#overfishing — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #overfishing, aggregated by home.social.
-
#Oceans on the brink: The dying blue #heart of the #planet
The ocean, Earth’s blue heart, is dying from #warming, #pollution, and #overfishing.
#OceanCrisis #ClimateChange #SaveOurSeas #MarineLife #EnvironmentalAwareness #PlanetEarth #BluePlanet
https://juskosave.blogspot.com/2026/05/oceans-on-brink-dying-blue-heart-of.html -
From Gold Rush to Green Rush
The environmental consequences of cannabis cultivation* "Professor Kaitlin Reed (Yurok/Hupa/Oneida) argues that the state's booming cannabis industry can be situated squarely within other extractive settler colonial enterprises such as gold mining and overfishing."
“The real gold is not gold, after all, but the land itself”
Kaitlin P. Reed, "Settler Cannabis: From Gold Rush to Green Rush in Indigenous Northern California" (U Washington Press, 2023) >>
https://read.dukeupress.edu/agricultural-history/article-abstract/100/1/140/407075/Settler-Cannabis-From-Gold-Rush-to-Green-Rush-in?redirectedFrom=fulltext* Reed "connects California cannabis production to the violence and dispossession of Indigenous land and people."
"Young countercultural back-to-the-land settlers flocked to northwestern California beginning in the 1960s, and by the 1970s, unregulated cannabis production proliferated on Indigenous lands."
https://www.degruyterbrill.com/de/document/doi/10.1515/9780295751573/html#cannabis #extractivism #agriculture #logging #overfishing #BackToTheLand #counterculture #GreenIdyll #SettlerSociety #GoldRush #GreenRush #CannabisIndustry #water #pollution #disposession #FirstNationsPeoples #IndigenousPeoples
Image: Country idyll with river -
A Fifth of Global Seafood Is Mislabeled: How to Combat Fish Fraud
#SeafoodFraud #FoodFraud #FAO #FoodSafety #Health #Sustainability #IllegalFishing #IUUFishing #MarineLife #Biodiversity #ConsumerRights #SupplyChain #Traceability #GlobalTrade #Overfishing
https://the-14.com/a-fifth-of-global-seafood-is-mislabeled-how-to-combat-fish-fraud/ -
#HorseshoeCrab follow-up: So little progress since I last checked maybe ten years ago... 🙁
Background: #HorseshoeCrabs (HSCs) are ancient (450 million years or more). They have a very early version of #ImmuneSystem that depends on something called "Limulus amebocyte lysate" or LAL to detect bacterial toxins and "clump" together to neutralize those bacteria/toxins.
This is scientifically very interesting in terms of evolution, etc....
https://daily.jstor.org/the-horseshoe-crab-same-as-it-ever-was/
Some bright scientist figured out that LAL could be used to detect contamination of vaccines and related medical stuff. Since that discovery HSCs have been commercially "milked" (actually more like a blood donation) to produce LAL for the pharmaceutical industry. [Before that they killed thousands of rabbits for this purpose. LAL was an improvement, and necessary, but read on for why it is no longer acceptable!]
Abstract: "Horseshoe crabs have been integral to the safe production of #vaccines and injectable medications for the past 40 years. The bleeding of live horseshoe crabs, a process that leaves thousands dead annually, is an 👉 ecologically unsustainable practice👈 for all four species of horseshoe crab and the shorebirds that rely on their eggs as a primary food source during spring migration. Populations of both horseshoe crabs and shorebirds are in decline. This study confirms the efficacy of recombinant Factor C (rFC), a synthetic alternative that eliminates the need for animal products in #endotoxin detection. Furthermore, our findings confirm that the biomedical industry can achieve a 90% reduction in the use of reagents derived from horseshoe crabs by using the synthetic alternative for the testing of water and other common materials used in the manufacturing process. This represents an extraordinary opportunity for the biomedical and pharmaceutical industries to significantly contribute to the conservation of horseshoe crabs and the birds that depend on them."
