Hosea 4:3 being fulfilled? Thousands of Birds and Fish Suddenly Die!!!

[Psalm 51:17]

http://news.yahoo.com/tuna-collapse-fears-fail-curb-090538729.html

2/28/13

Tuna collapse fears fail to curb Japan's appetite

Worries about decline of bluefin tuna, prized king of sushi, fail to curb Japan's appetite

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.

Yet there is little alarm in Japan, the country that consumes about 80 percent of the world's bluefin tuna. Japanese fisheries experts blame cozy ties between regulators and fishermen and a complacent media for failing to raise public awareness.

"Nobody really knows the bad state bluefin tuna is in," veteran sushi chef Kazuo Nagayama said from his snug, top-end sushi bar in Tokyo's Shimbashi district, a popular area for after-work socializing. "I don't think it'll disappear, but we might not be able to catch any. It's obvious we need to set quotas."

Catching bluefin tuna, called "hon-maguro" here, is a lucrative business. A single full-grown specimen can sell for 2 million yen, or $22,000, at Tokyo's sprawling Tsukiji fish market. Japanese fishermen are vying with Korean, Taiwanese and Mexican counterparts for a piece of a $900 million a year wholesale market.

Fish dealers at Tsukiji market say the number of bluefin sold at early morning auctions has fallen over the past 10 to 15 years, but most are confident the supply will never run out. Sushi bars and supermarkets still readily sell the fish, which is considered a special treat that families might splurge on once every month or two. There's no government campaign to encourage people to rein in their appetites for the iconic Japanese food.

"I have seen some reports on TV about their numbers falling, but I really haven't thought about cutting back on eating hon-maguro," said Sumire Baba, a Tokyo homemaker. "I guess I'm optimistic they'll recover."

A scientific assessment released in January found that Pacific bluefin spawning stocks — a key measure of adults that can reproduce — have plummeted by about three-quarters over the past 15 years to match historic lows last seen in the early 1980s. It estimated that the species has dwindled to just 3.6 percent of its original population, and that more than 90 percent of fish caught were juveniles between the ages of 0 and 3, before they reach reproductive maturity.

The report, compiled by the International Scientific Committee for Tuna and Tuna-like Species in the Northern Pacific and based on data through 2010, received only scant coverage in the Japanese press.

The Yomiuri Shimbun, Japan's largest newspaper, ran a brief story that ignored the drop in numbers and focused on a projection offered by the report's authors that Pacific stocks could triple by 2030 if current "effort limits" were fully enforced — coverage that a senior Fisheries Agency official blasted as "misleading."

News reports earlier this year about the record 155.4 million yen ($1.76 million) auction sale of a Pacific bluefin at the Tsukiji market focused mostly on the exorbitant price and the buyer — the owner of a sushi chain — with little context about the species' falling numbers.

The drop follows similar plunges in the other two bluefin species, the Atlantic and the southern, which are now protected by catch quotas that experts say need to be applied to their Pacific cousins as well.

Without stricter caps, "there is a high likelihood that Pacific bluefin will become less available to Japanese consumers," said Masayuki Komatsu, a former senior Fisheries Agency official. Japan faces two choices, he said: Immediately impose catch quotas or "stop eating the bluefin to protect it."

Overfishing of the Atlantic bluefin, much of it shipped to Japan, got so bad that an export ban was proposed in 2010 at a meeting of the 175-nation Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). The proposal was rejected, and Atlantic bluefin stocks recovered slightly last year after quotas were imposed, although environmental groups say the population remains fragile.

While the media plays a role, the Fisheries Agency, domestic scientists and fishing industry are mainly responsible for failing to address the problem and keeping the public in the dark, Komatsu and other critics say. During his tenure at the agency until 2005, regulators were often more intent on protecting fishermen than marine resources, he said, and they were also reluctant to publicize information about declining fish stocks or impose catch limits for fear of upsetting fishermen or politicians.

"Government officials don't want to accept the facts," Komatsu said. "Their constituents are fishermen. ... In order to be successful as a government official, you have to listen to the fishermen because they are closely connected to the politicians. It's all very short-sighted."

Toshio Katsukawa, a fisheries professor at Mie University in western Japan, said the industry has been allowed to pursue indiscriminate fishing for years.

"This is undermining Japan's own national interests," he said. "We have an international responsibility in this matter. It's a problem if we are not able to responsibly catch and consume these fish."

That may have been a valid criticism in the past, acknowledged Masanori Miyahara, the deputy director-general of the Japan Fisheries Agency. But over the past five or six years "our policy has changed," he said in an interview in his Tokyo office. "Now we are in the driver's seat."

"Previously, there was almost no control over the bluefin catch because so many fishermen were catching them. The JFA just gave up," Miyahara said. "But now we are in a position of control. We are serious about fishing management."

He noted that limits imposed in 2011 on domestic fishermen using large, encircling "purse seine" nets — which scoop up vast amounts of fish, including many young ones — during the summer spawning season in the Sea of Japan have reduced the catch of juveniles by more than a quarter.

Japan also has joined 2011 "effort limits" — such as limiting the number of vessels — called for by the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission, the regional fisheries body that monitors the western two-thirds of the Pacific Ocean. The commission will meet in Tokyo in September to consider whether to strengthen catch restrictions.

Japan also has placed caps on the number of tuna farms, which take young tuna caught at sea and raise them in coastal waters, and is registering its 13,000 independent fishermen to better monitor their catch, Miyahara said.

But conservation groups say the measures are full of loopholes and not well enforced, while Japanese fishermen complain that South Korean boats are not similarly constrained.

"We wonder what the point is if others can catch the fish we can't," said Makoto Hotai, head of the Japan Purse Seiners Association, based in the southern city of Fukuoka.

While Japanese consumers are very sensitive about food safety and quality, awareness about resource management is still not very prevalent. Major retailer Aeon Co. has a lineup of 50 products with a special blue label from the Marine Stewardship Council, which certifies sustainable marine foods. However, MSC-labeled products account for only 3 percent of Aeon's total fish sales.

"Eating fish is a fundamental part of Japanese culture," said Kozo Ishii, the program director for MSC in Japan. "That fish is readily available is taken for granted."

A handful of U.S. and European sushi restaurants have removed bluefin from their menus, but Nagayama, the sushi chef, hasn't heard of that happening in Japan.

He tries to minimize the amount of the fish he uses, but says he needs to have it on hand because customers request it. A single piece of pink "o-toro" fatty tuna goes for 2,000 yen, or $21, at his shop, although customers visiting "conveyor belt" sushi shops can grab much lower quality bluefin for 100 yen, or just over a dollar.

"We're a top-end sushi bar, so we need to have it," said the 71-year-old sushi chef, who has written three books about fish. "If we don't, we can't really do business."
 

[Psalm 51:17]

3/10/13
Chinese officials fish out 900 dead pigs from water source

BEIJING –  Chinese officials say they have fished out 900 dead pigs from a Shanghai river that is a water source for city residents.
 
