Animals
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Bizarro Earth

Millions of jellyfish-like creatures invading west coast beaches from Oregon to California


CBS News - Seattle
Tue, 05 Aug 2014 15:39 UTC
Image
© Jack Guez/AFP/Getty Images
Millions of jellyfish-like sea creatures are invading west coast beaches stretching from Oregon to California.

LiveScience reports these "by-the-wind-sailors" typically live in the open ocean but when warm water and storms draw them near the shore, the wind blows them onto beaches where they die in stinking piles.

The scientific name for these creatures is Velella velella, and they are not jellyfish; they are free-floating hydrozoans. They do not sting humans but experts say you should not touch your face or eyes after handling them.

Researchers say that each apparent individual Velella velella is in fact a hydroid colony, and most are less than about 7 centimeters long.

"They sit at the surface of the ocean and have little sails and their movement depends on which way the wind is blowing," Richard Brodeur, a fishery biologist at NOAA Fisheries' Newport, Oregon, research station told LiveScience.

Comment: Mysterious jellyfish-like creature washing up on California coast

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Attention

Paddling family of three attacked by a beaver in Austria


thelocal.at
Fri, 08 Aug 2014 12:45 UTC
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© Cheryl Reynolds/Worth a DamMaybe not as cute as he looks?
A swimming trip in Schwechat, Lower Austria took a nasty turn for a family when they were attacked by a vicious beaver.

Presumably because it was defending its territory or its young, the beaver attacked a woman and her two daughters, along with their pet dog, whilst they were paddling in the Schwechat river.

Even when they ran out of the river and onto dry land it pursued them and bit their dog, taking a chunk of fur.

The family were enjoying the cool water when they saw what they assumed was a small tree trunk floating past. But as their dog sniffed it, it turned out to be an angry beaver, who immediately went into attack mode.

The mother took her children out of the water - but the beaver followed them onto dry land and thumped its tail on the ground in a threatening manner.
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Bizarro Earth

Giant jellyfish spotted in the Adriatic for first time since Second World War

Nick Squires
The Telegraph, UK
Thu, 07 Aug 2014 03:58 UTC
Giant Jellyfish
© Gigi Paderni/ANSAThe bizarre but beautiful creature was first discovered off the coast of Dalmatia in the 1880s by a German naturalist, Ernst Haeckel.
A giant, fuchsia-pink jellyfish has been spotted in the Adriatic Sea for the first time in 70 years.

The Drymonema dalmatinum, which can grow to more than three feet in diameter, was photographed by amateur divers off the northern coast of Italy.

It is one of the rarest jellyfish to occur in the Mediterranean and had not been documented in the Adriatic since 1945.

The bizarre but beautiful creature derives its Latin name from the fact that it was first discovered off the coast of Dalmatia in the 1880s by a German naturalist, Ernst Haeckel.
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Bizarro Earth

Mass death of stingrays in New South Wales under investigation

Ainslie Drewitt-Smith
ABC News, Australia
Thu, 07 Aug 2014 03:03 UTC
Stingray
© Allan GratzerOne of dozens of dead stingrays found on the shore of Lake Conjola, north of Ulladulla.
The mass death of stingrays on the New South Wales south coast has prompted an investigation by fisheries officers.

About 30 dead stingrays washed up on the shore at Lake Conjola, north of Ulladulla.

The NSW Department of Primary Industries, which has taken samples, said the likely cause of death was extremely cold water, between 8 and 9 degrees Celsius.

In a statement, the department said the "most probable" cause of death was the water cooling rapidly over a short period of time.

It said there were no visible signs of any pollutant, and no other species were affected.

The president of the Conjola District Lake Care Association, Robin Kerves, said she was not convinced the water's temperature was to blame.
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Fish

Anglers reel in THREE extremely rare opah fish in one day off California coast

Ashley Collman
Daily Mail, UK
Wed, 06 Aug 2014 10:13 UTC
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Lucky catch: Armando Castillo, Joe Ludlow and Travis Savala post with the three opah fish they caught in a single day last week. Opah, also known as Moonfish, are a rare catch and three at once is even more of a surprise since they don't often travel in packs

Most fisherman would consider themselves lucky to catch one elusive opah fish in their lives, but one recreational fishing boat landed three in one day this on recreational fishing boat landed three in one day last week while searching for Yellowtail tuna off the coast of southern California.

San Diego-based Excel Long Range Sportfishing, which takes groups out on multi-day fishing trips, posted at picture on Facebook of their surprise haul on Friday and the photo has now been shared more than 2,000 times.

Anglers Armando Castillo, Joe Ludlow and Travis Savala grin as they pose with their three orange disc-shaped fish, each weighing between 124 and 180 pounds

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Attention

Beached humpback whale discovered in Iceland's West Fjords

Eygló Svala Arnarsdóttir
icelandreview.com
Tue, 05 Aug 2014 09:31 UTC
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© Jón G. Guðjónsson. The beached whale.
A fairly large, 12-15 meter (39-49 feet), whale was discovered dead on the beach in Skarðsvík in Trékyllisvík, Árneshreppur, in the West Fjords, last weekend. It appears to have drifted ashore recently, as stated on local news website litlihjalli.is.

"On the way back from a lovely swim in the swimming pool in Krossnes, we saw the body of the dead whale floating near the coast," Dutch tourist Annick Gijzel wrote in a comment on the story.