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.2006607
Bottom Line: There is an approved alternative to LAL called recombinant Factor C (rFC) out there, but Pharma mostly still relies on milking HSCs. 👎
Now in 2026: "A lawsuit is filed to protect ancient horseshoe crabs"...
This is basically an #OverFishing story with a rather odd and spiny subject. Even if they aren't warm and fuzzy we need to stand up for these magnificent creatures, and the ecological webs that depend on them!
https://www.wusf.org/environment/2026-01-06/lawsuit-filed-protect-ancient-horseshoe-crabs
-
#HorseshoeCrab follow-up: So little progress since I last checked maybe ten years ago... 🙁
Background: #HorseshoeCrabs (HSCs) are ancient (450 million years or more). They have a very early version of #ImmuneSystem that depends on something called "Limulus amebocyte lysate" or LAL to detect bacterial toxins and "clump" together to neutralize those bacteria/toxins.
This is scientifically very interesting in terms of evolution, etc....
https://daily.jstor.org/the-horseshoe-crab-same-as-it-ever-was/
Some bright scientist figured out that LAL could be used to detect contamination of vaccines and related medical stuff. Since that discovery HSCs have been commercially "milked" (actually more like a blood donation) to produce LAL for the pharmaceutical industry. [Before that they killed thousands of rabbits for this purpose. LAL was an improvement, and necessary, but read on for why it is no longer acceptable!]
Abstract: "Horseshoe crabs have been integral to the safe production of #vaccines and injectable medications for the past 40 years. The bleeding of live horseshoe crabs, a process that leaves thousands dead annually, is an 👉 ecologically unsustainable practice👈 for all four species of horseshoe crab and the shorebirds that rely on their eggs as a primary food source during spring migration. Populations of both horseshoe crabs and shorebirds are in decline. This study confirms the efficacy of recombinant Factor C (rFC), a synthetic alternative that eliminates the need for animal products in #endotoxin detection. Furthermore, our findings confirm that the biomedical industry can achieve a 90% reduction in the use of reagents derived from horseshoe crabs by using the synthetic alternative for the testing of water and other common materials used in the manufacturing process. This represents an extraordinary opportunity for the biomedical and pharmaceutical industries to significantly contribute to the conservation of horseshoe crabs and the birds that depend on them."
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.2006607
Bottom Line: There is an approved alternative to LAL called recombinant Factor C (rFC) out there, but Pharma mostly still relies on milking HSCs. 👎
Now in 2026: "A lawsuit is filed to protect ancient horseshoe crabs"...
This is basically an #OverFishing story with a rather odd and spiny subject. Even if they aren't warm and fuzzy we need to stand up for these magnificent creatures, and the ecological webs that depend on them!
https://www.wusf.org/environment/2026-01-06/lawsuit-filed-protect-ancient-horseshoe-crabs
-
#HorseshoeCrab follow-up: So little progress since I last checked maybe ten years ago... 🙁
Background: #HorseshoeCrabs (HSCs) are ancient (450 million years or more). They have a very early version of #ImmuneSystem that depends on something called "Limulus amebocyte lysate" or LAL to detect bacterial toxins and "clump" together to neutralize those bacteria/toxins.
This is scientifically very interesting in terms of evolution, etc....
https://daily.jstor.org/the-horseshoe-crab-same-as-it-ever-was/
Some bright scientist figured out that LAL could be used to detect contamination of vaccines and related medical stuff. Since that discovery HSCs have been commercially "milked" (actually more like a blood donation) to produce LAL for the pharmaceutical industry. [Before that they killed thousands of rabbits for this purpose. LAL was an improvement, and necessary, but read on for why it is no longer acceptable!]