Officials are investigating where the pigs came from. A statement posted Saturday on the city's Agriculture Committee's website says they haven't found any evidence that the pigs were dumped into the river or of any animal epidemic.
 
The statement says the city and Songjiang district governments started retrieving the pigs on Friday night. By late Saturday afternoon they had recovered and disposed of more than 900.
 
The statement says the water and environmental protection bureaus are ramping up monitoring of the river's water quality.


Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/world/2013/03/10/chinese-officials-fish-out-00-dead-pigs-from-water-source/#ixzz2NCzBq9bh


UPDATE: Over 2,200 dead pigs found in Chinese river prompting pollution alert
3/11/13
Reuters) - Over 2,200 pigs have been found dead in one of Shanghai's main water sources, official media reported on Monday, triggering a public outcry in China where concerns over food safety and environmental pollution run high.

The carcasses were probably dumped in the Huangpu river in Zhejiang province and the total number was expected to increase, the Global Times quoted Xu Rong, director of Shanghai Songjiang District Environmental Protection Bureau, as saying.

"We have to act quickly to remove them all for fear of causing water pollution," she was quoted as saying as the national parliament, where pollution has been a hot topic, met in Beijing.

Officials were investigating, media said.

An official at the Songjiang environment bureau declined to comment when contacted by Reuters.

The Shanghai government said in a statement posted on its website on Monday that workers were continuing to collect carcasses from the river and it was closely monitoring the water quality although no pollution has been found so far.

Water contamination, caused by fertiliser run-off, chemical spills and untreated sewage, is a major concern in China. The government is planning to invest $850 billion over the next decade to improve the water supply system.

The discovery of the dead pigs over the weekend quickly made the rounds in social media, with many bloggers criticizing the authorities for their delayed response.

"Related government departments should seriously investigate this and get to the bottom of it," said one blogger by the name of Ting Tao. "The government should really pay attention to people's lives and take no time to solve food safety issues."

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/03/11/china-pigs-idUSL3N0C30S120130311?feedType=RSS&feedName=nonCyclicalConsumerGoodsSector&rpc=43

[Kilika]

Pigs dumped into a river? What is with those Chinese? 

[Psalm 51:17]

Algae bloom kills record number of manatees
http://www.cnn.com/2013/03/11/us/florida-manatee-deaths/index.html?eref=igoogledmn_topstories
3/12/13

CNN) -- Florida's endangered manatees have long suffered from human activity, but this year they face an especially deadly threat hidden in the waters where they swim.
 
An algae bloom off southwest Florida, called Florida red tide, has killed 174 manatees since January, the highest number to die from red tide in a calendar year, state wildlife officials said Monday.
 
A red tide is a higher than normal concentration of a microscopic algae that appears in the Gulf of Mexico. At high enough concentrations, the algae can turn the water red or brown, hence the name.
 
Red tides happen almost every year in southwest Florida and sometimes last just a few weeks, but this year the red tide has lingered and settled in an area of warm water where the manatees have migrated.

"It's kind of filled in an area where they've congregated and are feeding on sea grass where the toxins settle on," said Kevin Baxter, a spokesman for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
 
Those toxins can affect the central nervous systems of fish and other vertebrates, causing the animals to die.
 
Wildlife officials and their partners have this year rescued 12 manatees suffering from the effects of red tide. They asked the public to alert them to other ailing manatees who may be showing a lack of coordination and stability in the water, muscle twitches or seizures, and difficulty lifting their heads to breathe.
 
Unlike other algae blooms, red tides are not caused by pollution, the wildlife service said.
 
"Red tides occurred in Florida long before human settlement, and severe red tides were observed in the mid-1900s before the state's coastlines were heavily developed," the commission said.
 
The blooms usually develop 10 to 40 miles offshore, away from man-made nutrient resources, it added.
 
Red tides were documented in the southern Gulf as far back as the 1700s and along Florida's Gulf coast in the 1840s, the commission said. "Fish kills near Tampa Bay were even mentioned in the records of Spanish explorers."
 
Manatees are listed under the Endangered Species Act of 1973. Conservation efforts have led to an increase in the manatee population, the commission said, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is working on a rule that would reclassify the manatee from endangered to threatened.
 
Most manatees die from collisions with watercraft or from "cold stress" in chilly waters, Baxter said.

[Psalm 51:17]

Meanwhile In China, 3,000 Decomposing Pigs Were Found in Shanghai's Drinking Water
3/11/13
http://news.yahoo.com/meanwhile-china-3-000-decomposing-pigs-were-found-130929680.html

[Psalm 51:17]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-21766377
3/13/13
China pulls nearly 6,000 dead pigs from Shanghai river

Officials say the number of pig carcasses found in Shanghai's Huangpu River has risen to nearly 6,000.

In a statement, Shanghai authorities said that 5,916 dead pigs had been removed from the river by Tuesday.

But they said water from the river was safe, with water quality meeting government-set standards.

It is believed that the pigs may have come from Jiaxing in the neighbouring Zhejiang province, although the cause of their deaths is still not clear.

In a statement, the Shanghai municipal government said that the water in Huangpu River, which is a major source of drinking water for Shanghai, was safe. It also said that no diseased pork had been detected in markets.

However, the news has been met with scepticism by some users on weibo, China's Twitter equivalent, where the hashtag "Huangpu River dead pigs" has emerged.

"Cadres and officials, we are willing to provide for you, but please don't let us die from poisoning. Otherwise who will serve you? Please think twice," said netizen Shi Liqin.

"This river's colour is about the same as excrement, even if there weren't dead pigs you couldn't drink it," said another, with the username Yuzhou Duelist.

The general mood is of concern, rather than outrage or panic, reports the BBC's John Sudworth in Shanghai, as the Chinese public are well used to food scandals, such as the use of oil scraped from sewers for cooking, and plasticiser found in baby formula.

more

[Kilika]

I think it's safe to say that if you own a bunch of pigs in China, the government knows it! And that means they know where those things came from.

Laboratory tests have identified that some of the pigs had porcine circovirus, a common disease that affects pigs but does not affect humans.

Reports suggest the dead pigs may have been dumped from pig farms in Jiaxing, upstream of Shanghai.
A sanitation worker collects a dead pig from Shanghai"s main waterway on March 11, 2013. The scandal comes amid growing concerns about China's environment

"We don't exclude the possibility that the dead pigs found in Shanghai were from Jiaxing. But we are not absolutely sure," Jiaxing local government spokesman Wang Dengfeng told a news conference.

Whilst tags on the pigs' ears indicated that they were from Jiaxing, this only showed the pigs' place of birth.

"It is unclear where the dead pigs were raised," he said.

Jiaxing officials have also said that the pigs may have been killed by cold weather.

