Little fish that matter--forage

Scientists are now telling us that forage fish matter. It's not a new finding, but it's getting new emphasis.

What are forage fish and why are they important? Forage fish are "small to medium-sized species that include anchovies, herring, menhaden, and sardines." They're important because they "play a crucial role in marine food webs, preying on plankton and transferring energy up to marine mammals, seabirds and larger fish" according to the Lenfest Forage Fish Task Force.

I think they're right overall, but something is troubling me about this notion. Everything is forage for something, so why the special emphasis for sardines and their like? Big fish are forage for marine mammals, and small marine mammals (seals) are forage for bigger marine mammals (orcas). Even the great whales are "forage" for chemosynthetic tube worms after the whales die and fall to the bottom of the ocean, and depletion of whales is a problem for the ecology of chemosynthetic tube worms.

To me, it seems like we're focusing the term "forage" on the prey of fish and birds and etc. that we like the most. Sport fishers that like to catch salmon and billfish want to save the forage of their preferred catch. Bird watchers want to save the food of the birds they like. I studied chemosynthetic tube worms (and clams) as a graduate student, and I want to save the forage of these worms, so whales are my favorite "forage" animals. So to me, save the forage means make sure lots of whales die natural deaths and fall to the bottom of the ocean. Harumph.

Tweet

Innovative use of twitter in a policy forum

Tweets can seem silly, like the proverbial tree falling with no one listening. So Greenpeace projected tweets with a hashtag for a tuna managment meeting on the wall near the coffee cart...at the tuna management meeting.

Think about it, YOUR WORDS from your computer projected in a live stream in front of the delegates to an international policy forum in the remote Pacific Island of Guam. I think someone is hearing these tweets as they fall!!

It helps that the twitter board has a "mesmerizing virtual aquarium" as the backdrop.

Reports are that the delegates are reading the tweets, as some emotions have been aroused.

It’s an absolute hit! It’s loved and hated, depending on whether you’re asking a tuna plunderer or a delegate who’s also fighting to save out tuna. And that’s the whole idea.

We’ve received thanks and praise from many here for giving you the chance to speak directly to them. There are encouraging countries and individuals and there are tweets chastising those who act as roadblocks to sensible reforms.

There are favourite tweets, and there are tweets that have made some delegates sweat – we’ve been asked to take some down, we’ve been asked to repeat some - usually the same tweet will draw opposite reactions depending which side of the sustainability fence you’re sitting on.

Tweet

People rescuing stranded dolphins

I don't know anything about this video, but it's good to see people making an effort to do a good thing, reportedly on a beach in Brazil. When it's personal, people usually rise to the occasion.

Maybe these dolphins are sick and beached themselves again later--who knows what happened--but for these few minutes people who saw a problem pitched in and helped.

Tweet

Weather extremes linked to human-caused climate change

From Nature Climate Change, a real bona fide scientific journal:

The ostensibly large number of recent extreme weather events has triggered intensive discussions, both in- and outside the scientific community, on whether they are related to global warming. Here, we review the evidence and argue that for some types of extreme — notably heatwaves, but also precipitation extremes — there is now strong evidence linking specific events or an increase in their numbers to the human influence on climate. For other types of extreme, such as storms, the available evidence is less conclusive, but based on observed trends and basic physical concepts it is nevertheless plausible to expect an increase.

Yes, it seems obvious, but now it's more than apparent. (photo: Lake Geneva ice storm this year near my home).

Tweet

Voyage to the bottom of the sea

Explorer and film-maker James Cameron just completed the first-ever solo dive to the deepest point in the ocean in the Mariana Trench.

I can imagine a bit of what this felt like, I once was privileged to dive 10,000 feet to a hydrothermal vent site off the Galapagos Islands. The Mariana Trench, hallowed water for oceanographers, is about 35,800 feet. I expect the National Geographic writeup will include an exact measurement using modern technology and stunning visuals. Stay tuned.

For now, cheers for a grand adventure and adventurer, proving that the age of heroic exploration is not over.

Tweet