Abstract: "Horseshoe crabs have been integral to the safe production of #vaccines and injectable medications for the past 40 years. The bleeding of live horseshoe crabs, a process that leaves thousands dead annually, is an 👉 ecologically unsustainable practice👈 for all four species of horseshoe crab and the shorebirds that rely on their eggs as a primary food source during spring migration. Populations of both horseshoe crabs and shorebirds are in decline. This study confirms the efficacy of recombinant Factor C (rFC), a synthetic alternative that eliminates the need for animal products in #endotoxin detection. Furthermore, our findings confirm that the biomedical industry can achieve a 90% reduction in the use of reagents derived from horseshoe crabs by using the synthetic alternative for the testing of water and other common materials used in the manufacturing process. This represents an extraordinary opportunity for the biomedical and pharmaceutical industries to significantly contribute to the conservation of horseshoe crabs and the birds that depend on them."
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.2006607
Bottom Line: There is an approved alternative to LAL called recombinant Factor C (rFC) out there, but Pharma mostly still relies on milking HSCs. 👎
Now in 2026: "A lawsuit is filed to protect ancient horseshoe crabs"...
This is basically an #OverFishing story with a rather odd and spiny subject. Even if they aren't warm and fuzzy we need to stand up for these magnificent creatures, and the ecological webs that depend on them!
https://www.wusf.org/environment/2026-01-06/lawsuit-filed-protect-ancient-horseshoe-crabs
-
#HorseshoeCrab follow-up: So little progress since I last checked maybe ten years ago... 🙁
Background: #HorseshoeCrabs (HSCs) are ancient (450 million years or more). They have a very early version of #ImmuneSystem that depends on something called "Limulus amebocyte lysate" or LAL to detect bacterial toxins and "clump" together to neutralize those bacteria/toxins.
This is scientifically very interesting in terms of evolution, etc....
https://daily.jstor.org/the-horseshoe-crab-same-as-it-ever-was/
Some bright scientist figured out that LAL could be used to detect contamination of vaccines and related medical stuff. Since that discovery HSCs have been commercially "milked" (actually more like a blood donation) to produce LAL for the pharmaceutical industry. [Before that they killed thousands of rabbits for this purpose. LAL was an improvement, and necessary, but read on for why it is no longer acceptable!]
Abstract: "Horseshoe crabs have been integral to the safe production of #vaccines and injectable medications for the past 40 years. The bleeding of live horseshoe crabs, a process that leaves thousands dead annually, is an 👉 ecologically unsustainable practice👈 for all four species of horseshoe crab and the shorebirds that rely on their eggs as a primary food source during spring migration. Populations of both horseshoe crabs and shorebirds are in decline. This study confirms the efficacy of recombinant Factor C (rFC), a synthetic alternative that eliminates the need for animal products in #endotoxin detection. Furthermore, our findings confirm that the biomedical industry can achieve a 90% reduction in the use of reagents derived from horseshoe crabs by using the synthetic alternative for the testing of water and other common materials used in the manufacturing process. This represents an extraordinary opportunity for the biomedical and pharmaceutical industries to significantly contribute to the conservation of horseshoe crabs and the birds that depend on them."
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.2006607
Bottom Line: There is an approved alternative to LAL called recombinant Factor C (rFC) out there, but Pharma mostly still relies on milking HSCs. 👎
Now in 2026: "A lawsuit is filed to protect ancient horseshoe crabs"...
This is basically an #OverFishing story with a rather odd and spiny subject. Even if they aren't warm and fuzzy we need to stand up for these magnificent creatures, and the ecological webs that depend on them!
https://www.wusf.org/environment/2026-01-06/lawsuit-filed-protect-ancient-horseshoe-crabs
-
#HorseshoeCrab follow-up: So little progress since I last checked maybe ten years ago... 🙁
Background: #HorseshoeCrabs (HSCs) are ancient (450 million years or more). They have a very early version of #ImmuneSystem that depends on something called "Limulus amebocyte lysate" or LAL to detect bacterial toxins and "clump" together to neutralize those bacteria/toxins.