[Psalm 51:17]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-21872210
Wave of prawn deaths baffles Chile city of Coronel
3/20/13

Thousands of dead prawns have washed up on a beach in Chile, sparking an investigation.

Hundreds of dead crabs were also washed ashore in Coronel city, about 530km (330 miles) from the capital, Santiago.

Fishermen suggested the deaths may have been caused by local power stations that use seawater as a cooling agent. The power firms have not commented.

Experts are looking into water temperature and oxygen levels and other details to explain the deaths.

"We're investigating the Coronel Bay to establish the physical parameters of temperature, electric conductivity and, above all, the oxygen," said local environment official Victor Casanova.

Local fishermen blamed nearby power generation plants Bocamina 1 and 2 and Colbun.

"I'm 69 years old and started fishing when I was nine, but as a fisherman, I never saw a disaster of this magnitude,'' Gregorio Ortega told local Radio Bio Bio.

While some blame pollution, others say the death of the crustaceans could be a consequence of the El Nino phenomenon, which warms the waters of the Pacific.

Marisol Ortega, a spokeswoman for the fishermen, said she feared the deaths would affect the livelihood of their community.

"The way everything is being destroyed here, come the high season in November, we're already thinking we won't have anything to take from the sea," she said.

[Psalm 51:17]

http://www.theboholstandard.com/fpage.php?issue=301&s1=5126&s2=5128&s3=&s4=1484&s5=5127&s6=&s7=1485&s8=1486&s9=&s10=&s11=&s12=1487&s13=&s14=&s15=
Fishkill in Albur bared, but no sample’s lab test

ALBURQUERQUE, Bohol – The reported fishkill that occurred recently in this coastal town may not be totally left unnoticed as some residents belonging to “Nagkahiusang Alburanons” raised this at facebook, expressing deep concern over marine ecosystems.

The Bureau of Fishery and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) provincial head Crescencio Pahamutang confirmed that indeed there was a slight fiskkill.

It was not immediately known what was the extent of the fishkill and what are the causes, said the “Nagkahiusang Alburanons.” But they got angry somehow why there was no immediate action on the part of the technicians involved.

In her facebook account, municipal technician Dolores Cagoco, had this to say: “Sad to say didto nako sa BFAR gahapon unja kay di nadaw pwede ma examine ang mga samples kay nabahu na ug matud pa sa BFRA Cebu laboratory cyanide ra pod ila exam. Ug di napod maseguoro unsa jud hinungdan tungod kay bahu na ang isda hasta pod ang tubig sa dagat … sa RHU la pako mahibawo naa naba result.”

In an interview, Pahamutang explained that BFAR cannot anymore conduct a laboratory examination of the fishkill samples since they (samples) were presented too late and the samples were in de-composting state.

BFAR said that whenever there is occurrence like fishkill samples should immediately be brought to their office as these (samples) are to be sent to Cebu for laboratory test because Bohol has no facilities for this, Pahamutang said.

Fishkill is also known as fish population mortality that may also affects aquatic life, according to Wikipedia. “The most common cause is reduced oxygen in the water, which in turn may be due to factors such as drought, algae bloom, overpopulation, or a sustained increase in water temperature.”

Water pollution from agricultural runoff or biotoxins, oxygen pletion are blamed and the most common natural causes of fish kills. Others include droughts, waste spills and hazardous wastes due to chemicals washed to the sea and native cyanide-producing vines poisonous to aquatic life.

[Psalm 51:17]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-21921145
3/25/13
China pulls 1,000 dead ducks from Sichuan river

Around 1,000 dead ducks have been pulled from a river in southwest China, local officials say.

Residents found the dead ducks in Nanhe river in Pengshan county, Sichuan province, and alerted the environmental department, they said.

Local residents and livestock were not at risk as the river was not used for drinking water, officials added.

The news comes as the toll of dead pigs pulled from Shanghai's Huangpu river passed 16,000.

more

[Kilika]

dead pigs pulled from Shanghai's Huangpu river passed 16,000

Seriously? Where did all those pigs come from? And now ducks. What the heck is going on there?

[Mark]

TV: Dead dolphin spike in Louisiana, Mississippi — “We have been advised not to discuss our findings” — Mostly babies washing up (VIDEO)

Angela Hill, Anchor: [...] Now experts say we’re seeing an unusual spike in dead dolphins washing up in both Louisiana and Mississippi. [...]

Dr. Moby Solangi, executive director of the Institute for Marine Mammal Studies in Gulfport: Yes, we have seen a spike in dolphin strandings. [...]

Maya Rodriguez, Reporter: Since the start of this year strandings have been climbing, with 29 in Louisiana and 23 in Mississippi so far.

Solangi: The unusual part in Mississippi is that 18 of the 23 are baby dolphins. [...]

Rodriguez: Answers are tough to come by. Dr. Solangi said because of the ongoing investigation and litigation involving the BP oil spill, they can’t share their findings.

Solangi: We have been advised not to discuss our findings or any results from our necropsies or analysis [...]

http://enenews.com/tv-spike-in-dolphins-washing-up-in-gulf-of-mexico-mostly-dead-babies-we-have-been-advised-not-to-discuss-our-findings-video

See also: "Manatees Dying in Droves on Both Coasts of Florida" -- Deaths of pelicans, turtles, dolphins also increasing -- "Scientists fear this is the beginning of a devastating ecosystem collapse"

http://enenews.com/manatees-dying-record-numbers-florida-deaths-pelicans-turtles-dolphins-spiking-scientists-fear-beginning-devastating-ecosystem-collapse-videos

[Psalm 51:17]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-21988423
3/31/13
China bird flu: Two men die in Shanghai

Two men have died in the Chinese city of Shanghai, after contracting a strain of bird flu not previously known in humans, Chinese officials say.

The men, aged 27 and 87, both fell ill with the H7N9 strain in February and died some weeks later in March, Xinhua news agency reported.

A woman of 35 who caught the virus elsewhere is said to be critically ill.

It is unclear how the strain spread, but the three did not infect each other or any close contacts, officials say.

While both men who died were in Shanghai, the third victim was reported in Chuzhou in the eastern province of Anhui.

According to China's National Health and Family Planning Commission, all three became ill with coughs and fevers before developing pneumonia.

Commission experts said on Saturday the cause had been identified as H7N9, a strain of avian flu not thought to have been transmitted to humans before.

There is no vaccine against the strain, the commission said, adding it was currently testing to assess its ability to infect humans.

Another strain of bird flu, H5N1, has led to more than 360 confirmed human deaths since 2003 and the deaths of tens of millions of birds.

The World Health Organization says that most avian flu viruses do not infect humans and the majority of H5N1 cases have been associated with contact with infected poultry.

[Psalm 51:17]

http://www.centraltelegraph.com.au/news/dead-turtles-discovered/1814190/
Dead turtles discovered(Australia)
2nd Apr 2013 12:03 PM
 
RESIDENTS of Sarina have raised concerns after more than 60 fresh water turtles were found dead in a creek.

