Helicopter fitted with cameras for aerial mapping. The cameras are in the gray box mounted to the underside of the cockpit in front of the landing skids. Credit: Atlantic Salmon Federation/Valerie Ouellet

Where Do Atlantic Salmon Go to Beat the Heat?

11/25/2024 - By fisheries.noaa.gov. As a key river habitat warms, researchers race to protect cold water patches critical to salmon survival. Researchers have successfully used cameras operated from a helicopter to map surface water temperatures in Maine’s Narraguagus River. This is an important step toward habitat conservation for endangered Atlantic salmon and… SEE MORE
Image Credits: The Australian Institute of Marine Science.

Marine Weather Forecasts Are Getting an AI Upgrade

11/24/2024 - By Vanessa Minke-Martin Machine learning systems—powered by new data—are taking some of the guesswork out of maritime safety. Jake Spink fished British Columbia’s craggy coast for four decades. Now, as the president of the British Columbia Coast Pilots—an association of highly trained captains that guide thousands of tankers, cruise ships,… SEE MORE
Sardine collected on the 2023 Coastal Pelagic Species Survey. Pacific and Japanese sardine look so similar that they can only be distinguished by genetics. Genomic analysis later revealed that the catch contained both species. Photo Credit: NOAA Fisheries/Kelsey James

Surprise! Japanese Sardines Astonish Scientists by Crossing the Pacific to the West Coast

11/18/2024 - By fisheries.noaa.gov. Next generation genomic sequencing of Pacific sardine reveals not one, but two species of sardine in the California Current in 2022 and 2023. When research scientist Gary Longo first saw the results of his genomic analysis of sardines, he thought he must have mixed up his samples. Besides… SEE MORE
Image Credits: fisheries.noaa.gov.

New Clues Reveal Genetic Diversity among Alaska’s Harbor Porpoises

11/14/2024 - By fisheries.noaa.gov. Powerful tools reveal hidden structure of harbor porpoise population. Harbor porpoises are shy, elusive creatures that live in Alaska's coastal waters and are vital parts of the marine ecosystem. But how these animals are distributed and connected across the vast Alaskan waters remains a mystery. A new study published in the… SEE MORE
Image Credits: PICRYL.

Weather Forecasting Is Deadly for Marine Wildlife

10/31/2024 - By Danielle Beurteaux. Latex balloons designed to collect high-altitude data become a threat to marine animals after they burst—though the scale of their impact remains unknown. On a fall day in 2023, a juvenile Atlantic yellow-nosed albatross was lying listless in southeastern Brazil’s Santos Basin. Beach monitors found the young bird in… SEE MORE
Image Credits: Freerange Stocks.

Migrating Seabirds Are Bringing Forever Chemicals into the Arctic

10/23/2024 - By William von Herff. New research shows how toxic chemicals hitch a ride with seabirds flying from southern latitudes to the Arctic. Between March and May each year, 15 million black-legged kittiwakes gather from across the North Atlantic and Pacific Oceans to nest and breed on rocky Arctic cliffs—some making the journey… SEE MORE
Image Credits: goodfon.com.

Offering a Dose of Healing, Curious Beluga Whales Frolic in a Warming Hudson Bay

10/17/2024 - By Seth Borenstein. Playful large white beluga whales bring joy and healing to Hudson Bay. Their happy chirps leap out in an environment and economy threatened by the warming water melting sea ice, starving polar bears and changing the entire food chain. Loud and curious belugas swarm boats here, clicking, nudging and frolicking.… SEE MORE