This is scientifically very interesting in terms of evolution, etc....
https://daily.jstor.org/the-horseshoe-crab-same-as-it-ever-was/
Some bright scientist figured out that LAL could be used to detect contamination of vaccines and related medical stuff. Since that discovery HSCs have been commercially "milked" (actually more like a blood donation) to produce LAL for the pharmaceutical industry. [Before that they killed thousands of rabbits for this purpose. LAL was an improvement, and necessary, but read on for why it is no longer acceptable!]
Abstract: "Horseshoe crabs have been integral to the safe production of #vaccines and injectable medications for the past 40 years. The bleeding of live horseshoe crabs, a process that leaves thousands dead annually, is an 👉 ecologically unsustainable practice👈 for all four species of horseshoe crab and the shorebirds that rely on their eggs as a primary food source during spring migration. Populations of both horseshoe crabs and shorebirds are in decline. This study confirms the efficacy of recombinant Factor C (rFC), a synthetic alternative that eliminates the need for animal products in #endotoxin detection. Furthermore, our findings confirm that the biomedical industry can achieve a 90% reduction in the use of reagents derived from horseshoe crabs by using the synthetic alternative for the testing of water and other common materials used in the manufacturing process. This represents an extraordinary opportunity for the biomedical and pharmaceutical industries to significantly contribute to the conservation of horseshoe crabs and the birds that depend on them."
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.2006607
Bottom Line: There is an approved alternative to LAL called recombinant Factor C (rFC) out there, but Pharma mostly still relies on milking HSCs. 👎
Now in 2026: "A lawsuit is filed to protect ancient horseshoe crabs"...
This is basically an #OverFishing story with a rather odd and spiny subject. Even if they aren't warm and fuzzy we need to stand up for these magnificent creatures, and the ecological webs that depend on them!
https://www.wusf.org/environment/2026-01-06/lawsuit-filed-protect-ancient-horseshoe-crabs
-
How to make sustainable seafood choices this Christmas to ease the pressure on Australia’s oceans
"Last year the market traded about 350 tonnes of seafood over the Christmas period, with 120t of prawns and 70,000 dozen oysters among the top sellers...Australian Marine Conservation Society’s GoodFish guide aims to showcase the most environmentally friendly seafood sources."
>>
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/nov/22/how-to-make-sustainable-seafood-choices-this-christmas-to-ease-the-pressure-on-australias-oceans'Sustainable Fishing' is a Lie
"Fishing sustainability is based on a pseudoscientific theory that justifies taking the most marine life for maximum profit. Sustainable fishing is a deception, a myth motivated by the ideology that life on Earth belongs to humankind."
>>
https://www.currentaffairs.org/news/sustainable-fishing-is-based-on
#ocean #MarineConservation #biodiversity #wildlife #MarineLife #SustainableSeafood #prawns #BBQ #FishNChips #seafood #salmon #Christmas #OverFishing #stocks #yield #MSY #fishing #regulations #extraction #FoodWebsOcean life mural, Mid North Coast, NSW
-
Dream of fish galore
Rejoicing in all oceans
The fall of Mankind#Haiku #OneHaikuADay #WritersCollective #writingcommunity #BackToHaiku #Seasons #Summer #September #Fish #Fishing #Overfishing #Ocean #Oceans #Pacific #Atlantic #Arctic #Southern #NorthSea #SouthPacific #Caribbean #Indian #Mankind
September 6, 2025
-
So, something else that is a key element of ensuring #HumanWelfare remains in the SW range is to make sure folks are fed -- without destroying the environment! That's where #RegenerativeAgriculture , #SustainableAgriculture, #FoodForests, #CommunityGardens, etc., come into play. But #Rewilding and restoring key natural systems are also very important!
7. #Wildlife faces #extinction cascades as #ecosystems collapse.
