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Lionfish Found at Disturbing Depths

by Megan Gannon, News Editor Live Science The relentless scourge of lionfish has crept to unexpected depths: Off the coast of Florida, researchers say they found the venomous invader thriving around a sunken ship at 300 feet (91 meters) below the water’s surface. [singlepic id=945 w=320 h=240 float=right] “We expected some populations of lionfish at that depth, but their numbers and size were a surprise,” researcher Stephanie Green, of Oregon State University, said in a statement. Last month, Green and colleagues investigated the seafloor near Fort Lauderdale, Fla., in a deep-diving Antipodes sub. At 300 feet (91 m) deep, the team witnessed a large number of the spiny fish near the intentionally sunken Bill Boyd cargo ship, an artificial reef created in 1986. [See Photos of Lionfish & Other Freaky Fish] While lionfish are typically … Read entire article »

Filed under: Conservation, Diver, Divetalking, Earth, Education, extinction, Featured, Fish, Lionfish, Preservation, Reefs, Reference, Report

Belize to export invasive species, lionfish

9th July 2013, Placencia, Belize – Along Belize’s world heritage site-listed barrier reef, coastal communities are making waves in fight against a rapacious predator. At 11am on Tuesday, 2 July, the first box of filleted invasive lionfish left Belize international airport bound for Minneapolis, Minnesota. Its contents: 5.2 kg of the invasive lionfish, Pterois volitans, a species that poses one of the greatest threats to the sustainability of coral reefs and fisheries throughout the Caribbean region. [singlepic id=941 w=320 h=240 float=left] First released accidentally into the Caribbean near Florida by aquarists in the 1980s, the predatory fish from the Indo-Pacific has no natural predators in the Atlantic, and an exploding population is steadily eating its way across the entire Caribbean Sea. From the Bahamas to Barbados, coral reefs – and the traditional fisheries they … Read entire article »

Filed under: Adv. Open Water, Artificial Reefs, Conservation, Divemaster, Diver, Divetalking, Earth, Education, extinction, Featured, Fish, Lionfish, ocean, Open Water, Preservation, Products, Reefs, Reference

Federal rule could upend states’ shark fin bans

[singlepic id=939 w=320 h=240 float=center] SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Several members of Congress representing coastal states are voicing concern about a proposed federal regulation that could pre-empt state bans on buying or selling shark fins. Democratic Rep. Jared Huffman of California is being joined by representatives of New York, Florida and Guam in seeking changes to a proposal they say would take away a state tool to protect shark populations. California, Hawaii, New York and several other states have passed regulations on the sale and trade of shark fins, which are used in a soup considered an Asian delicacy. California’s ban on the sale, trade and possession of shark fins will go into effect Monday after a compromise allowed time for restaurants and businesses to use up their existing supplies. A letter from the … Read entire article »

Filed under: Adv. Open Water, Artificial Reefs, Conservation, Divetalking, Earth, Education, extinction, Featured, ocean, Open Water, Preservation, Products, Recognition, Reference, Report, Sharks, Stories

[singlepic id=938 w=320 h=240 float=center] Follow this link to read the story of how this dolphin died. Then return to Divetalking to share your comments and thoughts on the subject with your Divetalking community.   … Read entire article »

Filed under: Conservation, Divetalking, Dolphin, Earth, Education, extinction, Featured, ocean, Report

Goliath Grouper conservation survey

Please consider taking the time to complete this survey. It’s rather long but only took me about 15 minutes to complete. It was sent to saltwater fishing license holders in Florida. I’m disturbed by the sample of stakeholders for the survey. I hope that divers will participate to get a more diverse sample of opinions. Commercial fisherman are of the opinion that there are now too many goliath groupers and want to open the season to kill them. They complain that Goliath steal their catch. Scientific evidence has shown that although goliath grouper have made a miraculous recovery, the breeders are still rather young and cannot handle the pressure of a harvest. Click here to take the SURVEY     … Read entire article »

Filed under: Artificial Reefs, Conservation, Divetalking, Earth, Education, extinction, Featured, Fish, Grouper, ocean, Open Water, Preservation, Promotions, Reefs, Reference, Report

Manatees Are Dying In Droves, Florida Says ‘Too Bad’

A record number of endangered manatees are dying in Florida’s algae-choked waterways. So far this year, 582 manatees have died, more year-to-date than any year on record, according to preliminary numbers from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC). Pat Rose is an aquatic biologist and the executive director of the Save the Manatee Club, an organization devoted to preserving the animal. In his interview with TakePart, Rose reports the estimated minimum population of these gentle beasts is only 3,100 adults. That means their population has decreased by more than 10 percent in just four months. A total of 247 of these have died in the southwest of the state due to an explosion of a red-hued algae called Karenia brevis, also known as a red tide. This pesky microorganism produces neurotoxins … Read entire article »

