"Ocean temperatures are currently hovering around the levels they typically reach in late July — and they’re likely to continue rising as the summer goes on."
Scientists tracked a young #whale's journey before he vanished. What they learned could help save his species.
#Bishop’s story, from birth to presumed death, shows the extreme danger facing right #whales, which could be extinct in 3 decades if they continue to disappear at the present rate. Bishop’s species is not doomed to #extinction …but time is running out.
In most ways #Bishop was a normal #RightWhale. For the first year of his life, his mother nursed & protected him, & he learned to feed by swimming, mouth agape, through patches of plankton floating near the surface.
But on Jan 20, 2015, Bishop became something more: a precious source of data that would help scientists better understand the dangers afflicting his species.
The delay has frustrated #whale advocates, who say more urgency is required. “As we watch this species go extinct one by one, the solution sits idle in the hands of the administration,” said Kathleen Collins, a snr marine campaign manager at the Intl Fund for #AnimalWelfare.
As a 1-yr-old, #Bishop managed to weave through #vessel-filled waters unscathed. Other #RightWhales aren’t as lucky.
So far this year, a dead female turned up off Virginia w/ a dislocated spine, a calf was discovered in Georgia w/head lacerations, & a young female was found — again in Georgia — w/ a fractured skull. All the injuries are consistent with #vessel strikes.
Orcas have attacked and sunk another boat in Europe — and experts warn there could be more attacks soon (lighthouse-eco.co.za)
A group of orcas known to attack boats in southwest Europe have sunk a 50-foot sailing yacht in the Strait of Gibraltar after ripping open its hull.
Scaling up: the app that’s transforming lives in South African fishing communities (lighthouse-eco.co.za)
Abalobi provides a real-time marketplace for fishers to sell their catch, while also monitoring fish populations, and the tech could go global.