"Vertebrate populations have declined by an average of 69 percent since 1970, with some regions experiencing losses exceeding 90 percent as habitat destruction, climate change, #pollution, and direct #exploitation combine to trigger ecosystem-wide collapse that eliminates the #biodiversity necessary to maintain stable #FoodWebs. Species extinction rates now exceed background levels by 100 to 1,000 times, representing a mass extinction event comparable to the asteroid impact that eliminated the dinosaurs but compressed into a timeframe measured in decades rather than millennia.
"The collapse of insect populations threatens #pollination services essential for agricultural production, while marine ecosystems face #acidification, warming, and #overfishing that eliminate entire trophic levels and destabilize ocean food chains supporting billions of people. Domestic animals face parallel threats as #IndustrialAgriculture concentrates genetic diversity into vulnerable #monocultures while climate change disrupts feed production and increases disease pressure on livestock populations already stressed by intensive production methods designed to maximize short-term yields rather than long-term #resilience."
#Collapse #Change #TheLimitsToGrowth #PlanetaryBoundaries #WaterIsLife #NatureIsLife #Extinction
-
So, something else that is a key element of ensuring #HumanWelfare remains in the SW range is to make sure folks are fed -- without destroying the environment! That's where #RegenerativeAgriculture , #SustainableAgriculture, #FoodForests, #CommunityGardens, etc., come into play. But #Rewilding and restoring key natural systems are also very important!
7. #Wildlife faces #extinction cascades as #ecosystems collapse.
"Vertebrate populations have declined by an average of 69 percent since 1970, with some regions experiencing losses exceeding 90 percent as habitat destruction, climate change, #pollution, and direct #exploitation combine to trigger ecosystem-wide collapse that eliminates the #biodiversity necessary to maintain stable #FoodWebs. Species extinction rates now exceed background levels by 100 to 1,000 times, representing a mass extinction event comparable to the asteroid impact that eliminated the dinosaurs but compressed into a timeframe measured in decades rather than millennia.
"The collapse of insect populations threatens #pollination services essential for agricultural production, while marine ecosystems face #acidification, warming, and #overfishing that eliminate entire trophic levels and destabilize ocean food chains supporting billions of people. Domestic animals face parallel threats as #IndustrialAgriculture concentrates genetic diversity into vulnerable #monocultures while climate change disrupts feed production and increases disease pressure on livestock populations already stressed by intensive production methods designed to maximize short-term yields rather than long-term #resilience."
#Collapse #Change #TheLimitsToGrowth #PlanetaryBoundaries #WaterIsLife #NatureIsLife #Extinction
-
So, something else that is a key element of ensuring #HumanWelfare remains in the SW range is to make sure folks are fed -- without destroying the environment! That's where #RegenerativeAgriculture , #SustainableAgriculture, #FoodForests, #CommunityGardens, etc., come into play. But #Rewilding and restoring key natural systems are also very important!
7. #Wildlife faces #extinction cascades as #ecosystems collapse.
"Vertebrate populations have declined by an average of 69 percent since 1970, with some regions experiencing losses exceeding 90 percent as habitat destruction, climate change, #pollution, and direct #exploitation combine to trigger ecosystem-wide collapse that eliminates the #biodiversity necessary to maintain stable #FoodWebs. Species extinction rates now exceed background levels by 100 to 1,000 times, representing a mass extinction event comparable to the asteroid impact that eliminated the dinosaurs but compressed into a timeframe measured in decades rather than millennia.
"The collapse of insect populations threatens #pollination services essential for agricultural production, while marine ecosystems face #acidification, warming, and #overfishing that eliminate entire trophic levels and destabilize ocean food chains supporting billions of people. Domestic animals face parallel threats as #IndustrialAgriculture concentrates genetic diversity into vulnerable #monocultures while climate change disrupts feed production and increases disease pressure on livestock populations already stressed by intensive production methods designed to maximize short-term yields rather than long-term #resilience."
