March 19, 2010
The Scanner: On the Bright Side Edition
Happy Friday, ocean fans. It’s almost spring, and a surfing alpaca exists in the world. Things are looking up.
Before we get to the week’s best marine tidbits, an important announcement: Oceana board member Ted Danson will be answering questions live on CNN.com on April 1, so send your ocean queries in, stat!
Also, don’t forget that today is the last day to take the Ocean IQ quiz for a chance to win prizes, including a trip with SEE Turtles.
This week in ocean news,
…Yes, CITES failed to deliver on bluefin tuna yesterday, but as Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Julie Packard pointed out, at least the conversation is changing. Bluefin is now in the same rhetorical realm as endangered land creatures such as tigers and elephants.
…Deep Sea News wrote a requiem for a robot — the Autonomous Benthic Explorer (ABE) that was lost at sea last week during a research expedition to the Chilean Subduction Zone. On a recent dive, ABE had detected evidence of hydrothermal vents. At the time of its loss, ABE had just begun a second dive to home into a vent site and photograph it.
…Chile braced for economic slowdown due, in large part, to the tsunami that destroyed the fishing season before it had even started. And photos showed the devastation on Chile’s Juan Fernandez islands, whose seamounts Oceana has been working to protect.
…Mother Nature News created a slideshow of the 10 animals with the longest life spans, and many of them are — you guessed it — ocean creatures. Among the ancient mariners: red sea urchins, tube worms and bowhead whales, which can live to be 211 years old.
…Katie Spotz became the youngest person to row clear across the Atlantic. It took her 70 days, 5 hours, and 22 minutes. And boy, are her arms tired. (sorry, couldn’t resist.)