The turtles were found at a popular swimming hole, Neilson's Crossing.

Fisherman Wally Keating said he believed something in the water killed the much loved animals.

"I've never seen a fresh water turtle dead and I've lived in the creek, I grew up there," he said.

"Something's got to be in the water."

The Department of Environment and Heritage Protection has been contacted and the Daily Mercury is awaiting a response.

[Psalm 51:17]

http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/gulf-st-vincent-to-be-tested-to-explain-dead-penguins-fish-and-dolphins-on-adelaide-beaches/story-e6frea83-1226608492179
Gulf St Vincent to be tested to explain dead penguins, fish and dolphins on Adelaide beaches
4/4/13

"Consumption of fish caught alive do not represent health concerns, however SA Health advises fish caught dead should not be eaten due to concerns over decomposition and spoilage," a spokeswoman said yesterday.
The assurance comes as a taskforce of experts starts testing water to help solve the mystery of the thousands of dead fish and 16 dead dolphins. The Fisheries Department, Environmental Protection Authority and SA Water will lead the taskforce, which will also conduct tests on the fish and some of the dolphins. Several other nations around the world have also experienced unexplained mass sea deaths in recent months.

Scientific experts from SA Museum conducted autopsies on two dead dolphins yesterday, but said they were still stumped as to how and why such large numbers died in recent weeks. SA Museum senior researcher of mammals Dr Catherine Kemper said the dolphin samples would be sent to pathology for further analysis. She said preliminary analysis showed one of the dolphins was heavily bruised. "It had lots of bruising on it which means for some reason something bumped it or it bumped itself very badly," she said. Pathology results on a dolphin autopsy conducted last week found E coli near the dolphin's blowhole, which Dr Kemper said was an unusual spot to find the bacteria.

more

[Psalm 51:17]

http://www.rrstar.com/updates/x711942729/-Flow-of-dead-fish-in-Rock-River-brings-Illinois-DNR-inquiry
‘Flow of dead fish’ in Rock River brings Illinois DNR inquiry
Apr 03, 2013

ROCKFORD — State conservation officials are checking reports of hundreds of dead fish in the Rock River. “They were bobbing like bobbers on the water,” Jerry DalSanto said. “The whole river was full of them, up and down both sides.” DalSanto and his girlfriend, Kim Hill, counted more than 150 dead bluegill, catfish, carp and drum in 15 minutes around noon Sunday. “We were at the Auburn Street bridge watching the flow of dead fish — lots and lots of them — just coming down the river,” he said. Chris McCloud, a spokesman for the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, said a state biologist was going to check the river today for evidence of a fish kill.

Fisheries biologist Ken Clodfelter said such species as gizzard shad are susceptible to cold weather and die, often showing up in the spring. Sometimes fish are trapped in small pools under the ice and die, then are washed back into the river when ice melts and the water rises in spring.
Fish kills also can be caused by industrial or agriculture waste that is discharged or runs off into the river. Investigating reports of river fish kills and their causes becomes more difficult over time for a simple reason: fish float. “The problem is, if its two days or three days ago, they might be in Byron by now,” Clodfelter said.

[Mark]

I went hiking the other day around a water reservoir in Mogadore Ohio,  and all along the north eastern edge of the lake was easily a couple thousand dead fish. 

[Psalm 51:17]

“Radiation epidemic” killing So. California sea lions? Gov’t experts now checking animals for contamination from Fukushima Daiichi
4/6/13
http://enenews.com/feds-radiation-epidemic-could-be-cause-of-sea-lion-die-off-in-so-california-experts-now-checking-for-contamination-from-fukushima-daiichi

NOAA investigates: natural die-off, radiation?

A team of experts assembled by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency is looking into radiation from Japan’s nuclear disaster as one of several possible causes of the ongoing sea lion stranding along Southern California beaches. [...]

Sea lions keep washing ashore, many in more critical condition than in the weeks before.

[...] All sea lions present similar symptoms, including dehydration and starvation. Some are also showing secondary infections. In Ventura County, mammal centers are finding a high amount of lice. [...]

“The radiation epidemic could be a potential cause,” [Sarah Wilkin, NOAA's California stranding coordinator] said. “We need to look at what’s different in 2013 as compared to 2012, 2011 and 2010. “We will work with lab tests that look at radionuclide signatures. Scientifically, we don’t think radiation is the cause but without testing and data we can’t say for sure. We need to rule it in or out.” [...]

“Marine mammals are sentinels of the eco system,” Wilkin said. [...]

[Psalm 51:17]

http://www.bridlingtonfreepress.co.uk/news/local/1-000-lobsters-wash-up-on-beaches-near-bridlington-1-5560250
4/5/13
1,000 lobsters wash up on beaches near Bridlington

Unseasonably cold sea temperatures and prevailing easterly winds have been blamed for thousands of lobsters and crabs becoming stranded on the coast between Fraisthorpe and Barmston.

And as statistics show we have experienced the coldest March on record in more than 50 years there are fears that if the weather does not warm up soon more sea creatures could experience the same fate.

A rescue operation was underway last Thursday and Friday after the crustaceans, many of which were pregnant females, washed up on the beach.

A joint rescue operation was launched by the North Eastern Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority and the Independent Shellfisherman’s Cooperative with the help of local shellfish merchants and fishermen to ensure the survival of around 500 lobsters. Unfortunately the crabs, which were accompanied by countless dead fish, were unsalvagable.

The surviving lobsters were collected off the beach and stored in fresh water holding tanks on Bridlington’s South Pier, giving them a chance to recuperate, before being relocated back at sea on Tuesday.

Jo Ackers, company secretary of the Independent Shellfisherman’s Cooperative (Bridlington), said the recent high tides, unseasonably cold seas and strong easterly winds had caused the sea creatures to wash up on the shore.

“It was awful to see, the devastation,” Ms Ackers said.

And with lobsters unable to feed when the sea temperatures are too low, and the cold causing them to become lethargic, it is hoped the weather will start to warm up soon to help preserve stocks.

“I would hope that’s the worst of it now but we really need for the weather to warm up because these lobsters don’t eat when the sea is cold.

“With the sea being incredibly cold it puts them in quite a lethargic state, almost like hibernation.

“They are going to be very weak at a time when we would expect them to be waking up and going out to get some food.”

And while many of the lobsters have now been safely returned to sea Ms Ackers said the impact it has had on the shellfish industry might not be felt for a few years yet.

“There have been some pregnant females involved so if it has an impact on the industry it will be in a few years down the line,” Ms Ackers said.

The North Eastern Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority have been helping to return the lobsters to the sea around three and a half miles outside of Hornsea.

Ian Davies, assistant chief officer for the Authority’s Offshore team said in the 14 years he had been involved in the industry he had never seen lobsters stranded on shore on this scale.