#Collapse #Change #TheLimitsToGrowth #PlanetaryBoundaries #WaterIsLife #NatureIsLife #Extinction
-
So, something else that is a key element of ensuring #HumanWelfare remains in the SW range is to make sure folks are fed -- without destroying the environment! That's where #RegenerativeAgriculture , #SustainableAgriculture, #FoodForests, #CommunityGardens, etc., come into play. But #Rewilding and restoring key natural systems are also very important!
7. #Wildlife faces #extinction cascades as #ecosystems collapse.
"Vertebrate populations have declined by an average of 69 percent since 1970, with some regions experiencing losses exceeding 90 percent as habitat destruction, climate change, #pollution, and direct #exploitation combine to trigger ecosystem-wide collapse that eliminates the #biodiversity necessary to maintain stable #FoodWebs. Species extinction rates now exceed background levels by 100 to 1,000 times, representing a mass extinction event comparable to the asteroid impact that eliminated the dinosaurs but compressed into a timeframe measured in decades rather than millennia.
"The collapse of insect populations threatens #pollination services essential for agricultural production, while marine ecosystems face #acidification, warming, and #overfishing that eliminate entire trophic levels and destabilize ocean food chains supporting billions of people. Domestic animals face parallel threats as #IndustrialAgriculture concentrates genetic diversity into vulnerable #monocultures while climate change disrupts feed production and increases disease pressure on livestock populations already stressed by intensive production methods designed to maximize short-term yields rather than long-term #resilience."
#Collapse #Change #TheLimitsToGrowth #PlanetaryBoundaries #WaterIsLife #NatureIsLife #Extinction
-
So, something else that is a key element of ensuring #HumanWelfare remains in the SW range is to make sure folks are fed -- without destroying the environment! That's where #RegenerativeAgriculture , #SustainableAgriculture, #FoodForests, #CommunityGardens, etc., come into play. But #Rewilding and restoring key natural systems are also very important!
7. #Wildlife faces #extinction cascades as #ecosystems collapse.
"Vertebrate populations have declined by an average of 69 percent since 1970, with some regions experiencing losses exceeding 90 percent as habitat destruction, climate change, #pollution, and direct #exploitation combine to trigger ecosystem-wide collapse that eliminates the #biodiversity necessary to maintain stable #FoodWebs. Species extinction rates now exceed background levels by 100 to 1,000 times, representing a mass extinction event comparable to the asteroid impact that eliminated the dinosaurs but compressed into a timeframe measured in decades rather than millennia.
"The collapse of insect populations threatens #pollination services essential for agricultural production, while marine ecosystems face #acidification, warming, and #overfishing that eliminate entire trophic levels and destabilize ocean food chains supporting billions of people. Domestic animals face parallel threats as #IndustrialAgriculture concentrates genetic diversity into vulnerable #monocultures while climate change disrupts feed production and increases disease pressure on livestock populations already stressed by intensive production methods designed to maximize short-term yields rather than long-term #resilience."
#Collapse #Change #TheLimitsToGrowth #PlanetaryBoundaries #WaterIsLife #NatureIsLife #Extinction
-
Alarm over reports of massive #krill catch in the Southern Ocean
August 1, 2025
#ASOC is calling on world governments to take urgent action
Washington, 31 July 2025: "In response to a report by the Associated Press that the Antarctic krill fishery may have to imminently close due to an unprecedented high catch, the Antarctic and Southern Ocean Coalition (ASOC) is calling on world governments to take urgent action. The historic catch amount occurred due to the lapse of a key #conservation regulation requiring the fishery to distribute fishing over a larger geographic area.
"Krill is at the base of the #FoodChain in Antarctica and increasing demand from companies seeking to sell fishmeal, #PetFood and #DietarySupplements has led to a spiraling increase in catch. International negotiations at CCAMLR, the body charged with conserving marine living resources in Antarctica, broke down last year, resulting in lowering of protections related to krill catch. This reduction in protection allows the entire krill quota to be caught in a very small area, increasing impacts to krill predators – #penguins, #seals, and #whales – that depend on krill to survive.
