If It Swims Like A Fish And Tastes Like A Fish...

The New York Times Magazine section today celebrates the 7th Annual Year in Ideas. Each year the editors collect the curious, inspired, perplexing and sometimes outright illegal innovations of the past 12 months for our delectation. A curiously ocean-focused idea is the rather tautological notion of Fish-Flavored Fish.

In essence, seafood consumers are ga-ga over the taste of wild-caught ocean fish species. Farmed fish just doesn't seem to cut it, making for challenging times as global oceanic fisheries face depletion. Most at risk appears to be the fast food industry who's assorted Fillet-o-Fish™, BK Big Fish™ and similar sandwiches depend on the characteristic wild-caught, mild flakiness of Alaskan Pollock, a northern Pacific whitefish that holds a near-monopoly over products like fish sticks, imitation crabmeat and frozen fish fillets. What's a sustainably-oriented seafood retailer to do?

Enter “sea-flavored” Tilapia, the first farmed fish manipulated to taste like a wild fish. A product of Japan-based HQ Sustainable Maritime Industries, this "better than wild-caught" alternative uses flavoring compounds to replicate the taste of Alaska pollock and even the texture of cooked pollock. My guess is consumers won't know the difference, especially when nestled between sesame seed buns and buried under a gooey dollop of tartar sauce and cheese-food.

Feelin' Hot Hot HOT!

Considering a tropical paradise for retirement? Then save a bundle, get in early, and buy some land in Wisconsin. Well, maybe that's stretching things a bit. But on the eve of the UN Bali Climate Conference this week, researchers have concluded that the tropics have moved hundreds of miles towards the poles in less than 30 years because of global warming.

The expansion of tropics northwards and southwards threatens to have profound repercussions on the world’s weather systems as jet streams and storm tracks are bumped out of position. Research into the impact of global warming on the tropics suggests that they may have moved 500 miles (805km) or more in each direction and much faster than anticipated.

Maps usually show the tropics as the regions between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn. Climatologists and geographers have less rigid definitions which take into account factors such as rainfall, temperature, wind direction and ozone. “Some of the earliest unequivocal signs of climate change have been the warming of the air and ocean, thawing of land and melting of ice in the Arctic,” said the research team from America at this week's climate conference in Bali. “But recent studies are showing that the tropics are also changing.

I've commented here before about some of the biodiversity implications as climate belts shift. The notion of "introduced" or "invasive" species certainly will need rethinking as species ranges expand or shift with migrating climates. I've also commented on what I call the "Goldilocks Effect" in threatened species such as corals (they like conditions just right). As historically just right tropical zones become inhospitable due to overly warm sea surface temperatures, it may mean the cooler northern and southern extremes of coral reef formation become new refuge for larval recruits.

Several lines of evidence show that over the past few decades the tropical belt has expanded. This expansion has potentially important implications for subtropical societies and may lead to profound changes in the global climate system. Most importantly, pole-ward movement of large-scale atmospheric circulation systems, such as jet streams and storm tracks, could result in shifts in precipitation patterns affecting natural ecosystems, agriculture and water resources.

Changes in the extent of the hot and wet tropics, measured as having moved up to 8 degrees northwards and southwards, mean dry subtropical conditions are shifted farther towards the poles. Arid areas of the Mediterranean are expected to dry out further as a result of the shift. Parts of southern America, southern Australia, southern Africa, Mexico and South America will suffer drier conditions.

Crop yields and the types of plants cultivated for food are likely to be affected, and human settlements and ecosystems face severe tests, researchers said in a report published in the journal Nature Geoscience. The research was led by Dian Seidel, of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in Maryland, with colleagues from the National Centre for Atmospheric Research in Colorado, and the Universities of Washington and Utah.

Source: The Times UK

Is It Just Me Or Do You Feel Itchy Too?

From the title of my blog, you might think that I encounter a lot of sea lice in my line of work (hence my inclination to fashion a blog around our encounters.) Well, yes and no. I'm vexed by sea lice quite often in my field work, but not all sea lice are the same. I noticed a story in the news this morning about how sea lice (like the one in the image at the top of this post) are widely distributed in wild fish stocks in Norway. While an interesting read, these aren't the same vexatious sea lice of my blog title. The sea lice to which I refer are the larval stage of Thimble jellies (Linuche unguiculata) found primarily in Florida and Caribbean waters. The picture at the bottom of the post shows some adult Thimble jellies.

