Previous Oceans and Water News 2017
State largely ignores role as seas grow more acidic 11-19-17
Despite a bipartisan recognition of a threat to Maine’s shellfish industry, leadership on the issue has fallen to a group of concerned volunteers.
At last week’s United Nations Climate Change Conference in Germany, an issue of vital importance to Maine fishermen and shellfish growers took the international spotlight: the increasing acidity of the sea, which is making it harder for some shellfish to grow their shells. Read more at the Press Herald
State largely ignores role as seas grow more acidic 11-19-17
Despite a bipartisan recognition of a threat to Maine’s shellfish industry, leadership on the issue has fallen to a group of concerned volunteers.
Rep. Mick Devin, D-Newcastle, a marine biologist at Darling Marine Center in Walpole, a village of South Bristol, lays the blame for lack of official action on ocean acidification on Maine Gov. Paul LePage. Read more at the Press Herald
Ocean acidification is deadly threat to marine life 10-23-17
If the outlook for marine life was already looking bleak – torrents of plastic that can suffocate and starve fish, overfishing, diverse forms of human pollution that create dead zones, the effects of global warming which is bleaching coral reefs and threatening coldwater species – another threat is quietly adding to the toxic soup. Read more at The Guardian
A 1775 Map Reveals the Extent of Human Impact on Florida’s Coral Reefs 10-2-17
More than 240 years ago, the mapmaker George Gauld put pen to paper and drew the Florida Keys. The scant frill of islands curls across the ocean, surrounded by minute notations of depth—and surprisingly detailed descriptions. Read more at The Atlantic
Against the Stream: The Future of the Federal Clean Water Rule 8-10-17
High up in Washington’s Cascade Range, snow feeds the creeks that descend toward the coast, flowing intermittently in summer and gaining strength again the following spring as they coalesce into the Cedar, Snohomish, and Stillaguamish rivers that dump into Puget Sound. Read more at Undark
The Fight Over the ‘Waters of the U.S.’ Rule: What You Need to Know 07-24-17
The Waters of the U.S. rule, which the Trump administration is planning to undo, improves federal protection for about 22 million acres of wetlands in the contiguous U.S., as well as upwards of two million miles of streams. Read more at Men’s Journal
Chesapeake losing its oyster reefs faster than they can be rebuilt 01-29-17
There aren’t enough shells to go around for wild fishery, aquaculture and sanctuaries
The Chesapeake Bay has an oyster problem — but more fundamentally, it has a shell problem. Read more on Bay Journal