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Mysterious fish kill under investigation in Kuwait

Nawara Fattahova
Kuwait Times
Tue, 08 May 2012 09:15 UTC
Image
© Unknown
Some of the dead fish found near the bay
Fish have been dying in large numbers along Kuwait bay. This incident serves as an indicator of pollution or a major imbalance in marine environment, instilling fear of a possible fish kill. According to a local Arabic daily, Salah Al-Mudhi, General Director of Environment Public Authority (EPA) has accused people of spreading rumors most of the time. He said that dead fish could have been dumped into the sea by fishermen because most belonged to the 'Giant Sea Catfish,' species.

To assess the situation better, the EPA has requested the Public Authority for Agriculture Affairs and Fish Resources (PAAAFR) to investigate the cause and supervise the area. "Since last Friday, when EPA sought our assistance, we have begun daily inspection tours in the Kuwait Bay area, noticing that the number of fish have reduced drastically compared to Friday. We are still inspecting to make sure that it is not 'fish kill' and prevent more cases from occurring," Sharik Awadh, PR of PAAAFR told Kuwait Times yesterday.
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Butterfly

Red Admiral, 'Butterfly of Doom,' Population Explodes in NY

Victoria N. Alexander
Digital Journal
Sat, 05 May 2012 18:50 UTC
Red Admiral Butterfly
© Luc Viatour/Wikimedia Commons

Brooklyn - The Red Admiral Butterfly, known as the "Butterfly of Doom," was especially abundant the year the Russian Tsar Alexander II was assassinated. Lepidopterist Kurt Johnson reports an unusually large number of the species are descending upon Brooklyn, NY According to Dr. Kurt Johnson, a retired lepidopterist from the American Museum of Natural History, in the last two days there has been
an outbreak of Red Admirals (Vanessa atalanta) in Brooklyn the likes of which I have never seen (not even close), and I've been here 45 years. ... [T]here were at least a half dozen Red Admirals for every 10 paces one walked.... [At] the Botanical Garden, Red Admirals were also flying all over the place, chasing each other etc.
Butterfly population explosions are not particularly common, says Dr. Johnson. In 1881, the Red Admiral, also known as the Red Admirable, was found in great abundance in Russia. According to Russian lore, the undersides of the wings bore markings that resembled the numbers "1881." Russians came to call the insect the "Butterfly of Doom," and some believe its great numbers "signaled" the beginning of the revolution and the death of the Tsar.
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Alarm Clock

Peru pelican and dolphin deaths prompt warning to stay off beaches


Guardian
Sat, 05 May 2012 22:15 UTC
Peruvian officials examine a pelican carcass on the beach of Port Eten.
© Reuters
Peruvian officials examine a pelican carcass on the beach of Port Eten.
Government issues health alert after more than 1,400 birds are washed up along with 800 dolphins, with the cause unknown

Peru's government has declared a health alert along its northern coastline and urged residents and tourists to stay away from long stretches of beach as it investigates the unexplained deaths of hundreds of dolphins and pelicans.

At least 1,200 birds, mostly pelicans, have washed up dead along a stretch of Peru's northern Pacific coastline in recent weeks, according to health officials, and an estimated 800 dolphins have died in the same area in recent months.

The health ministry recommended staying away from beaches, although it stopped short of a ban, and called on health officials to use gloves, masks and other protective gear when collecting dead birds.
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Question

Fish Pond in Shenzhen Ravaged Overnight

liuranran
CRI Online
Thu, 03 May 2012 22:20 UTC
Dead Fishes
© CRI online
The fish pond covered with dead fish, located near a building site in the Mai Ke industrial area of Shenzhen, on May 1, 2012.

Over 50 thousand fish in a pond near an industrial area in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen died overnight on Monday, CRI Online reports.

The dead fish are mostly concentrated in the northern corner of the pond, and half of the body of water is now covered with rotting fish.

Located in the Qiangxiaxin Village at the junction of the Guangming New District and Dongguan in Shenzhen, the fish pond is larger than two basketball courts in area.

"We have invested a total of 350 thousand yuan (about 56 thousand USD) in the form of 60 thousand fish; now it's all over," said Ms. Liu, the fish pond owner. "These fish have been raised for one year, and could have been sold at market three months later."

Liu said she will not sell the dead fish at market despite suffering great financial losses as a result. She also suspects that heavy rain may have led to the pond being contaminated by toxic and harmful substances from a nearby building site in the Maike industrial area.

A manager surnamed Wen at the building site said that he is willing to cover any losses but stated that he is unaware of the presence of toxic materials at the site.

The Guangming New District environmental protection office has already begun investigating the case.
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Camera

Octopus Eats Seagull in Pictures Snapped by Amateur Photographer Ginger Mornea

Jordan Chittley
Daily Buzz
Thu, 03 May 2012 00:00 UTC
The attack only lasted 53 seconds as the deep-sea creature dragged the bird under near the Ogden Point breakwater in Victoria



Canada, British Columbia - Ginger Morneau was just taking a stroll along the water in Victoria when she saw a Giant Pacific octopus devour a seagull.

Morneau, her husband and her brother all watched as the octopus violently hugged the bird and pulled it under the water next to the Ogden Point breakwater in March.

She couldn't believe what she was seeing so she grabbed her camera and got some shots. The story and photos were first published by the BirdFellow Journal and are now going viral.

"From start to finish, from first photo to the last, there were 53 seconds that elapsed," said Morneau to The Canadian Press. "The struggle itself was really surreal in that it was quiet. You heard the sound of the water and nothing else."
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Question

32 Dead Porpoises Worry Wildlife Experts

Jeanna Bryner
LiveScience
Tue, 01 May 2012 21:21 UTC
Finless Porpoise
© Miyajima Public Aquarium
A finless porpoise at the Miyajima Aquarium, Japan.