These larvae, generally half a millimeter in length, can find their way into bathing suits - even passing through the mesh of some suits - and become trapped against the skin. Pressed against bare skin, the jellies nematocysts fire and a series of stings result. The common symptoms include intensely itchy skin eruptions with small blisters and elevated areas of skin. Found primarily on parts of the body covered by swim wear, these lesions may also appear on the armpits and neck and occasionally on the arms and legs. Most divers and swimmers call it "sea lice." The term is a misnomer, however. A more accurate name for this condition is Sea Bather's Eruptions (ewww). Nice image, huh? True sea lice, as in the article about Norwegian fish, are actually fish parasites, do not affect humans, and have nothing to do with the larvae of jellyfish.

I seem to be plagued by sea bather's eruptions (ewww) whenever I snorkel or dive in Caribbean waters. I suppose it's my fault for not taking more precautions, but it also seems to be a function of repeated exposure. Each occurrence seems to get a wee bit worse. I've heard of this sort of thing with people who get progressively worse afflictions with exposure to poison ivy or poison oak. But I don't really have anything beyond anecdotal evidence to indicate jelly-related sea lice afflictions as an aquatic analog.

April through July are the months when the jelly larvae are most prevalent in Caribbean waters, although they may appear at any time. The symptoms appear very soon (24 hours or less) after exposure to the organism and persist for several days. Some cases have been reported which have a three- or four-day delay in onset and a prolonged course lasting several weeks.

Symptoms may include fever, chills, headaches, nausea and vomiting. I've also seen severe afflictions in some adults (not me yet) that result in extreme swelling over large patches of affected area. One particularly nasty case I witnessed (across a woman's face) looked as if her skin was exposed to a second degree burn. It certainly was exacerbated by scratching, but it really looked like her face was melting. This individual eventually required a series of cortisone (steroid) injections.

Many of these cases of sea bather's eruption (ewww) will clear spontaneously, but others may require treatment. Antihistamines and antipruritic (anti-itching) agents may be used, but the results are not good in many cases. Children and individuals with allergies or diseases affecting the immune system may be at risk for severe reactions. Fortunately, the severe reaction is rare.

Prevention means adequate protection by wetsuit or impermeable dive skin. Snorkelers wearing T-shirts, and women wearing one-piece bathing suits are vulnerable because of the trapping action of the fabric. After diving or swimming in an area where the jelly larvae are present, it's best to remove the wetsuit, dive skin or bathing suit before showering since the fresh water may discharge the nematocysts trapped in the fabric. There have been reports of the condition recurring when the same bathing suit is worn again, suggesting that the larvae may remain in clothing.

Stemming The Tide?

The unremarkable photo at the top of this post is of Kimbe Bay in West New Britain Province in Papua New Guinea. I took this picture last year while visiting our conservation project sites in PNG. While you wouldn't know from the picture, you're looking at one of the most species rich places on the planet. Behind me was a dense tropical rainforest that rose up the steep coastal terrain to volcanic pinnacles. The waters of Kimbe Bay in front of me are home to 60 percent of the coral species of the entire Indo-Pacific region, and an astounding diversity of vertebrates and invertebrates packed into every conceivable nook and cranny.

The incredible diversity in forest and sea is mirrored in the cultural diversity of Kimbe Bay's people. There are seven major tribes, the Nakanai, Bakovi, Kove, Unea, Maleu, Kaulong and Arowe, speaking a total of about 25 languages. I had the good fortune of meeting community members from some of Kimbe Bay's coastal communities during my trip last year. I was there to discuss coral reef conservation, but many of the villagers were more interested in talking to me, a stranger and newcomer, about a more pressing concern on their minds: sea level rise.

I was asked how long before rising seas might threaten low-lying villages and what scientists are doing to help. While doing my best to help people understand, I'm no climate scientist or civil engineer. Villagers concerns were sincere and palpable and I felt remarkably inadequate in offering any peace of mind for their worries. Now, a little over 12 months later, representatives from Kimbe Bay and other PNG communities are taking their fears to Bali in hopes of finding answers at the Climate Conference beginning this week.

