the Space Coast annually to go on "turtle walks"
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More than one in three of Europe's freshwater fish species faces extinction because ecosystems are being destroyed, the World Conservation Union said Thursday. Scientists from Switzerland and Germany have found that 200 of the 522 species of European freshwater fish are threatened by the rapid development of agriculture and industry over the past 100 years, the group said. The union, a network of nations, agencies and some 10,000 scientists and experts from 181 countries, said 12 species are already extinct
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The acting mayor of Tuktoyaktuk, N.W.T., is frustrated wildlife managers have allowed a group of beluga whales to get trapped in nearby lakes for the second winter in a row. Merven Gruben told CBC News that at least 40 beluga whales are currently swimming in small sections of open water on the frozen Husky Lakes, a chain of lakes between Tuktoyaktuk and Inuvik
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A WWF survey has discovered several marine turtle nesting sites on the beaches of Senegal, prompting calls from conservationists to improve protection of the endangered species. The survey - conducted by WWF staff, Senegalese wildlife officials and the local community between July and September - discovered nine new green turtle nests on the beaches of Joal-Fadiouth in the Saloum Delta south of the capital, Dakar. Turtle tracks in the sand left by female turtles were also discovered at nearby Palmarine Beach as well as at Langue de Barbarie at the mouth of the Senegal River in the northern part of the country
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The mysterious "mass suicide" of 152 dolphins washed up on Iran's coast over the past month has alarmed environmentalists, with the blame pointed at regional fishing practices, officials said on Monday. In September, 79 striped dolphins were found washed up near Jask port in southern Iran, and last week another 73 were found dead in the same area. Pictures of rows of the corpses have been widely featured in Iranian newspapers, which said the dolphins had "committed suicide" -- behaviour the animals have occasionally exhibited in the wild. "The suicide of dolphins on Jask's coast continues," Iran's state run-newspaper wrote on Saturday. "Locals tried to put the animals back in the water but they refused to return
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A vividly coloured fish could be the key to saving the Caribbean's coral reefs from plummeting into terminal decline, scientists claim. Their research forecasts that reefs risk being damaged beyond repair by the influx of seaweed. But urgent action such as protecting parrotfish, which graze upon the floral invaders, may prevent the ecosystems from reaching this tipping point
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Italy, France, Japan and Spain are guilty of the biggest violations of international quotas for bluefin tuna fishing, a report claimed on Wednesday. Countries are assigned fishing quotas by the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) to help avert the eventual extinction of the fish, which is highly prized for Japanese sushi and sashimi. Italy fished 7,500 tonnes more than allowed in 2006, followed by France with 3,770 more and Japan with 3,550 tonnes, said the report, titled "The Plunder of the BlueFin Tuna in the Mediterranean Sea." In 2007, Italy, Spain and France were the biggest offenders
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Tehran - The mysterious "mass suicide" of 152 dolphins washed up on Iran's coast over the past month has alarmed environmentalists, with the blame being placed on regional fishing practices, officials said on Monday. At the end of September, 79 striped dolphins were found washed up off the port of Jask in southern Iran, and last week another 73 dolphins were found dead in the same area. Pictures of rows of dolphin corpses in the sand have been widely featured in Iranian newspapers, which said the dolphins had "committed suicide" - behaviour the animals have exhibited on occasions in the wild
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The oldest known fossils of jellyfish have been found in rocks in Utah that are more than 500 million years old, a new study reports. The fossils are an unusual discovery because soft-bodied creatures, such as jellyfish, rarely survive in the fossil record, unlike animals with hard shells or bones
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Coral reefs would receive stronger protections under a bill the Senate Commerce Committee unanimously approved today. Sen. Daniel K. Inouye, D-Hawai'i, the bill's sponsor and chairman of the committee, called coral reef preservation "vital" to national interests, especially for fishing, tourism and coastal communities. "Coral reef-related services and resources are worth billions of dollars each year to the U.S. economy and economies worldwide," he said. Coral reefs are critical for Hawai'i, which is host to more than 410,000 acres of living reef around the main islands alone, Inouye said. The bill, which would reauthorize a law enacted seven years ago, would make it illegal to damage corals. It would exempt scientific research, fishing, emergency responses and other activities authorized by federal and state laws
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