The Starving Ocean: What's new?

Seal Disease Update - October 23, 2006 Responses from government.

"Seal Oil Leaves a Fishy Aftertaste..." April 20, 2006, and "Letter to Minister responsible for safety of seal products" May 20, 2006

Seal Hunt Ecologically Irresponsible - April 2, 2006

DFO Seal Forum 2005 - Comments on the new Seal Hunt Plan: specifically, how ecosystem objectives should be incorporated into this plan, and also, a letter to the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans asking him to elicit science advice on the wisdom of the current seal hunt from DFO's ecosystem scientists - November 21, 2005

Seaweed Update 2005 - Perennial seaweeds in Nova Scotia continue to decline, in patterns that are consistent with falling ocean fertility. July 12, 2005

Trust the Seals, Fear the Microbes... Position statement of the Grey Seal Conservation Society (GSCS) against the Canadian harp seal hunt. March 14, 2005

Something (else) is Rotten in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. March 8, 2005

Something is Rotten in the Gulf of St. Lawrence - in more than one way, this describes the overall effects of the harp seal hunt: stifling, rather than enabling, the recovery of the cod stocks. Feb. 11, 2005

"White rocks" - Another disappearing seaweed story in support of the conclusion that ocean fertility is gradually declining. Oct. 6, 2004.

A meeting with DFO scientists to discuss models of marine production - Canadian marine life is in deep trouble, but the official diagnostic exercise is not going well at all. Sept. 22, 2004

Saving the 'fat cat' - two species of catfish, or wolffish, face extinction in Canadian waters. DFO's pro-industry agenda clashes with the requirements of a new federal law, the Species at Risk Act. August 28, 2004

Hungry humpbacks? Conflict between whales and herring fishermen in the Bay of Fundy, plus a mysterious decline in the health of the herring stock, may force a new conservation strategy - August 25, 2004

DFO publishes a new explanation for the cod crisis, admits cod are starving, and exonerates seals - an update sent to the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans. July 25, 2004

May 10, 2004 - A positive meeting with the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans

April 19, 2004 - Letter from Geoff Regan, the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans.

April 8, 2004 - 'Pseudo-eutrophication?' - technical arguments regarding unexpected inherent difficulties in distinguishing between a starving ocean and an overfed one...but seaweed tells the tale.

April 2004 - Grey Seal Conservation Society (GSCS) formed in Nova Scotia in opposition to the proposed new grey seal hunt.

March 9, 2004 - Letter to Geoff Regan, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, in which I request a meeting and an urgent inquiry into the state of ocean health/ocean science. Check back: I will also post his response. (posted above)

March 3, 2004 - Grey Seal Hunt Proposed in Nova Scotia, an outrageously misguided, ecocidal plan. This needs to be blocked, and not because the seals are "cute"...

November 16, 2003 - A challenge to DFO's assessment of a major expansion in Nova Scotian baitfish stocks, based on overlooked information from Newfoundland science, and from (starving) baitfish predators.

September 26, 2003 - Where have the Fish gone? A fresh look at the Ocean: Slides and notes from a presentation given at Dalhousie University, summarizing evidence of a long term decline in marine primary production and the role that fishing may have played in causing it.

May 8, 2003 - Advice to the Commons Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans: Positive features of seal ecology may be slowing, rather than accelerating, the loss of the groundfish stocks....once all things are considered...

April 14, 2003 - Advice to the Senate Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans: To rebuild the fish stocks, first rebuild the zooplankton

April 11, 2003 - Frozen cod kill story updated Many observations support the hypothesis that oxygen depletion of bottom water may have played a role.

April 7, 2003 - Cod freeze to death in Newfoundland(?) ...did they freeze, starve, or suffocate?  ...and how does this story relate to other marine ecosystem components such as seals and zooplankton?

March 22, 2003 - What's that white stuff in the seaweed?   and Shifting Baseline in the color of Irish moss.

February 6, 2003 - Thinking "outside the box" in the case of the mysterious loss of the Canadian cod stocks

December 5, 2002 - Seals and Cod

November 26, 2002 - Advice on Atlantic cod to the FRCC (also brief submitted to the Canadian Fisheries Resource Conservation Council on Nov. 20/02)

November 6, 2002 - The Downturn of the Atlantic Cod in Eastern Canada

October 17, 2002, website revised...

• Seaweed photo galleries added

• Original seaweed article and barnacle article edited to load more quickly.
   

 

September 26, 2010 - I'm learning how to use "youtube" - my channel is StarvingOcean , and I've made "playlists" to show how I've tried to argue that fishing can and has eroded ocean fertility. See:

Where have the fish gone? 2004 talk at Dalhousie University with Debbie MacKenzie

and

June 13, 2004 - CBC broadcast its "Starving Oceans" episode of Land & Sea (watch it on CBC's website) , explaining how the scientific establishment effectively bars me (an amateur) from participating in advancing scientific understanding, and explaining in particular how the Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) had "frozen me out." DFO refused to comment on camera.

September 19, 2004 - DFO invited me to give a seminar to a group of scientists at the Bedford Institute of Oceanography. Video of my presentation is below (a series of 6 youtube videos), but lacks feedback from DFO because the scientists were not comfortable debating or commenting on the issues on camera.

01/08/02 NASA reports global decline in phytoplankton: http://www.gsfc.nasa.gov/topstory/20020801plankton.html