Filed under: Alert, Conservation, Divetalking, extinction, Featured, Manatee, Preservation, Reference, Report, Stories

Submit news worthy event for 1000’s to see

So you believe you have something that is publishable? Are you privileged to new that is currently happening or worthy event occurring in your area that you would like to share? Send your story or news to story@divetalking.com Our Master Editor will review your submission. Candidates submissions of events and news are reviewed my the Master Editor and any submission chosen is then sent to the Chief Editor. If the Editor in Chief likes your submission, we may contact you for further details and publish your story/news on divetalking.com Subjects submitted should be related to ocean awareness, conservation or local events yet can be any subject if related to water, fresh or salt. For example: Diver finds lost ship, or whales found offshore, turtles begin breeding, and so on. They can be a long time … Read entire article »

Filed under: 3D, Adv. Open Water, Artificial Reefs, Badge, Boats, Candidate, Cave, Cavern, Computers, Conservation, Convention, Dive Planner, Divemaster, Diver, Divetalking, Dolphin, Drift, Earth, Education, Emergency/FirstAid, Events, Expo, extinction, Featured, Fish, Grouper, Indonesia, Instructor, Insurance, Killer Whale, Lionfish, Manatee, Manta Rays, Master Diver, ocean, Open Water, ozone, Photography, Preservation, Products, Promotions, Quiz, RDP, Rebreather, Rebreathers, Recall, Recognition, Recreational Dive Planner, Reefs, Reference, Regulators, Report, Rescue, Rescue Diver, SeaLions, Sharks, Shrimp, Specialties, Springs, Stories, Summit, Training, Travel, Tuna, Turtles, Videography, Whales, Whaleshark, Wrecks

Blue Fin Tuna

[singlepic id=917 w=320 h=240 float=center] TOKYO (AP) — It is the king of sushi, one of the most expensive fish in the world — and dwindling so rapidly that some fear it could vanish from restaurant menus within a generation. Japanese Chefs Remain Calm Over Dwindling Tuna Supply   With the recent $1.76 million sale of a single bluefin tuna in Tokyo, bluefin tuna – the poster child for sustainable seafood – is front page news again. These apex predators fetch such high prices because their populations are too low to support the demand, primarily fueled by the sushi market. Sustainable Alternatives To Bluefin Tuna   Bluefin tuna just can’t catch a break. Weeks after it was reported that overfishing had reduced the Pacific population of the fish, which is popular in sushi bars, by over 96 … Read entire article »

Filed under: Alert, Conservation, Divetalking, Earth, Education, extinction, Fish, ocean, Preservation, Reference, Tuna

Leatherback Sea Turtle Could Be Extinct Within 20 Years at Last Stronghold in the Pacific Ocean

An international team led by the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) has documented a 78 percent decline in the number of nests of the critically endangered leatherback sea turtle (Dermochelys coriacea) at the turtle’s last stronghold in the Pacific Ocean. [singlepic id=916 w=320 h=240 float=center] The study, published online Feb. 26 in the Ecological Society of America’s scientific online journal Ecosphere, reveals leatherback nests at Jamursba Medi Beach in Papua Barat, Indonesia — which accounts for 75 percent of the total leatherback nesting in the western Pacific — have fallen from a peak of 14,455 in 1984 to a low of 1,532 in 2011. Less than 500 leatherbacks now nest at this site annually. Thane Wibbels, Ph.D., a professor of reproductive biology at UAB and member of a research team that includes … Read entire article »

Filed under: Artificial Reefs, Conservation, Divetalking, Earth, Education, extinction, Featured, Leatherback, ocean, Preservation, Reefs, Reference, Stories, Turtles

**** ALERT **** Must See and Comment

This is an island in the ocean about 2000 km from any other coast line. Nobody lives on it, only birds and yet ............... You will not believe your eyes!!!!!!! Post your comments below. What should we do? What should be done? … Read entire article »

Filed under: Adv. Open Water, Alert, Divetalking, Earth, Education, Emergency/FirstAid, Events, extinction, Featured, ocean, Preservation, Reference, Report, Training