More than 32 Yangtze finless porpoises have been found dead in the Dongting and Poyang lakes in China in the last two months, leading wildlife experts to worry whether the rare animals are being pushed closer to extinction, the World Wildlife Fund has reported.

Yangtze finless porpoises live mainly in the freshwater Yangtze River and the two lakes, where the bodies of more than 32 of them have been found since March 3. One of the porpoises was pregnant, according to the blog Save Yangtze Finless Porpoise.

"This tragedy shows that Yangtze finless porpoise is facing enormous challenges," said Lei Gang, head of WWF China's Central Yangtze program, in a statement. "The porpoise deaths illustrate that without effective measures to fundamentally reverse the trend of ecological deterioration, [the] future of the incredible creature is far from certain."

After examining the dead porpoises, scientists were left with a long list of possible culprits, including electro-fishing, strikes by boat-engine propellers, food shortages and pollution.

In electro-fishing, which is illegal, people use storage batteries to fire huge electric charges into the Yangtze and then collect the dead fish that float to the surface, according to an EDGE blog entry by Sam Turvey, who has studied wildlife along the Yangtze, including the Yangtze dolphin or baiji.
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Blackbox

Mass Bird Deaths: Peru examines deaths of more than 500 pelicans


BBC
Mon, 30 Apr 2012 12:19 UTC
Image
© Unknown
The government of Peru is investigating the deaths of more than 500 pelicans along a 70km (40-mile) stretch of the country's northern coast. Officials say most appeared to have died on shore over the past few days.

Scientists have also found the carcasses of 54 boobies, several sea lions and a turtle. They were found in the same region where some 800 dolphins washed ashore earlier this year. The cause of their death is still being investigated.

The Peruvian government said it was "deeply worried". A preliminary report said that there was no evidence to show the pelicans had died at sea, but rather on the beach where they were found.
      Read More...
Nuke

Jellyfish-Like Organisms Shut Down California Power Plant

Alexandra Ludka
ABC News
Thu, 26 Apr 2012 18:36 UTC
Image
© Getty Images
The workers of the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant received a very slimy surprise this week when they discovered hoards of jellyfish-like creatures clinging to the structure, leading to the shutdown of the plant.

The organisms, called salp, are small sea creatures with a consistency similar to jellyfish.

The influx of salp was discovered as part of the plant's routine monitoring system, according to Tom Cuddy, the senior manager of external and nuclear communications for the plant's operator, Pacific Gas & Electric.

"We then made the conservative decision to ramp down the affected unit to 20 percent and continued to monitor the situation," Cuddy said. "When the problem continued, we made another conservative decision that it would be safest to curtail the power of the unit."

The salp were clogging the traveling screens in the intake structure, which are meant to keep marine life out and to keep the unit cool.

Comment: It's not the first or second time something like this has happened. And we, at SOTT, wonder what exactly is going on.
Jellyfish Invasions Force Shutdowns at 3 Separate Nuclear Plants
Attack of the jellyfish: Sea creatures shut down ANOTHER power station amid claims population surge is due to climate change
Jellyfish threaten Israeli power plant
Jellyfish shut down British nuclear reactor

      Read More...
Blackbox

Bird flu? 'Hundreds and Possibly Thousands' of Mysterious Open-Billed Stork Deaths Spark Bird Flu Fears In Ang Thong


Bangkok Post
Fri, 27 Apr 2012 11:05 UTC
Image
© Unknown
Hundreds and possibly thousands of open-billed storks have died mysteriously in Ang Thong, triggering fear of a new outbreak of bird flu.

The birds were found dead in open ground behind a deserted factory by the side of the Chamlong-Nong Jik road in tambon Chamlong in Sawangha district after residents noticed that the animals looked drowsy and lay around on the ground, causing a bad stench in the air, the kamnan of Chamlong, Suebsak Waewkaew, said.

Residents alerted authorities who inspect the site twice and then went away, Mr Suebsak said.

He demanded the authorities collect samples of the birds' remains and move quickly to identify the cause of the mass deaths as residents living nearby were worried that bird flu might be involved.

Suthee Srisuwan, head of the provincial natural resources and environment office, said he had instructed experts to launch an investigation into the incident. An initial inspection had found huge numbers of dead birds in two locations. He would not elaborate further other than to say an investigation is underway.
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Fish

11,000 Fish Deaths in Little Beaver Creek a Mystery

Steve Bennish
Dayton Daily News
Wed, 25 Apr 2012 22:06 UTC
More than 11,000 fish died in one of three fish kills to occur in the Dayton area since April 17, state wildlife officials said Wednesday.

The large amount of deaths occurred on Little Beaver Creek in Kettering, from Research Boulevard upcreek about three miles, said Joel Buddelmeyer, the acting law enforcement supervisor for the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife District 5 office in Xenia.

Smaller kills were on an unnamed tributary of the Great Miami River near Leston Avenue in Huber Heights that killed 330 fish. There was another fish kill in Vandalia, but it was not related to the R.D. Holder oil fire, Buddelmeyer said. The fire in Clark County caused fish kills in the vicinity of the blaze.

Spring fish kills have been linked to lawn chemicals sprayed on larger properties just before a rain storm, Buddelmeyer said. The chemicals quickly travel with water run-off into the area streams.

"Until we develop a suspect, our investigators are trying to make contact with businesses in the areas," Buddelmeyer said. "It's hard telling."

The dead included bass, catfish, suckers, darters, salamanders, frogs and crayfish. The kills were reported on April 17 and 21.

Buddelmeyer said lawn companies should use caution when spraying and to postpone spraying when rain is in the forecast.
      Read More...
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