Last month easterly winds were blamed for dozens of crabs, along with hundreds of mussels, and a few small fish washed up on Bridlington’s North Beach. And Anthony Hurd, of the Living Seas Centre at Flamborough told the Free Press that lobsters had been found during rock pooling sessions which was unusual.

He said: “We never normally see them that far up the shore, it’s quite unusual to do a public rock pooling walk and to find lobsters. I have never seen that in my time.”

The East Riding of Yorkshire Council’s Foreshore Team will be contacted to arrange a clean up of the dead sea creatures.
   

[Psalm 51:17]

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/07/science/earth/algae-bloom-in-florida-kills-record-number-of-manatees.html?ref=science&_r=3&
Florida Algae Bloom Leads to Record Manatee Deaths
4/6/13

Florida’s endangered manatees, already reeling from an unexplained string of deaths in the state’s east coast rivers, have died in record numbers from a toxic red algae bloom that appears each year off the state’s west coast, state officials and wildlife experts say.

The tide has killed 241 of Florida’s roughly 5,000 manatees, according to the state Fish and Wildlife Research Institute, and the toll appears certain to rise.

The number of deaths from the tide far exceeds the previous annual record of 151. Most occurred along the lower west coast of Florida near Fort Myers, where an algae bloom that began last fall was especially severe and long-lasting.

“Southwest Florida is an area where a lot of manatees are during the winter months,” Kevin Baxter, a spokesman for the research institute, said Friday. “It’s a warm-water area. The bloom has persisted there for quite a while.”

Although the algae had largely dissipated by mid-March, he said, the manatee deaths are likely to continue for a few months because remnants of the toxin still cling to sea grasses. Manatees can eat 100 pounds of sea grass daily, said Pat Rose, an aquatic biologist and the executive director of the Save the Manatee Club in Maitland, Fla.

The state’s annual red tide affects a wide range of aquatic animals and can cause problems in people. The algae contain a nerve poison known as brevetoxin that is not only found underwater but that is also blown through the air when waves break open the algae’s outer casing.

Manatees, birds, dolphins and other animals can be killed by consuming the poison, either by accidentally eating the algae or by ingesting small organisms clinging to sea grass that have soaked up the poison while filtering seawater.

Residents and tourists regularly have respiratory problems after inhaling brevetoxins while strolling on beaches near red tides. People can also become ill after eating oysters and clams that have absorbed the toxin.

Experts are uncertain why this year’s algae bloom was so lengthy and toxic. Phosphorus runoff from fertilized farms and lawns may have contributed, because algae thrive on a phosphorus diet. The Caloosahatchee River, which runs through rural Florida farmland, empties into the ocean at Fort Myers.

But Mr. Rose and Dr. Martine DeWit, a veterinarian with the state’s Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, say a major cause may be an unfortunate coincidence of weather and timing.

Dr. DeWit said a mild, fairly windless winter helped the algae persist far longer than ordinary blooms, which generally die off late in the year. That meant large blooms remained offshore when the manatees, driven by a search for warmer waters, began moving to the Fort Myers area.

Manatees are attracted there every year by a warm-water discharge from a local power plant, Dr. DeWit said.

“We’ve seen in the past that when algae blooms coincide with manatee movement, it results in catastrophic mortality,” she said.

The red-tide deaths come amid what is shaping up as a disastrous year for the manatee, whose numbers have slowly been growing in recent years. So far this year, at least 463 have died from a range of causes, more deaths than had been recorded in any previous comparable period.

At least 80 more manatees have been killed this year in the Indian River in east-central Florida, where a huge phytoplankton bloom in 2011 killed most of the sea grasses. The manatees there appeared outwardly healthy, but autopsies indicated that they had severe intestinal distress and that their stomachs were generally filled with a different strand of algae that they were apparently eating in the absence of the grass they normally eat.

What is killing those animals is not yet known, but Dr. DeWit said it appeared to be related to the algae and could — like the west coast’s red tide — be tied to a poison.

[Psalm 51:17]

http://www.thelocal.se/47190/20130408/#.UWNGd2wo7mR
'Tonnes' of dead fish found on Swedish lake
Published: 8 Apr 13 07:57 CET

Masses of fish found dead on a lake in eastern Sweden have left experts theorizing that the harsh winter and icy conditions prevented the fish from getting enough oxygen.

The Dannemore lake, near Östhammar in the east of Sweden, was discovered to be covered with floating fish this weekend as the ice began to melt. Among the dead fish were pike, perch, roach, and bream.

 "It was not a pleasant sight, there were tonnes on fish on the lake," Timo Hakulinen, who made the discovery, told the Aftonbladet newspaper.

 "It was my friend who tipped me off about it. He'd seen a bunch of sea eagles out on the ice and I went to look closer."

 Hakulinen guessed that the fish had suffocated after a particularly long winter had left ice on top of the lake for longer than usual.

 "It's been cold and no water has come. The lake was frozen to the bottom and the fish were trapped," he added.

 In nearby Uppsala, experts agree that the sub-zero temperatures are likely the cause of the occurrence.

 "I've not heard anything yet, but these things quite often are about lack of oxygen. The ice stays on top and the water doesn't get oxygenated," Lennart Nordvarg, head of the Uppsala County Board's Nature and Environment Department, told the paper.

 "But you can never rule something else out."

[Psalm 51:17]

http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/at-a-glance/general-news/alarm-as-thousands-of-dead-birds-washed-up-on-east-coast-1-5564156
Alarm as thousands of dead birds washed up on east coast
4/8/13

ENVIRONMENTALISTS have raised concerns for marine life on the East Coast after extreme weather claimed tens of thousands of animals.

The “mass mortality” has been put at an estimated 150,000 velvet swimming crabs, 10,500 edible crabs, 2,000 common lobsters and a staggering 635,000 mussels in just one 10-mile stretch from Barmston to Bridlington along the Holderness Coast - in all around 800,000 individuals.

Cuttlefish bones have been recorded along the length of the East Coast, as well as increased numbers of dead harbour porpoises on Lincolnshire beaches.

The death of hundreds of seabirds, found washed up on beaches from Aberdeenshire to North Yorkshire, has also been blamed on the weather, with over 200 dead or dying puffins recorded on Yorkshire beaches alone between Scarborough and Withernsea.

The RSPB have described it as the worst puffin “wreck” seen for half a century, with around 10 per cent of the puffin population lost at Bempton.

The Natural History Museum Strandings team says over 150 porpoises have washed up along the East Coast this year, with 12 reported on the Lincolnshire coast. Evidence from post-mortem examinations shows a high level of disease and bacterial infection, which is being attributed to the prolonged winter and stormy weather.

Fisherman have been unable to put out to sea because of the strong easterly winds and when they have been able to fish the catches have been low, less than half this time last year, with lobsters still dormant because of the unseasonally low temperatures.

Kirsten Smith, Living Seas Manager for the North Sea Wildlife Trusts, said the loss of so many mature adults who should be producing eggs was a cause for concern: “Fishermen are suffering a direct loss of earnings but if anything happens to the habitat or the creatures themselves then you have a knock-in impact for the season after as well.