FWC commission trying to pass legislative to close fishery…

Tomorrow is a big day for fishermen who like to eat what they catch. At stake The FWC commission is trying to pass legislative to create a mechanism that grants them the ability to close a fishery to harvest not just for biological reasons but for “marketing purposes”, “tourism strategy” and in effect any personal or political reasons without any scientific justification or checks on their actions. That’s right, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission, Bonefish Tarpon Trust and other special interest groups are trying to push an agenda to classify fish such as Permit and Cobia as Gamefish or Sportfish. Doing so would eliminate harvest for food and turning the fishery in to catch and release only and thus illegal to harvest by spear. Cobia and Permit are great table fair food fish and neither are in jeopardy of over fishing or … Read entire article »

Filed under: Alert, Conservation, Diver, Divetalking, Earth, Education, Events, extinction, Featured, Fish, ocean, Reefs, Reference, Report

Save Manta Rays – Sign the Petition – Make 2013 The beginning to the end

[singlepic id=838 w=320 h=240 float=center] [singlepic id=836 w=320 h=240 float=center] Save Manta Rays World Leaders making 2013 the year for Manta Rays??? Posted by Greg Heighes (cause leader) Tell your friends about this Share this Note [singlepic id=837 w=320 h=240 float=center] Sir Richard Branson, Her Deepness Sylvia Earle and the Ocean Elders have joined the crusade to protect manta rays in 2013. The OceanElders are trying to get every country in the world to ban the wholesale slaughter of giant manta rays. Richard Branson does “The Manta” On Richard Branson’s personal blog, he explains that in 2013, “our attention will focus on the way we are destroying the ocean”. This is an important year for manta rays. Later this year countries around the world will vote whether to list mantas on the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species. This will be an … Read entire article »

Filed under: Conservation, Divetalking, Donation, Earth, Education, Events, extinction, Featured, Fish, Manta Rays, ocean, Preservation, Promotions, Rescue, Training

Killer whales trapped in Quebec sea ice

[singlepic id=834 w=320 h=240 float=center] MONTREAL (AP) — A community in Quebec’s Far North is calling for outside help to free about a dozen killer whales trapped under a vast stretch of sea ice. Locals in Inukjuak said Read and see more at the following link... Associated Press   … Read entire article »

Filed under: Dolphin, Earth, Education, Events, extinction, Featured, Fish, Killer Whale, ocean, Open Water, Preservation, Reference, Report

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, FWC – Lionfish

[singlepic id=819 w=320 h=240 float=left] [singlepic id=820 w=320 h=240 float=left] [singlepic id=821 w=320 h=240 float=left] [singlepic id=822 w=320 h=240 float=left] Above are pages from a recently published pamphlet by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, FWC. Stop by your local dive shop to pick up your copy. FWC References: Lionfish – Pterois volitans News Releases Lionfish (Pterois volitans, Pterois miles) Frequently Asked Questions Harvesting and Reporting Lionfish … Read entire article »

Filed under: Artificial Reefs, Conservation, Diver, Divetalking, Earth, Education, extinction, Featured, Fish, Lionfish, ocean, Open Water, Preservation, Promotions, Reefs, Reference, Report, Training, Volunteer

Recreational Use of Artificial Reefs Contributes $253 Million to Six Florida Counties

By: Michelle Klug Many Floridians and visiting tourists enjoy the crystal blue waters that provide sunny days of fishing, diving and leisure time. Researchers have found that popular boating destinations are the artificial reefs that have been built around Florida. Artificial reefs attract locals and tourists alike, pulling in $253 million to six Florida counties in one year, as well as providing habitat for sealife. These infrastructures are built using man-made materials such as concrete blocks, tires, PVC piping, old sunken ships or sunken oil rigs. They provide a habitat for an array of algae, coral, fish and shellfish, as well as preventing erosion. IFAS researcher Bob Swett and his team investigated the economic impact artificial reefs provide, as well as who is using the reefs and what components are generating economic profit … Read entire article »

Filed under: Artificial Reefs, Conservation, Diver, Divetalking, Education, extinction, Featured, Fish, Grouper, Lionfish, Manatee, ocean, Open Water, Photography, Preservation, Recognition, Reefs, Reference, Report, Training, Wrecks

Important ** Please Read ** The Cove

The Cove Click HERE to watch Sign the Petition. Spread the Word. We are just shy of our petition goal! Once we hit half a million signatures, we will take our petition to President Obama, Vice President Biden, the Japanese Ambassador to the U.S., the Prime Minister and Minister of Health in Japan. The more people who sign, the more impact we’ll have. Sign the petition below and encourage your friends to take part. The Cove: Sign the Petition Help Save Japan’s Dolphins … Read entire article »

Filed under: Conservation, Divetalking, Dolphin, Donation, Earth, Education, extinction, Featured, Fish, Preservation, Reference, Report, Rescue

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