Latest news with #marineBiodiversity
Sustainability Times
3 days ago
- Science
- Sustainability Times
'Thousands of Giant Eggs Found': Underwater Volcano Unleashes Bizarre Lifeform That Leaves Marine Biologists Shocked and Terrified
IN A NUTSHELL 🌋 An active underwater volcano near Vancouver Island has exposed thousands of giant eggs of the elusive Pacific white skate. of the elusive Pacific white skate. 🔍 The volcanic warmth serves as a natural incubator, accelerating the development of these eggs and impacting marine life cycles . . 🐟 The Pacific white skate, capable of growing up to 6.5 feet , thrives in the cold depths, utilizing volcanic heat for early development. , thrives in the cold depths, utilizing volcanic heat for early development. 🌿 This discovery underscores the need for conservation of volcanic habitats as crucial marine nurseries amid climate change challenges. The ocean's depths have always held a mystique, captivating scientists and adventurers alike. Recently, the discovery of an active underwater volcano near Vancouver Island, Canada, has unveiled thousands of giant eggs belonging to the Pacific white skate, a rare and elusive species. These eggs, nestled in the volcanic warmth, offer an unprecedented look into the life cycles of deep-sea creatures. This significant finding not only enhances our understanding of marine biodiversity but also emphasizes the critical role of volcanic habitats in nurturing marine life. As we delve deeper into these findings, we stand at the brink of potentially transformative insights into our ocean's ecosystems. The Astonishing Revelation of an Active Underwater Volcano The underwater volcano near Vancouver Island, once believed dormant, became the focus of attention during a 2019 expedition led by marine biologist Cherisse Du Preez. Rising about 3,600 feet from the ocean floor, the seamount is situated approximately 0.93 to 0.99 miles below the ocean's surface, making it a formidable presence beneath the waves. The expedition uncovered that this volcano emits warm, mineral-rich waters, fostering an unexpectedly diverse marine ecosystem. This geothermal activity is pivotal in the development of the giant eggs, which measure 18 to 20 inches and require a four-year incubation period. The volcanic warmth acts as a natural incubator, hastening the development of young Pacific white skates and giving them a robust start. This phenomenon underscores the intricate interplay between geological and biological processes under the sea, revealing how geological features like underwater volcanoes can profoundly influence marine life cycles. 'Earth Is Not Unique Anymore': Harvard Scientists Reveal Countless Earth-Like Planets Lurking in Distant Galaxies Unique Traits of the Pacific White Skate The Pacific white skate, known scientifically as Bathyraja spinosissima, thrives in the cold Pacific waters at depths ranging from 2,600 to 9,500 feet. The females of this species lay substantial eggs, investing significant energy to provide essential nutrients for their offspring, a process termed marine gigantism. Adult skates can reach lengths of 6.5 feet, highlighting their adaptation to the deep ocean's harsh conditions. The warm summit of the volcano creates an ideal environment, described by Cherisse Du Preez as 'almost a coral garden and a safe nursery for juveniles before they descend into the deep.' This setting underscores the vital role these volcanic habitats play in the early life stages of skates. A similar discovery in 2018 near the Galápagos Islands found eggs over 4 inches near hydrothermal vents, suggesting that volcanic heat is a common resource for various marine species during incubation. 'They Morph Like Liquid Metal': Scientists Reveal Mini-Robot Swarm That Shape-Shifts Just Like in Sci-Fi Movies Implications for Marine Research and Biodiversity The discovery of this active underwater volcano and its role as a natural nursery offers new insights into the complexity of marine ecosystems. The geothermal warmth supports a unique biodiversity, allowing scientists to explore how such environments impact marine life development. The presence of these giant eggs in an active volcano indicates that underwater volcanic activity may play a more significant role in marine life cycles than previously understood. In 2023, a follow-up expedition observed a Pacific white skate laying an egg at the Canadian site, providing further understanding of the reproductive behaviors of this enigmatic species. Evidence also suggests that multiple species utilize this unique site as a natural nursery, highlighting the broader ecological significance of these volcanic habitats. 