"The next round of negotiations on these issues will be held in Australia in October. Scientific research has previously shown that krill predators are negatively affected by fishing at an even lower level of catch than was seen this year."
https://www.asoc.org/news/alarm-over-reports-of-massive-krill-catch-in-the-southern-ocean/
#OceansAreLife #Overfishing
#FoodIsLife #Extinction #MarineLife
#Whales #KrillHarvesting #KrillSupplements #StarvingWhales -
#Overfishing has caused #cod to halve in #bodysize since 1990s, study finds
#Scientists have uncovered #genomic evidence that intensive #fishing has driven rapid #evolution changes that have contributed to these fish roughly halving in average body length since the 1990s. The "shrinking" of cod, from median mature body length of 40cm in 1996 to 20cm in 2019, has a genetic basis and human activities have left a profound mark on the population's #DNA, the study concluded.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/jun/25/cod-shrinking-size-overfishing-study -
#Jellyfish Keep Attacking #NuclearPowerPlants
By Gabriel Geiger
November 2, 2021"Jellyfish are continuing to clog the cooling intake pipes of a nuclear power plant in Scotland, which has previously prompted a temporary shutdowns of the plant.
"The #TornessNuclearPowerPlant has reported concerns regarding jellyfish as far back as 2011, when it was forced to shut down for nearly a week—at an estimated cost of $1.5 million a day—because of the free-swimming marine animals.
"In a short comment to Motherboard, #EDFEnergy, which runs the Torness plant, said that 'jellyfish blooms are an occasional issue for our power stations,' but also said that media reports claiming the plant had recently been taken offline because of jellyfish are 'inaccurate.' '[There were] no emergency procedures this or last week related to jellyfish or otherwise,' a spokesperson said. [Um, did they previously work for #TEPCOLies?]
" 'Like many other seaside power plants, the Torness plant uses seawater to prevent overheating. While there are measures in place to prevent aquatic life from entering the intake pipes, according to the #BulletinOfTheAtomicScientists, they are no match for the sheer number of jellyfish that come during so-called 'jellyfish blooms.'
" 'Usually, screens prevent aquatic life and similar debris from being drawn into the power plants’ cooling system,' the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists wrote in a 2015 blog post. 'But when sufficiently large volumes of jellyfish or other aquatic life are pulled in, they block the screens, reducing the volume of water coming in and forcing the reactor to shut down.'
"While the case in Scotland has once again spotlighted concerns regarding the jellyfish and potential power plant shutdowns, these concerns are far from new. In 2008, a swarm of jellyfish shut down a nuclear power plant [#DiabloCanyon -- which had another incident in 2024] in #California, and three years later the same occurred at a plant in Japan [#Shimane]. In 2017, jellyfish clogged a power plant in Israel [#Hadera]."
Source:
https://www.vice.com/en/article/jellyfish-keep-attacking-nuclear-power-plants/#GlobalWarming #WarmingOceans
#ChangingOceans #OceansAreLife #OceanTemperatures #ClimateCrisis #Overfishing #NoDeepSeaMining #NoNewNukes #NoNukes #NoNukesForAI #Oskarshamn #Torness #RethinkNotRestart -
#Jellyfish are taking over the world – and #ClimateChange could be to blame
Jan 8, 2019
by Sean Fleming
Senior Writer, Forum Stories"For 500 million years, jellyfish have been part of the maritime #ecosystem, but now they’re poised to take over the earth.
"They have no brain, no eyes, no spine, not even blood, but they have a remarkable capacity to reproduce and can pack an impressive sting, both literally and figuratively.
"Most recently, vast numbers of bluebottle jellyfish were pushed ashore by unusually strong winds and spells of hot weather in #QueenslandAustralia, stinging thousands of people and forcing the closure of popular swimming spots. About 13,000 stings were recorded in the past week.
