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| New England Coral Canyons and Seamounts map, NRDC |
Off the eastern shore of Cape Cod, 120 miles, carved into the continental slope beyond Georges Bank is Oceanographer Canyon. Further east by north plunge four more canyons, Gilbert, Lydonia, Nygren, and Heezen Canyons. Off the continental shelf, four seamounts in American waters rise about 7,000 feet from the abyssal seafloor, yet remain way too deep for sunlight to reach them - Bear, Physalia, Mytilus, and Retriever Seamounts.
Our Deepwater Backyard: Exploring Atlantic Canyons and Seamounts 2014 Expedition successfully dove NOAA's Okeanos Explore to Physalia Seamount landing at a depth of 2,579 meters. A jet-propelled squat lobster is just one of the remarkable animals discovered on seamounts seen in the dive video. The dive video on Retriever Seamount finds completely different habitats, yet again demonstrating how little we know about the ocean. We know more about the surface of the moon than we know about the ocean floor.
Cashes Ledge is in the middle of the Gulf of Maine about 80 miles off Gloucester and 100 miles south of Portland. This is a lush oasis with the largest area of healthy kelp forests in America's Atlantic waters. All four seafloor habitats are here - deep mud basins, sandy dales, gravel beds and rocky outcroppings complete with wolfish. An indigenous cod lives on Cashes Ledge that is uniquely red in color. The mix of all four essential fish habitats with lots of edges makes this New England's finest ocean wildlife area for not just fish, also whales and seabirds.
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| This redfish and other fish benefit from deep-sea coral reefs in the North Atlantic. Photo: Science AAAS |
Are these the oldest animals on earth?
In January the Ocean River Institute delivered to the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council a letter signed by 3,388 individuals. We successfully urged the Council to protect deep sea corals and to practice responsible ocean stewardship by approving Alternative 1B to protect corals at and below 200 meters.
Rob Moir attended the Mid-Atlantic Fisheries Management Council's presentation by Dr Nizinski on deep sea corals. Deep sea coral communities are called biodiversity hotspots. They are considered essential habitats for commercially valuable fish stocks. Yet, only redfish were frequently seen with specific deep sea corals. It was, therefore, big news to learn from Dr. Nizinski that deep sea corals were observed with skate and hake. That these two relatively abundant commercially valuable fish were seen with corals below 500 feet gives hope for the importance of deep sea coral communities for the less numerous ground fish populations, pollock, haddock, and cod.
Across the Atlantic Ocean, Science AAAS reports marine biologist Jason Hall-Spencer of the University of Glasgow, United Kingdom, and two colleagues found large chunks of deep sea coral in the catch hauled up by two French vessels fishing off West Ireland. Radiocarbon dating of these fragments indicates the reefs are at least 4,500 years old. Although only five of 229 hauls included substantial amounts of coral, Hall-Spencer says the extremely slow-growing coral can not recover from frequent trawling.
For more information on saving deep sea corals click here.
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| Osprey with fish, photo R Moir |
Greenwich CT Osprey Stewards estimate a local population of 80 ospreys, reports the Greenwich Sentinel. The increase has been fueled by a new abundance of menhaden. The two bald eagles that summered by the river at Cos Cob Harbor were observed eating menhaden. The Herring Alliance, a coalition of fish advocacy groups including us, worked hard with the Fisheries Council for sensible limits to the catch. In December 2013 the Council reduced the menhaden catch by about one quarter. This significant decrease has apparently benefited other wildlife, including more robust striped bass.
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Take a Minute to Earn $2 for Saving Oceans
Opinions 4 Good (Op4G) is an online market research company that provides funding for nonprofits. Since partnering with Op4G, ORI has received a total of $1,177 in donated survey incentives from our panel members. For each new member that joins this month, Op4G will donate $2 to Ocean River Institute. Long-term participation will provide additional donations throughout the year, with the average survey paying $3.50 for about 10 minutes of your time.
Click here to sign up. Every $2 helps us get more people involved in saving fish, sharks, and our oceans. After you sign up, please share this opportunity with friends on facebook or twitter.
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See what others are saying about ORI and why we are a five-star nonprofit on Greatnonprofits.org.
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The TRUTH will set you FREE.
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