SPF GBR

Coral soaks up the UV rays to protect the reef citizens.

UV has a habit of zapping DNA and triggering thymine dimers, pretty much irreversible snags in the flowing template of life. Apparently that calcium carbonate isn't just for swanky-looking underwater condominiums, it can protect in any form right down to ground up slurry.

Talk about panoramic...

Hammerheads have 360 degree vision.

Guess there's no sneaking up these guys.

That's amoray

Moray eel stirs up truly Gigerlicious ideas with second set of jaws.

One of those amazing biological wonders that has gone unchecked, it's now known that moray eels have a second set of functioning jaws deep in their throats that snap forward to drag prey further down its gullet.

I love science.

Squid Invasion Followup

Dispatches from the cephalapod wars.

I'm far too amused that one of the squid experts is named Dr. Zeidberg.

The Invasion has begun

Giant squid launch shock and awe campaign.

The Monterey Bay Aquarium is like heaven on earth, I can see why they'd attack there first.

That is all.

Fish Mining

See here a new US effort to open Federal Waters for aquaculture. This is being received with a lot of apprehension. There's the depletion aspect as well as the fact a lot of our terrestrial pollutants end up right in that area. 'Mining' a resource usually refers to the idea of exploiting all there is to take and then moving on as quickly as possible, which certainly should be a concern with this news with respect to the environment rather than the product itself as is the case in wild caught stocks. Here we're talking about positional resources such as nutrients in the water (which likely come from land), space and impact to top tier predators. It's a lot to consider, but does merit at least a hard look when looking ahead to a more sound environmental approach. Dealing with a trade deficit also is a two-way street; we might import a lot of fish, but we export any potential environmental damage to other nations as well.