Regional temperatures and atmospheric conditions, currents, undersea and shoreline topography are all factors contributing to sea levels. On some islands and atolls, which are the above-water remnants of ancient volcanoes, the coral underpinnings are subsiding and adding to the sinking effect.

What's Indonesian For, "Quick, Take My Picture With Furry White Man!"

Polar bears and Indonesians together at last? If the Bali Conference is a failure (and polar bears don't march to extinction in the next decade) a warming world may bring these two great populations together.

Pyrrhic Victory?

With its first official act, the new Australian Government today ratified the Kyoto Protocol. "[This demonstrates] my Government's commitment to tackling climate change," newly elected Prime Minister Rudd said in a statement. Under United Nations guidelines, ratification comes into force 90 days after the instrument of ratification is received by the UN, making Australia a full member of the Kyoto Protocol by the end of March 2008.

The ratification may very well be mostly symbolic, given that the Bali Conference on climate change opened today. The Bali Conference is charged with establishing a road map for the next round of international action against climate change, starting when the current Kyoto targets expire in 2012.

Drop what you're doing and swim over to The Natural Patriot for the Carnival of the Blue 7. It's a round-up of some of the best ocean writing to be found online (at least in the English-speaking blogosphere). Yours truly has a submission on the recent fuel spill in San Francisco Bay. Remember?! The over 58,000 gallons of bunker fuel that continues to be an environmental problem yet expectedly fell off the media's (and resultantly your) radar? Yeah, that spill.

That's A Moray Monday: Stupid Humans In Need Of Attack

In lieu of my typical taxonomic moray reflections today, I thought I'd feature this video of despicable human behavior involving a Giant Green moray (Gymnothorax prasinus) and several divers. This fish is demonstrating considerable restraint in the presence of both profound stupidity and egregious wildlife harassment. These are individuals in some severe need of behavioral modification with a few well places bites to the hands and face.

I Love The '80's: The Australian Edition

With John Howard now busy unpacking his bags after an 11-and-a-half-year stint as Australian Prime Minister (a down-under warm-up for our own political embarrassment who will be packing his bags around this time next year), newly sworn-in Prime Minister Kevin Rudd made a not unexpected but still somewhat unusual cabinet appointment last week. Pete Garrett, former lead singer with Australian '80's rock band Midnight Oil, becomes environment, heritage and arts minister for the new center-left Australian Labor Party (ALP) government. In case you lived under a rock through the '80's, Midnight Oil was an incredibly popular yet more-or-less one-hit wonder here in the States with their song Beds Are Burning.


Beds are Burning was a powerful political song about giving native Australian lands back to Aboriginal communities. The band famously performed this song in front of a world audience of billions (including former Prime Minister John Howard) at the closing ceremony of the 2000 Sydney Olympics. The band was dressed in black, with the words "Sorry" printed conspicuously on their clothes––a reference to the Prime Minister's refusal to apologize, on behalf of Australia, to Aboriginal Australians for over 200 years of land grabs and marginalization.

While it looked as if Garrett would also add a cabinet position on climate change to his portfolio, loose lips and strategic errors on his part during the campaign resulted in that post being handed to another politician. Garrett was repudiated by Mr. Rudd over his suggestion that Labor would sign up to a post-2012 agreement that did not require developing countries to immediately reduce greenhouse gas emissions and "joked" to Australian broadcaster Steve Price that ALP policies would change if the party was elected to government. He was also criticized for giving support to plans to build a paper mill in the environmentally sensitive Tamar Valley of Tasmania.

Word of Colin Hay, former lead singer of Men At Work, holding any remaining cabinet posts has not yet been confirmed, although it has been suggested that Kylie Minogue will be in top-level discussions next week at The Lodge in Canberra.

Am I The Only Person Who Remembers Marine Boy?

Would any of my readers out there of a certain age who, like me, spent a good part of their after-school childhood in front of the TV please tell me they recall watching Marine Boy? I feel like I'm taking crazy pills when I try to explain the show to friends and colleagues, so I need some validation from other fans of 60's Japanese anime.

The Oxy-gum, the jet boots, the sonic underwater boomerang, Neptina the scantily-clad mermaid and her magic pearl... they can't write stuff like this anymore. And that theme song! It still plays in my head. So please, Marine Boy fans let me hear from you!