“These things do happen, but there’s the combined effect of scallop dredging last year and the work offshore on wind farms is all going to have a big effect on the marine environment.”

The figures were put together by the North East Inshore Fisheries Conservation Authority.

Ms Smith added: “In terms of the seabirds it has had the worst effect since the strong easterlies in 1947, and in terms of crustacean mortality I’ve not seen anything like that in the last five years.

“It does happen but it has happened in such high numbers in such a short period of time to a lot of species at the same time.”

She said lobsters had been plucked out of their burrows and subjected to washing-machine-style churning, which had affected numerous creatures including filter-feeding razorshells, which have been washed up in large numbers at Saltfleetby on the Lincolnshire coast.

[Psalm 51:17]

http://www.newsday.co.tt/news/0,175982.html
190 corbeaux drop dead from sky(Trinidad)
By Janelle De Souza Tuesday, April 9 2013

The Environmental Management Authority (EMA) was yesterday investigating the cause of death of almost 190 vultures, locally known as corbeaux, at the Second Infantry Battalion Heliport, Chaguaramas.

EMA Chief Executive Officer, Dr Joth Singh, told Newsday the organisation received reports of scores of corbeaux dropping out of the sky at about 7 am. The initial count was 140 dead, with 50 dying on the ground.

As the birds fell from great heights, some burst open, while others were able to glide weakly to the ground. Liquid could also be seen dripping out of the beaks of the sick birds. And, while some of them were too weak to move, others fed on their dead.

“We have been working in the area doing investigations. The EMA’s main purpose was to determine whether any environmental factors, such as toxic gases or chemicals released in the area, were involved in the deaths. However none were identified,” stated Singh.

He said the EMA called the Ministry of Health and the Poultry Surveillance Unit, who both collected additional samples of the dead and dying birds for further investigations into whether or not it was a biological issue. “The Poultry Surveillance Unit was looking for biological causes. A number of preliminary tests were carried out but they did not reveal avian influenza so they are trying to identify the cause through elimination,” he said.

Instead, Singh said they were working with the theory that the birds fed off an animal that had been laced with poison. The organisations were continuing the investigation as there was no confirmation on the cause of death.

However, Singh expressed concern about the disposal of the carcasses. He said if they were not buried, the problem would be perpetuated as other corbeaux fed on the dead birds. He said they were working with the Chaguaramas Development Authority to find a suitable location where they can be buried.

[Psalm 51:17]

http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/article/20130412/NEWS/304129979/dead-salmon-found-along-silt-choked-elwha-river-after-hatchery-release
4/12/13
Dead salmon found along silt-choked Elwha River after hatchery release

PORT ANGELES — Piles of dead year-old chinook salmon, numbering at least in the hundreds, were found along the Elwha River's lower banks and mouth after hatchery smolts were released last week.

State Fish and Wildlife Department officials will consider alternatives for future releases of fish, said Mike Gross, Fish and Wildlife fish biologist for Clallam County and West Jefferson County, who called the release “a mistake.”

Sediment from the river clogged the gills of most he examined, said Mike McHenry, a fish biologist and habitat manager for the Lower Elwha Klallam tribe, who saw the dead fish at the river's mouth and on sandbars Monday and Tuesday.

Staff at the department's Elwha Channel hatchery released 196,575 juvenile fish, ranging from 4 inches to 8 inches in length April 5, about 3½ miles from the mouth of the river, said Randy Aho, hatchery operations manager for the Fish and Wildlife region that stretches from the Long Beach Peninsula to the Strait of Juan de Fuca.

“We feel that these” — the dead fish — “are fish released from our facility,” Aho said.

Silt in the river increased rapidly after the fish were released, according to U.S. Geological Survey data.

The cause of death had not been confirmed as of Thursday, though Gross said he suspected the fish died of suffocation.

“Suffocation from the inability to uptake oxygen would be the expected diagnosis for the cause of death,” Gross said.

McHenry, after finding dirt in the fish gills, said he expected few smolts made it out of the river and into the Strait of Juan de Fuca.

“I'm guessing the survival for this release is going to be very low,” McHenry said.

The smolts were released in accordance with the hatchery's release schedule, Aho said.

The amount of sediment in the water, or turbidity, doubled shortly after the fish were released, USGS measurements showed.

The river's turbidity, measured in formazin nephelometric units (FNU), was at about 800 FNU the evening of April 4 and peaked later in the day April 5 at about 1,600 FNUs.

Hatchery staff checked turbidity levels the evening of April 4 and the morning of April 5 at about 7 a.m. before beginning the release, Aho said.

“[Staff] took some visual observations of the river [Friday morning] and didn't see anything that made [them] suspicious of the turbidity levels,” Aho said.

“Later in the day, [staff] checked turbidity levels, and they had increased, but by then, the fish were already moving out.”

The sediment coursing down the Elwha has been freed by the removal process for the once-towering Elwha dams, part of a $325 million river restoration project still under way.

The cost of the fish is difficult to estimate, Aho said.

The smolts ate roughly $29,000 worth of food while they were being reared, according to numbers provided by Aho, though staff time is not broken down per hatchery duty, such as feeding specific groups of fish.

“We pay our staff to be there for a month, so it's really difficult to break out,” Aho said.

The Fish and Wildlife hatchery has an annual budget of $303,367, according to the facility's hatchery and genetic management plan.

McHenry said he saw dead fish on the sand banks in the body of the river stretching from the mouth to the Fish and Wildlife hatchery, which is about 3½ miles upstream from the mouth of the river.

Numerous kinds of predatory birds and some mammals, including otters, could be seen feasting on the salmon carcasses as they washed onto the Elwha banks and sandbars, McHenry said.

“[There was] lot of predator activity between the sea gulls, mergansers [ducks] and eagles.”

Gross said the predation seen over the past few days will make it difficult to judge how many fish died and how many made it alive into the Strait.

No dead fish were observed along the Elwha mouth or on the banks roughly 1,500 feet upstream late Wednesday afternoon.

Aho said Wednesday he heard reports of hundreds of dead fish seen, though those counts could not be confirmed.

Aho said the dead fish are “absolutely a worry” for Fish and Wildlife, adding that potential alternative release methods will be discussed before roughly 900,000 salmon, less than a year old, are released from the hatchery this June.

“That's something we will discuss prior to release,” Aho said.

“I'm not saying we'll make definite plans, but we'll definitely discuss it.”

Alternative release methods include transporting the young salmon to the Strait using specially designed trucks, Aho added.

Gross agreed that different release methods likely will be discussed because of heavy sediment loads, though he could not predict what specific techniques might be used.

“If we can figure out ways to avoid mortality, we'll pursue them undoubtedly,” Gross said.

“We'll try not to make the same mistake.”

