A team of researchers from the Regional Fisheries Research Centre of Puerto Morelos and the Multidisciplinary Unit of Teaching and Research of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) has developed technology for the commercial use of lionfish (Pterois sp). The goal is to obtain fish feed from this fish for fattening yellowtail snapper that [...]
The Republic of Korea hosted the 15th International Conference on Harmful Algae (ICHA), October 29 – November 2, 2012. The meeting featured the latest scientific research by the international harmful algal blooms (HAB) community on topics including population dynamics, toxins, modeling/forecasting, taxonomy, genomics, management, control and mitigation. NOAA representatives who gave presentations, chaired sessions and represented [...]
It was 25 years ago this month that more than a hundred people were sickened on Prince Edward Island, Canada. Three people died. Days later it was confirmed they suffered from a domoic acid in locally cultivated mussels. Domoic acid in high levels can cause immediate neurotoxin reactions like spasms or seizures or memory loss, [...]
Sinking slowly through Belize’s turquoise sea, Giovanni Gonzalez has murder on his mind. The dive guide scans the reef, his dreadlocks moving like a sea creature. I see only the usual confetti of tropical fish, but I can tell that Gio has spotted a lionfish tucked into the coral. He readies his spear, takes aim [...]
As part of a formal agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency, two researchers from the National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science visited Muscat, Oman this week as “IAEA Experts.” The seminar provided the 15 participants with an overview of algae and toxin sampling techniques and visual identification of algae species. Next March, the Americans return [...]
Recognizing the urgency to develop clear guidance on reducing the burgeoning lionfish population, NOAA’s National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science allied with experts from around the Caribbean to provide a reference for anyone planning to develop a local control strategy. This free manual, Invasive Lionfish: A Guide to Control and Management (PDF), is aimed at resource [...]
The Ocean Support Foundation and its partner organizations are hosting a two-day workshop on Tuesday October 9th and Wednesday October 10th at the Bermuda Aquarium, Museum and Zoo for key stakeholders as well as an evening presentation that will be open to the public on Wednesday October 10th at 7pm, also at the Bermuda Aquarium, [...]
Over the course of the last week, our “Saving the Ocean” video crew touched shores and reefs of the Bahamas, Florida and Mexico. Each time we landed on the sea floor, we quickly found lionfish. How could they have spread in the Atlantic so quickly after being nonexistent here just 20 years ago? Something that [...]