'This Tiny Seed Controls Blood Sugar and Shields Your Heart': Doctors Urge Adding It to Your Breakfast Daily The Future of Oceanic Exploration and Conservation Understanding the complex dynamics of these underwater ecosystems is crucial for marine conservation efforts. The discovery of the Pacific white skate's breeding ground within an active volcano emphasizes the need to protect these delicate environments. As climate change continues to impact ocean temperatures and ecosystems, preserving these unique habitats becomes increasingly vital. Researchers and conservationists must collaborate to ensure the sustainability of these ecosystems, which serve as crucial sanctuaries for marine life. Future explorations may reveal even more hidden secrets of the deep, challenging us to rethink our relationship with the ocean. What other mysteries lie beneath the waves, waiting to be discovered? Our author used artificial intelligence to enhance this article. Did you like it? 4.5/5 (26)
The Guardian
30-05-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
Irish whale-watching company ends tours on south Atlantic coast and blames overfishing
A whale-watching company has abandoned tours off Ireland's southern Atlantic coast and declared the waters an empty, lifeless sea. Colin Barnes, who ran Cork Whale Watch, announced he was closing the company because overfishing of sprat has disrupted the marine food chain and diverted humpback, minke and fin whales as well as dolphins. 'Sadly, our world-class whale watching is now a thing of the past,' Barnes said in a post this week. 'A small number of greedy fishermen with huge trawlers have overfished the sprats to the point of near extinction. There is nothing left for the whales to prey upon so they have moved on in search of prey elsewhere.' The company, based in the coastal village of Unionhall, also known as Union Hall, had thrived for most of its 25 years, but only a few minke whales and small groups of dolphins now appeared in its search area, he said. 'Over the last couple of years our trips have become totally disappointing. In this light I am truly sad to say we are closing down for good.' The announcement prompted a public outcry and a promise from the government to do more to protect fish stocks and marine biodiversity. 'We have to introduce measures to protect this forage species – not just for whales, but for all the other fish stocks and wildlife that depend on it – to prevent the collapse of an entire food web,' Christopher O'Sullivan, the minister responsible for nature and biodiversity, told the Irish Examiner. He said he hoped Ireland would emulate UK curbs on sprat fishing, which were having a positive effect. Demand for fishmeal from fish farms has dramatically increased the fishing of sprats, a small, sardine-like fish that plays a crucial role in the maritime food chain. Sign up to Down to Earth The planet's most important stories. Get all the week's environment news - the good, the bad and the essential after newsletter promotion Mark Gannon, who runs Atlantic Whale and Wildlife Tours from Courtmacsherry, 22 miles east of Unionhall, said the number of whales and dolphins had plummeted since large trawlers began scooping up sprat. 'It's a devastating form of fishing. It's like a farmer taking all the grass out of his fields and expecting his cows to thrive.' However, Gannon said he had invested in a new boat and still offered enthralling excursions, albeit with less wildlife. 'Just today we saw three minke whales,' he said on Friday after a tour. 'Compared to the numbers we had before it's chalk and cheese, but we still have a beautiful coastline. With the right policies, the south of Cork and the west coast of Ireland could be the European capital of marine tourism.' His wife and company co-owner, Trish Gannon, said bookings remained strong. 'I tell people we can guarantee absolutely nothing in terms of sightings and they're still happy to go out.' Patrick Murphy, the chief executive of the Irish South and West Fish Producer's Organisation, said warming waters appeared to be pushing sprat further west and north – where sprat catches have risen sharply – and this accounted for the dwindling whale sightings off Cork. 'We are asking for a proper scientific assessment for this species, so a proper management policy can be developed to ensure the continued sustainability of this important fishery,' he said.
