Towards more efficient longline fisheries: fish feeding behavior, bait characteristics and development.
By Sarah Hirth, RJD Intern There has been a growing demand for bait resources seeing that standard bait types, such as squid, herring and mackerel are also used for human consumption. As a result, bait prices have increased, thus increasing the demand for an alternative bait, one that is not based on resources used for […]
“Near-future Ocean Acidification Will Require Single-Species Approach to Management”
By Stephen Cain, RJD Intern It’s difficult to predict the effects of near-future ocean acidification (OA) across ecoregions and ocean habitat. The body of research has been conducted under a variability of circumstances and conditions. While evidence continues to mount for OA as a global mega trend, researchers like Christopher E. Cornwall and Tyler D. […]
Challenges in seabird by-catch mitigation
By Hanover Matz, RJD Intern In this paper, the authors comment on the current conservation status of seabirds and attempts to limit seabird deaths due to by-catch. Two species of seabirds, the albatrosses and the petrels, are particularly vulnerable to the detrimental effects of fisheries such as longlining. These birds normally lay only one egg […]
Can Facebook be used to increase scientific literacy?
By Sarah Hirth, RJD Intern With the rising popularity in social media, more and more scientists are using social media platforms for education and outreach. The case study “Can Facebook be used to increase scientific literacy?” aims to investigate how effective Facebook is when it comes to educating people about the oceans. Facebook is an […]
A Century of Fish Biomass Decline in the Ocean
By Lindsay Jennings, RJD Intern There have been many interpretations and heated debates in the scientific community surrounding the trend of global fish populations. Although some advocate increasing trends, others are quick to counter with their evidence of declining trends. And while previous local and regional studies have reported heavy declines of large oceanic predators […]
Marine Pollution: A Look into the Great Pacific Garbage Patch
By Hannah Armstrong, RJD Intern Plastics, among other pollutants, are one of the most commonly found in oceans and on beaches globally. This is mainly for two reasons: first, plastic is very durable and often low in cost, so it is universally used for consumer and industrial products, and second, plastics do not biodegrade completely, […]