The timing of the release was to make room for younger salmon and to ensure the yearlings could find their way out into the salt water of the Strait, Aho explained.

“[The salmon] want to leave,” Aho said.

“And if you hold on to them too much longer, you can take out that migration response, and that would just kill them for sure.”

This release strategy also allows the fish to slowly get used to the salt water as they swim downstream rather than be deposited directly into the Strait, which Aho said could cause health issues.

Aho said staff don't monitor mortality rates of the hatchery-raised fish once they are released, adding that the fish are left to fend for themselves once they leave the facility.

“We generally don't know survival rates until that release population returns to the river system and hatchery,” Aho said.

Aho said Fish and Wildlife hatchery staff released 212,900 year-old chinook and about $1.5 million fish younger than 1 in 2012, adding that staff generally see a couple thousand adults return to spawn each year.

[Psalm 51:17]

Another dead dolphin found on Adelaide beach
4/17/13

ANOTHER dead dolphin has washed up on an Adelaide beach - taking the total since March 1 to 24 
   
The discovery at Seaford this morning takes the number of dead dolphins to 24 since March 1.

A surfer spotted the animal, believed to be a juvenile, and contacted staff at Surfing South Australia.

Surfing SA General Manager Craig Potgieter sent in a picture of the animal this morning.

"It looks like a baby dolphin and it's bleeding out of its eye ... I don't know if that's normal," he said.

He said there were still hundreds of dead fish on the beach and floating in the water.

"There is dead fish all over the beaches pretty much from Southport, Seaford and Moana," he said.

Mr Potgieter said he hoped the Government would get to the bottom of the deaths soon.

"It doesn't look like its a natural thing - there is just too many (dead) fish," he said.

Since March 1, dead dolphins have been found across Adelaide's coastline, including at Hallett Cove, Seaford and North Haven.

Researchers at SA Museum have conducted autopsies on some of the dead dolphins which were sent to pathology for analysis. The government is still waiting for the results of the testing to determine the cause of death.


Read more: http://www.news.com.au/breaking-news/another-dead-dolphin-found-on-adelaide-beach/story-e6frfkp9-1226622472189#ixzz2QgurqRyM

[Psalm 51:17]

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/AS_CHINA_DEAD_ANIMALS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2013-04-17-08-28-55
Apr 17, 8:28 AM EDT
410 pigs and 122 dogs found dead in central China

BEIJING (AP) -- Hundreds more pigs have been found dead in China - this time together with dozens of dogs.

A total of 410 pigs and 122 dogs were discovered in homes and at farms earlier this week in a village that comes under Yanshi city's jurisdiction in central Henan province, authorities said Wednesday. The city's propaganda office said that the deaths were being investigated but that they suspected they had to do with nearby chemical factories. The factories have been ordered to suspend production and help police with a criminal investigation into the incident, according to a report on a Henan provincial news website. No poisonous gases have been found in tests on the air around the village and its drinking water has met quality standards, said the report, which the propaganda office confirmed.

Local authorities said the deaths have nothing to do with any epidemic or the H7N9 bird flu virus that has recently spread to humans. Last month, more than 16,000 dead pigs were found in rivers that supply water to Shanghai. The dumping has not been explained, though police had been cracking down on the illegal sale of pork products made from dead, diseased pigs.

[Kilika]

Oh, I suspect it's explained alright, but the "authorities" aren't saying. How do you have all those animals die, no people that we know of, and they not know what's going on?

The "dumping" as they call it doesn't explain what killed all those animals.

[Psalm 51:17]

http://www.twincities.com/minnesota/ci_23100657/duluth-man-watches-waxwings-fly-their-deaths
Duluth man watches as waxwings began 'dropping out of the sky'
4/24/13

Two off-course flights into downtown buildings this week resulted in the deaths of almost 30 Bohemian waxwings and the injury of several others.

Wildwoods, a wildlife rehabilitation center in Duluth, is caring for three Bohemian waxwings that were injured downtown in the past two days, said Peggy Farr, a Wildwoods rehabilitator and board member. Five other Bohemian waxwings died in that incident, Farr said.

"We're on a major migration route," said Farr. "This is a good time of year to close the blinds so the birds don't get faked out by the windows."

Separately, about 25 Bohemian waxwings were found dead Monday, April 22, in the plaza area adjacent to the Minnesota Power building in downtown Duluth, said Amy Rutledge, manager of corporate communications for Minnesota Power. The birds apparently had flown into tinted glass partitions adjacent to the building as the birds were flying up to trees.

Rutledge said Minnesota Power plans to put stickers on the glass panels that the waxwings hit so birds will be more likely to see the panels.

"Something like this has never happened before," Rutledge said. "It seems to be an anomaly."

Bohemian waxwings, just smaller than robins, often move and feed in large flocks. In this area, they frequently feed on berries of mountain ash or crabapple trees, and these birds were observed eating mountain ash berries.

"In talking to the employee who saw this, they did see the birds eating berries that may have been fermented," Rutledge said. "They may have become disoriented."

Duluth birder and birding guide Erik Bruhnke said that sometimes happens.

"I know that waxwings become intoxicated because of alcohol when the berries are fermented," Bruhnke said. "They can have varied levels of alcohol in their bodies. I've seen them flying together in close-knit groups with no problem at all.

"But I have seen, a couple times, where the whole flock will sit on the ground in a slight daze after eating large amounts of fermented berries and fruits."

But the more common problem is birds hitting windows, said Duluth birder Laura Erickson, birding author and host of the "For the Birds" radio program.

"It's a problem everywhere where fruit trees are close to windows, or close to highways and roads," she said.

The American Bird Conservancy sells tape that reflects ultraviolet light, which is visible to birds while minimizing the visibility to humans, Erickson said.

Fifty percent of birds that hit windows die, Erickson said.

Birds often strike the windows of homes in Duluth when the birds are coming to or leaving bird feeders, Erickson said.

"The safest place to have a birdfeeder is right smack on your window," she said, "either nailed to the frame or sticking to the glass. That way, they see the window. If they do hit the glass, they aren't going full speed."

"This is a wake-up call," Farr said, "to look for opportunities to make our city even better for wildlife than it is."

The Duluth Audubon Society is initiating a project called Birdsafe, an effort to reduce the number of birds killed or injured when they collide with buildings, said Jane Cleave, president of Duluth Audubon Society.

Tim Pohl, a contract employee who works at Minnesota Power in facilities management, witnessed the Bohemian waxwing die-off Monday.

Pohl had gone outside to put money in a parking meter on the Michigan Street side of the building when he saw a large number of Bohemian waxwings flying up toward a tree.

He saw many of the birds hit tinted glass partitions and the building itself.

"There were hundreds of them flying," he said. "They were bouncing off the glass and the retaining wall underneath. I'll bet of the 100 I picked up, 37 of them died. It all happened within five minutes. It was like a horror movie. There were birds falling out of the sky not even near the wall. They were just dropping out of the sky not even hitting the wall.