"Wondering if it really was a dead whale we went a little closer to make sure that we saw what we thought we were seeing," she added. "Back in the hotel we informed the staff of our sighting."

After examining photos of the carcass, zoologist Ævar Petersen determined that it was a humpback, probably a male judging by its size and the shape of its flipper, litlihjalli.is wrote in an update of the story today.

The Icelandic Phallological Museum has already asked for the whale's penis.
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Fish

Third mass die-off of anchovies in three weeks, Santa Cruz, California

Calvin Men
San Jose Mercury News
Fri, 01 Aug 2014 07:17 UTC
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© Patrick Tehan/Bay Area News GroupVolunteer Ben Rodman of Santa Cruz cleans up some of the thousands of lifeless anchovies that have inundated the water at the Santa Cruz Small Craft Harbor in Santa Cruz, Calif., Friday, August 1, 2014 where a fish die-off occurred Wednesday night. A massive clean-up is taking place and volunteers are requested to help with the effort. Boaters say the decomposing fish will ruin the protective paint on the hulls of boats in the harbor.
Trudie Ransom caught more fish Thursday afternoon than she'd caught in her life, just not the kind she wanted.

Ransom was using a net to scoop some of the hundreds of thousands of lifeless anchovies from the water of the Santa Cruz Small Craft Harbor where a massive fish die-off Wednesday night prompted the closure of part of the harbor.

For Ransom, the owner of the SUP Shack Santa Cruz, the fish kill was bad for business.

"The sooner I can get this cleaned up, the sooner we can get into operation," she said.

The fish kill prompted harbor officials to close the boat launch ramp while crews and volunteers work to skim the fish from the water.

"It's kind of a natural occurrence that happens from time to time," said John Haynes, acting harbormaster. "With the sheer number of anchovies we had in the bay this year, we had an idea it might happen, but we did everything we could."

The die-off is the third in three weeks. On July 18, thousands of white croakers washed up on Manresa State Beach likely caused by a squid boat accidentally catching them in a net. On July 25, scores of dead anchovies washed onto the beach at Capitola near Esplanade Park.


Comment: See also: Unknown substance found in water off Capitola Beach, CA - thousands of fish dead

Huge school of anchovies swarms off La Jolla, California - attracting hundreds of thousands of seabirds

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Attention

Unknown substance found in water off Capitola Beach, CA - thousands of fish dead

Calvin Men
Santacruzsentinel.com
Thu, 24 Jul 2014 17:20 UTC
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© Santa Cruz Sentinel/Terri Morgan - ContributedThousands of dead anchovies littered the beach in Capitola on Friday morning.
A bizarre scene unfolded at the beach in Capitola on Friday afternoon with thousands of dead fish on the beach and a paste-like substance in the water. Though it's unclear if the substance led to the death of the fish, police cleared the water as a precautionary measure.

About 3 p.m., there was a report of a tan, paste-like substance floating on the surface of the ocean near Esplanade Park, Sgt. Cliff Sloma said. "There's an unknown type substance in the water and as a precautionary measure, we've had people exit the water," Sloma said.

Central Fire and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife were on scene to assist as was Santa Cruz County's environmental health team.

While people were permitted on the beach, lifeguards were keeping people from entering the water for precautionary measures, Sloma said.

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Attention

Baleen whale found dead on Guam reef


pacificnewscenter.com
Mon, 04 Aug 2014 12:40 UTC
Image
© Abby Crain
The Guam Environmental Protection Agency (Guam EPA) is asking the public to avoid the dead whale that washed ashore this weekend in Agat.

Whales, including deceased whales, have the potential to pass diseases to humans including Brucella, Morbillivirus and Herpes.

Guam EPA is working closely with the Guam Department of Agriculture and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National Marine Fisheries Service to deal with the situation. Officials are currently working on a plan to remove the 20-ton animal.

"We are asking residents to stay away from the dead whale for their own protection. A rotting whale carcass could possibly have diseases very dangerous to humans as well as be in an area where the surf can be hazardous," Guam EPA administrator Eric M. Palacios said. "Please use common sense and avoid the area."

Federal law protects whales, alive or desceased. This means it is a federal offense to remove or possess any part of a whale.

The 38-foot baleen whale washed onto the reef during heavy surf. It was reported by local fishermen on Saturday, Aug. 2.
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Attention

Dead humpback whale washes up on Lamaline shore, Newfoundland


cbc.ca
Sun, 03 Aug 2014 12:25 UTC
Image
© Submitted by Margaret Mary MartinA bloated whale carcass was found beached in a shallow spot in Lamaline, on Newfoundland's Burin Peninsula.
A dead whale has washed up near the shore in Lamaline, a small town on Newfoundland's Burin Peninsula.

The whale, which appears to be a humpback, could be seen Saturday washed up in a shallow rocky area.

Lamaline Mayor Maureen Fleming said the town is exploring options about what exactly to do with the whale.

There is no word on whether the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO), or any other agency, has plans to remove it.

"For the time being we are just going to wait and see," she said.

"We will not be towing the creature out because wherever it may be situated there is still going to be smell or it's going to come back into shore to somebody else, and that's not exactly what we were looking for in getting this creature looked after."

Fleming contacted MHA Darin King about the issue, and is hoping to have a plan in place to dispose of the dead whale by Monday.

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