Group items tagged

Watch: Port Of Durban Marine Pilot Successfully Steers Car Carrier In Rough Sea Conditions.

The Republic of Seychelles is one of six African Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and has a marine-based economy reliant on fisheries and international tourism. Seychelles has been flagged by the United Nations as highly vulnerable to climate change. Climatic threats are compounded with population declines of key fishery species. A progressive national stance towards ocean sustainability and an emerging economy partially driven by tourists are two of several factors that make Seychelles a good candidate for a sustainable seafood labelling and consumption programme, which would provide market-based incentives for fishery harvesters, regulators, buyers and consumers to improve sustainable practices. To address the feasibility of such a programme, we conducted a pilot study, surveying 33 artisanal fishers and mapping supply chain structure to examine incentives and challenges. Questions addressed fishers' years of experience, reliance on fishing for income, and flexibility in gear type and species targeted. Of the total number of respondents, 64% would like to see a programme implemented but only 34% thought it would be successful. Participants identified several barriers and benefits that primarily spanned socioeconomic and regulatory themes. Our pilot results indicate the sociocultural and economic impacts of sustainability programmes in Seychelles are as important as environmental considerations, a finding pertinent to anyone undertaking similar research efforts in other SIDS. We advocate for the necessity of thorough, location-based research and in-depth stakeholder consultation to elucidate economic, societal, behavioural and cultural factors that will affect the success of designing and implementing seafood labelling programmes in SIDS.

More than 130 pilot whales die in mass Australia beaching.

Foreign Office consultation paper suggests tourist industry pilot in British Indian Ocean Territory that would involve up to 1,500 islanders.

Foreign Office consultation paper suggests tourist industry pilot in British Indian Ocean Territory that would involve up to 1,500 islanders.

A piece of aircraft wreckage found off Mozambique, believed to be from flight MH370, has added strength to the belief the plane was not under the control of a pilot when it crashed.

Over 24 hours of intense work has left the inside of Louis BURTON's IMOCA Bureau Vallée in a mess but the third placed skipper confirmed this morning that his efforts, in collaboration with his shore team, have kept him in the race. Speaking on the 0400hrs TU call this morning, after he had just gybed at the Antarctic Exclusion Zone he said, "I'm pretty burnt out and I admit that I came close to having to abandon". True to the philosophy of many competitors BURTON was not giving everything away about his problems, other than having said earlier that he had automatic pilot troubles.

A WESTERN Australian first trial to return oysters to an Albany estuary is exceeding scientists' expectations, a year into the ambitious project.

In 2011, several non-governmental and government agencies established the Kenya Marine Mammal Network (KMMN) to provide a platform for the consistent collection of data on marine mammals along the Kenyan coast, identify areas of importance and engage marine users and the general public in marine mammal conservation. Prior to the KMMN, relatively little was known about marine mammals in Kenya, limiting conservation strategies. The KMMN collects data nationwide through dedicated surveys, opportunistic sightings and participative citizen science, currently involving more than 100 contributors. This paper reviews data on sightings and strandings for small cetaceans in Kenya collated by the KMMN. From 2011 to 2019, 792 records of 11 species of small cetaceans were documented. The most frequently reported inshore species were the Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin and Indian Ocean humpback dolphin. Offshore species, included killer whales, short-finned pilot whale and long-snouted spinner dolphin. Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins, long-snouted spinner dolphins, striped dolphins and Risso's dolphins were recorded through stranding reports. The efforts of the KMMN were disseminated through international meetings (International Whaling Commission, World Marine Mammal Conference), national status reports, outreach and social media. Data has also supported the identification of three IUCN Important Marine Mammal Areas and one Area of Interest in Kenya. Further research is needed to improve estimates of cetacean abundance and distribution, particularly in unstudied coastal areas, and to assess the extent of anthropogenic threats associated with fisheries, coastal and port development, seismic exercises and unregulated tourism. The expansion of the network should benefit from the participation of remote coastal fishing communities, government research agencies, tourism and seismic operations, among others. The KMMN demonstrated the value of dedicated and citizen science data to enh

The ingestion of plastic debris has been studied in many marine fish species, although comparisons between species can be difficult due to factors thought to influence ingestion rates, such as habitat preference, feeding behaviours and trophic level. Sardines are found internationally in many coastal environments and represent a potential sentinel species for monitoring and comparing marine plastic exposure rates. We conducted a pilot study, examining the rate of plastic ingestion in 27 commercially caught sardines (Sardinops sagax) from a low populated coastal region of Western Australia. A total of 251 potentially anthropogenic particles were extracted by chemical digestion of the gastrointestinal tract and classified visually. Fibres were the dominant type of material recovered (82.9%), with both yellow (39.8%) and black (32.7%) coloured particles commonly observed. A subset of 64 particles (25.5%), were subject to Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy to identify polymer composition. This chemical characterisation identified seven plastic items (polypropylene, nylon and polyethylene) and a variety of cellulose-based material that was further examined and classified as natural or semi-synthetic. The mean plastic ingestion rate was 0.3 ± 0.4 particles per fish, suggesting Western Australian sardines ingest relatively low concentrations of plastic when compared to international sardine populations examined using similar methodologies. Despite comparatively low concentrations, plastic and semi-synthetic material are still being ingested by sardines from a low populated coastal region demonstrating the ubiquitous nature of the marine debris problem.

Subsea infrastructure of the oil and gas industry attracts commercial fish species as well as megafauna including sea lions, turtles, sharks and whales. Potential impacts of this attraction, whether positive or negative, are unknown. As part of a pilot study, we deployed acoustic telemetry equipment around offshore infrastructure to assess its effectiveness in detecting tagged marine animals and to gain insights into patterns of megafauna occurrence around these structures. Acoustic receivers were placed around four oil and gas platforms and on two remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) on Australia's North West Shelf. Two whale sharks (Rhincodon typus) tagged in the World Heritage Ningaloo Reef Marine Park were detected at two platforms, North Rankin A and Pluto, located up to 340 km to the northeast. The shark at North Rankin A was detected infrequently and only 15 times over ∼6 weeks. The shark at Pluto was detected each day of the 24-day deployment, in total 4,894 times. Detections at Pluto platform were highest during the day, with peaks at dusk and dawn. Our study indicates that acoustic telemetry around platforms may be an effective method for understanding how marine megafauna utilise these structures. We recommend collaborating with industry to undertake receiver detection range testing to understand the effectiveness of the method. Furthermore, future studies should co-occur with tagging programs at sites like Ningaloo Reef and around the structures themselves to maximise the probability of detecting animals at these sites, thereby improving our understanding of how marine megafauna interact with these structures.

Indian Ocean science mission recovers key underwater drone.

Did Human Noise Pollution Drive 150 Whales To Beach Themselves in Australia?

Sri Lanka navy rescues two elephants washed out to sea.