"They would hit (the partitions or building) or drop out of the sky," he said. "Their wings were straight out, twitching. They were on their backs. I would hold them for a second, then put them on the ground. ... There was a liquid discharge. They left wet spots. Within seconds, they would fly away. But a bunch got worse."

Three crows nearby were preying on the injured waxwings, Pohl said.

"Crows were picking off the live ones," he said.

"I've never seen this before," Pohl said of the event. "I've worked here 12 years."

He said he stayed outside for about a half-hour, picking up birds and putting the dead ones in a pile.

"The crows picked up quite a few of them," he said.

[Psalm 51:17]

Manatee deaths at Indian River Lagoon: Questions abound in mysterious deaths of manatees, pelicans
4/25/13

VERO BEACH — Whatever is killing manatees and pelicans northern Indian River Lagoon remains unknown, but apparently wildlife along the Treasure Coast won’t become victims.

Since July and 2012, a total of 220 manatees have died in the lagoon in Brevard County, about 100 of them under mysterious circumstances; and since February, between 250 and 300 dead pelicans have been found in the same area.

Thomas R. “Tom” Reinert, a research administrator with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, told members of the Indian River Lagoon National Estuary Program Advisory Board on Wednesday that researchers have been stumped in their efforts to find the cause — or causes.

Asked if the mysterious deaths could migrate south into the lagoon along the Treasure Coast, Reinert replied, “I can’t answer that. The cases seem to be localized, with the zone in Brevard County from Sebastian to Titusville being where the deaths are concentrated. And it appears it will remain that way.”

In March alone, Reinert said, 56 sea cows died from unknown causes in Brevard County, where the annual manatee death count from all causes averages 111.

Reinert said dead manatees have been reported “here and there” along the Treasure Coast, but the numbers are within the usual mortality rate.

According to the commission’s website, six manatees have died in Indian River County, four in St. Lucie County and three in Martin County from Jan. 1 to April 19.

Statewide, 566 manatees have died over the same period. A record 766 manatees died in Florida in 2010.

“We’re on a trajectory to eclipse that,” Reinert said.

Reinert said the deaths of the manatees and the pelicans “could be completely unrelated. At least they’re not directly related. They don’t show the same symptoms at all. Of course, they could be tangentially related. There could be some ultimate cause that effects manatees and pelicans differently.”

Reinert said the manatees that died mysteriously appeared to be healthy but drowned due to toxic shock-like symptoms similar to the hundreds of sea cows on Florida’s West Coast that have died from toxins in the so-called “red tide” algae blooms.

“We’ve tested for (the toxin found in) red tide,” Reinert said, “but there’s no red tide present (in the lagoon manatees). There’s no evidence of disease or viruses, or of any known toxins. We’re not finding anything special that would explain the toxic shock.”

The dead pelicans, on the other hand, have been emaciated and parasite-ridden.

“The parasites may be a coincident of the pelicans being sick and then getting the parasites rather than the parasites causing the sickness,” Reinert said. “Whatever they had made them stop eating.”

Necropsies of the dead pelicans didn’t show signs of diseases such as avian flu or West Nile virus.

Researchers believe the manatee deaths are the result of a dietary shift, he added, “but that’s not been confirmed.”

Over the last few years, Reinert noted, the northern lagoon “has gotten hammered” by a series of algae blooms. The blooms have resulted in the loss of massive areas of seagrass, the manatees’ primary food, while the amount of macroalgae, seaweed known as “the tumbleweeds of the Indian River Lagoon,” has expanded.

Reinert said researchers initially focused on the fact that the first manatees to die mysteriously had lots of red macroalgae in their stomachs.

“But in the later deaths, we didn’t find the same species of macroalgae,” he said.

Whatever is killing manatees and pelicans, Reinert said, doesn’t seem to pose a danger to humans.

“Well,” he said, “I’m not testing anybody.”


Read more: http://www.wptv.com/dpp/news/region_indian_river_county/vero_beach/manatee-deaths-at-indian-river-lagoon-questions-abound-in-mysterious-deaths-of-manatees-pelicans#87573668-2#ixzz2RdNPEXv4

[Psalm 51:17]

Marine biologists investigating cause of sick sea lion pups
4/28/13

SAN PEDRO, Calif. –  Marine biologists are at a loss as to why an unprecedented number of sea lion pups are turning up near death along Southern California's coastline.

Since the beginning of the year, some 1,400 young California sea lions were admitted to rehabilitation centers across the state, according to Sarah Wilkin, the marine mammal stranding coordinator for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Wilkin said that figure is five times the normal rate of beached pups for this time of year.

"Nobody was quite prepared for the scope of this," said Wilkin. "The major common factor for all these stranded pups is that they're coming in emaciated, dehydrated, basically starving. They have been unable to find enough food to sustain themselves."

As to why they are not getting enough of the fish they need for both nutrition and hydration is still unclear. But what is clear to marine biologists is this beaching epidemic only affects the young. Most of the sick sea lions were born last summer.

"The pups can't dive as deep," said Wilkin. "They can't travel as far so they might be more impacted in even just a slight change in the distribution of prey."

NOAA has taken an extraordinary step by declaring this an "unusual mortality event" to receive additional funding for rehabilitation and research.

"The numbers speak for themselves," said David Bard with the Marine Mammal Care Center at Fort MacArthur in San Pedro, Calif. "As far as the underlying causes, anything that I can tell you would be a guess."

Typically, Bard's facility receives between 50 and 80 animals in the first quarter of the year. So far in 2013, it has treated more than 400.

"What we started seeing since January is animals coming in at roughly half the weight that they should be," said Bard. "You can see their shoulder blades, you can see their spines."

SeaWorld San Diego reports similar figures. Spokesperson Dave Koontz said its rehab facility has treated more than 300 animals in 2013, a number that also includes elephant and harbor seals. Koontz says that's more in the first four months of 2013 than in 2011 and 2012 combined.

Wilkin says the NOAA is working with fishery scientists and oceanographers to pinpoint the exact cause. Besides food shortages, they are also exploring other theories including exposure to biotoxins, disease and human pollutants. They are even looking into possible radiation contamination from Japan's Fukushima nuclear power plant meltdown following the 2011 tsunami.

But regardless the reason, Wilkin said this could be a sign of something more troubling in the waters off the coast of California.

"We consider marine mammals usually as sentinels," Wilkin said. "By investigating causes that are impacting them, we do a lot of times get information that in turn can impact us. We eat a lot of the same fish species. We are using the oceans for similar ways so what we learn from them does play into our health."

Early findings indicate that the year has been relatively neutral in regards to ocean conditions, including temperature, according to Wilkin. So far, the California seal lion pup is the only marine mammal being affected in such a way.


Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/science/2013/04/28/marine-biologists-investigating-unprecedented-number-sick-sea-lion-pups/#ixzz2Ru3zEy9r