Whale sharks pose no threat to humans (Image: GETTY) 1. The date of August 30 was proclaimed at the Second International Whale Shark Conference in Mexico in 2012. It is now celebrated by aquariums and wildlife organisations worldwide. 2. Whale sharks are sharks, not whales. They are the largest fish on this planet and are …
For thousands of years — perhaps hundreds of thousands — a sizable coral reef has stretched across the seafloor in the Atlantic Ocean, near the southeastern part of the U.S. And its existence remained a well-hidden secret until a recent deep-sea expedition brought the thriving ecosystem to light. Scientists on board the research vessel (RV) …
In Photo: Whale sharks, more popularly known as butanding, in the Philippines. File Photo For juvenile whale sharks—or at least to a few which scientists were able to observe—the Sulu and Bohol Seas and the waters in between are important feeding grounds. A globally endangered species, the behavior of whale sharks, locally called butanding, largely remains …
More than 30 times this year, the federal government has received reports of whales tangled in fishing gear along the West Coast. Sometimes the whales manage to wriggle free. Other times you see heart-rending pictures on the news or a rescue mission. The culprit often involves Dungeness crab pot lines. Now Oregon crabbers are working …
he Great Barrier Reef is Australia’s natural treasure, one of the seven natural wonders of the world, and the largest living structure on the planet. Sprawling at 344,000 square kilometers, the ecosystem is composed of 3,000 individual reef system and houses a variety of marine plants and animals including 4,000 species of mollusks, 1,500 species …
Microsoft agrees with Sebastian the crab from The Little Mermaid. It’s better down where it’s wetter. The company’s new undersea data center off the coast of Scotland includes a couple of underwater cameras that give web viewers a glimpse of the subsurface environs. “We installed two video cameras on the outside of the pressure vessel to observe environmental conditions near our …
Larval fish of ‘Dendrochirus.’ Japanese underwater photographer Ryo Minemizu has dedicated his 20-year career to capturing some of the smallest organisms in the sea—plankton. Shooting primarily in the shadow of Mount Fuji in the Osezaki sea, Minemizu goes deep underwater to discover the beauty and diversity of these microscopic creatures. His dedication sees him spending two to …
Rodney Bursiel won the grand prize in the 2018 Scuba Diving Magazine underwater photography contest for this upside-down photo showing a whale just below the surface. (Rodney Bursiel / Scuba Diving Magazine) From a clownflsh fluttering off the coast of Indonesia to a tiny octopus clinging to a glass tube, the undersea world provides no …
Coral reef slope with damselfish and shark in background at ChesterfieldBASTIEN PREUSS On the northeast side of Australia sits the archipelago of New Caledonia, a French territory in the southwest Pacific Ocean. Originally occupied by the Lapita people, the area was re-christened New Caledonia by Captain James Cook based on its resemblance to parts of Scotland. After …
Well-meaning beach-goers are being warned not to return beached dolphins to the sea. Dead dolphins were found on two Pembrokeshire beaches after people tried to refloat them. RSPCA Cymru said cetaceans often move on to land because they are seriously ill and in some cases, to die. Returning them to the sea can be “hugely …