BBC News
11-05-2025
- Science
- BBC News
Scars from the world's first deep sea mining test 50 years on
Half a century after the world's first deep sea mining tests picked nodules from the seafloor off the US east coast, the damage has barely begun to heal. Plunging to the ocean's abyss on the Blake Plateau, a deep-sea mountain range off the coast of North Carolina, is an otherworldly experience. It's like no other ocean bed that microbiologist Samantha Joye has ever visited. In her deep-sea submersible called Alvin – a three-person vessel made of titanium thick enough to withstand pressure in the ocean's depths, with two robotic arms reaching outside for sample collection – it takes more than an hour to descend to about 2,000m (6,600ft) below the water's surface. On the way down, the water is on fire with bioluminescence and abounds with wildlife. There are huge fish, small fish and jellyfish. Shrimp, sea slugs, octopuses and hundreds of squid bump into the submarine, seeming to be curious about its free fall into their home. "I have worked all over the place, and my mind was blown on the Blake Plateau. I mean, it's just spectacularly diverse," says Joye, recalling her last trip to the plateau in August 2018. At touchdown, the silty floor is covered in worms, sponges, stars and mussels the size of an adult human's forearm, says Joye, gesturing to her own limb to show me. Among the abundance of life, though, a section of the Blake Plateau is barren with the scars from the world's first deep-sea mining pilot test carried out in 1970. That experiment 50 years ago was just a proof-of-concept, but full-scale commercial deep-sea mining is on many of today's national to-do lists. In April 2025, Trump signed an executive order to fast-track deep-sea mining. The traces of those first rudimentary tests on the Blake Plateau are still visible today, half a century on, and scientists think they're just a small example of the effects deep-sea mining could have on the ocean ecosystem if it were to be conducted at scale. The world's first deep-sea mining test was conducted by US company Deepsea Ventures in July 1970. A vacuum-cleaner-like machine bulldozed through the abyss and sucked up 60,000 baseball-sized lumps off the bottom of the ocean. The nodules – filled with manganese, nickel and cobalt that accumulate a few millimetres per million years – were hoped to become a resource for the nation's industrial endeavours. There remains high interest in them today, as they're replete with minerals for making batteries for electric cars and smartphones, as well as medical and military technology. Deepsea Ventures' project fell through, and no more deep-sea mining was done off the US East Coast. But a remote-controlled robot sent to that segment of the Blake Plateau during a 2022 scientific expedition found the company's footprints. Scientists snapped pictures of defined dredge lines in the mud for more than 43km (27 miles). The lines dug into the abyss like train tracks, as if somebody had raked through it just recently, and the damage was "widespread and definable", according to reports. Where the tracks are, there is nothing: no nodules and no biodiversity. No curious squid. Nothing like the kaleidoscope of beauty Joye encountered in 2018, just around the corner. While no data is available on what that part of the Blake Plateau looked like before the deep-sea mining experiments in the 1970s, the contrast between the desolate scraped mud tracks and the rest of the Blake Plateau is stark. (You can see these tracks in the image at the top of this article.) The site is a proxy for what might happen elsewhere, says Joye. Before and after data from a mining simulation in an analogous area in the Pacific Ocean, the Clarion-Clipperton Zone, south-east of Hawaii and poised to be a deep-sea mining hotspot, suggests these ecosystems take hundreds of years to bounce back. Segments there that had been test-ploughed through in 1989 had much lower diversity of large animals, especially filter feeders, and still had up to just half of their microbial communities after 26 years. "And if you were thinking about something that was going to recover pretty quickly, it would be microbes, right?" says Joye. "And that was essentially a controlled experiment supposed to do minimal damage." Research from March 2025 confirmed the findings, noting that despite some recent recolonisation of the area, the impacts likely last for decades. The Metals Company and Impossible Metals, two players currently active in the field, say their machines are now much more sophisticated, sustainable and less invasive than those from the pilot test half a decade ago. Impossible Metals, for instance, aims to pick up nodules one by one, "delicately", their reports say, without raking the seabed. Impossible Metals has already placed a request for a lease for exploration and mining off the coast of American Samoa. "All mining has impacts. We have invented new technology to minimise the impacts," says Impossible Metals chief executive Oliver Gunasekara. He notes mining today is carried out in some of the world's most biodiverse areas, like the Indonesian rainforest, which is mined for nickel. As part of any mining permit approval, an environmental impact assessment would be performed to understand the impacts and "make sure they are acceptable", says Gunasekara. Yet, researchers already think there are dozens of possible effects on the seabed. And precisely forecasting the impacts of deep-sea mining is difficult because so little is known about these sprawling underwater ecosystems – with more than 70% of the world's waters still unmapped, says Christopher Robbins, associate director of Ocean Conservancy. In 2023, researchers suggested that about 90% of species in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone, are new to science: they found more than 5,000 deep-sea creatures they'd never seen before. In 2024, scientists discovered the world's largest deep-sea coral reef on the Blake Plateau: more than 83,000 individual coral mound peaks spanning 500km (310 miles) in length and 100km in width (60 miles), all the way from the coast of South Carolina to the tip of Florida. The researchers from the US' National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa) who discovered the coral reefs told the BBC they were not available to discuss the work at this time. Since more than 20 different pharmaceuticals have been developed thanks to organisms discovered in the deep sea, many undiscovered concoctions could be lost to deep-sea mining before even being discovered. Plus, the abyssal plain is not the only ecosystem at risk, says Robbins. The mining machines trawling through the ocean bed release waves of sediment from the ground, and discharge mining wastewater from the vessels on the surface, cycling abyssal debris in plumes that can travel large distances into the water column. Research shows the plumes could mess with the lifestyle, reproduction and feeding of organisms living in these areas. Studies suggest they can stress out jellyfish's mucus production and make it hard for organisms to communicate via bioluminescence, or clog fish's airways and end up in their diet. It's unclear what impact this will have on the ocean's ability to capture carbon, Robbins says. Species living in the dark zone above the abyss but below the surface are responsible for drawing down upwards of six gigatons of carbon, which is about 14% of the carbon that humans emit into the atmosphere each year, says Robbins. (The vacuuming vehicles could also be releasing more than 172 tonnes of carbon directly from the seabed every year for every square kilometre mined, according to Planet Tracker.) Aside from the wildlife impact, deep-sea mining in US waters can have some substantial impacts on the fishing industry, according to Robbins's recent report on potential conflicts in both oceans. "There are just too many unanswered questions that require us to take a step back to allow the fishing industry, frankly, to be better informed about the trade-offs," says Robbins. Off the US West Coast, another study from 2023 suggested that the migration routes of bigeye, skipjack and yellowfin tuna could overlap with potential sediment plumes if commercial mining were to be unrolled. Other research has suggested that small developing countries catch as much as 10% of their tuna from areas likely affected by deep-sea mining. More like this:• Colossal squid: The eerie ambassador from the abyss• Saving the world's most expensive fish• Tracking turtles during the 'lost years' The Blake Plateau, still scarred from the 1970 mining experiment, is likely not a target for deep sea mining yet, says Gorka Sancho, a fish ecology expert at College of Charleston, who penned a petition letter to President Joe Biden in 2024 calling for robust long-term protections of the Blake Plateau. "But everything can change on a dime these days," says Sancho. The Clarion-Clipperton Zone, on the other hand, is where miners have set their targets. Studies suggest this area alone contains more nickel, cobalt and manganese than all of the deposits on land. In April 2025 Trump signed an executive order to fast-track deep-sea mining called Unleashing America's Offshore Critical Minerals and Resources. Some days later, the government received a request for license to explore and to mine from the Canadian firm The Metals Company, including areas outside the US's jurisdiction. If the US granted such a permit, this could be in conflict with the international framework governing international waters and the seabed, known as the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (Unclos), according to the ISA's secretary-general Leticia Reis de Carvalho. (It's worth noting, however, that the US has never ratified Unclos.) The BBC contacted The Metals Company for comment but received no response by the time of publication. Trump's order commits Noaa to expedite mining permits. Robbins comments that the executive order is at odds with Noaa's mission. The BBC contacted Noaa for comment but received no response by the time of publication. At a congressional hearing about the new legislation, MIT mechanical engineering professor Thomas Peacock stated that some of the impacts of nodule mining "may not be as speculated". His work in 2022, carried out in part on behalf of The Metals Company, showed that only 2-8% of the murky plumes reach 2m (6.5ft) above the seabed and do not settle for hours, but that is just a few milligrams of sediment per litre and "roughly the equivalent of a grain of sand in a fishbowl". Still, Peacock suggested we need further advances in sensor technologies and computational modelling to craft reliable predictions of the impacts of commercial-scale ocean floor exploitation. He also suggested that large off-limit areas will have to be instituted to protect wildlife. Many nations around the world have called for a moratorium on seabed mining until the risks are fully assessed, the science is clear, and the regulation is in place. More than 900 scientists and policy experts have also signed a letter asking for a delay in commercial activity. In the meantime, the scars from the US's first foray into deep-sea mining testing are still there on the ocean floor, half a century on. They remain still in time, etched into the abyss, at the bottom of a world swirling with life. "I see this place as a national treasure. What makes this place so special?" says Joye, reminiscing on her last dive down at the Blake Plateau. "That mystery is something that we need to solve, so that we can serve as stewards of these habitats." -- For essential climate news and hopeful developments to your inbox, sign up to the Future Earth newsletter, while The Essential List delivers a handpicked selection of features and insights twice a week. For more science, technology, environment and health stories from the BBC, follow us on Facebook, X and Instagram.