"In June last year, over the course of just one week, over 1,000 people were stung in Volusia County, #Florida, following a period of exceptionally prolific jellyfish blooms. The explosion in their numbers has been attributed to warming seas and even increased pollution; unlike many other marine creatures, jellyfish can cope with reduced oxygen levels.
Small but deadly – at least some of the time
"Typically, jellyfish range in size from 1cm to 40cm. But they can be significantly larger – the #LionsManeJellyfish, for example, can reach 1.8 metres wide, with tentacles over 15 metres long.
"For the most part, the sting of a jellyfish is more unpleasant than it is harmful. The pain comes from venom delivered via millions of microscopic barbs in the creatures’ tentacles. Most jellyfish stings will only have a localized effect on the victim – redness, swelling, and discomfort where the barbs make contact with the skin.
"Some, however, will prompt a systemic, whole body, reaction. These may take several hours to emerge and can include symptoms such as headaches, nausea and drowsiness.
"In rare cases, the sting can be fatal. This is true of the #BoxJellyfish, which is spreading into waters that had previously been too cool to support it; its venom causes a severe reaction that can cause death within minutes.
A force of destruction
"But these booming jellyfish populations are doing far more harm than ruining people’s trips to the beach. In fact, the scope of their disruption has extended far beyond the water’s edge.
"In 2011, both reactors at the #TornessNuclearPowerPlant in #Scotland were shut down after an invasion of jellyfish started blocking the cooling filters. Two years later, the jellyfish struck again – this time in #Sweden. They forced the closure of the #OskarshamnNuclearPowerPlant, which contains the world’s largest boiling-water reactor.
"The island of Luzon, home of the Phillippines’ capital Manilla, suffered a blackout in 1999 due to jellyfish, and in 2006 the #USSRonaldReagan, a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, was brought to a standstill by thousands of the little creatures. And while these events may stand out as exceptions, they are increasing in both scale and frequency.
"From sea-bed diamond mining in Namibia to salmon farming in Ireland, even jeopardising the sustainability of beluga caviar farming in the Caspian Sea, jellyfish are as destructive as they are abundant. And that abundance is being caused by a variety of factors, many of which are related to human activity.
Some like it hot
"Over the last hundred or so years, the average surface temperature of the world’s seas has risen by about 0.9°C. As the oceans get warmer, marine animals are able to spread into areas that had historically been too cold. Oxygen levels in the sea have fallen by around 2% over the last 50 years, due to rising temperatures and #pollution [including #NuclearOceanDumping, which reduces oxygen levels]
"Jellyfish can thrive in areas with lower oxygen levels, where other animals suffer. But there are other factors at work, too. Fishing has depleted the global stocks of some of the jellyfish’s natural predators – such as #tuna and #swordfish – and some they compete with for food – such as anchovies. With more food and fewer predators, some jellyfish populations can grow unchecked.
"In the #BlackSea, unchecked population growth is precisely what’s happened. #AnchovyFishing in the region had caused harm to the Black Sea’s ecosystem by the time stowaway jellyfish made the journey there from the eastern seaboard of the USA. Most likely transported in the ballast water of ships that made the crossing, 1982 saw the arrival of the warty comb jelly. By 1990, there were 900 million tons of them in the Black Sea.
"There are believed to be around 200 different species of jellyfish, not all of which can sting, and some are considered edible. This could offer one potential, and creative, approach toward dealing with an over-abundance of jellyfish – co-opting them onto our dinner plates." [That's one way to deal with invasive species -- eat them into extinction!]
Source:
https://www.weforum.org/stories/2019/01/how-an-explosion-of-jellyfish-is-wreaking-havoc/#GlobalWarming #WarmingOceans
#ChangingOceans #OceansAreLife #OceanTemperatures #ClimateCrisis #Overfishing #NoDeepSeaMining #NoNewNukes #NoNukes #NoNukesForAI #Oskarshamn #Torness -
Ignoring science, #environmental protection and international law – #G7 endorses Japan’s #Fukushima water discharge plans
Legacy of #FukushimaDisaster shows #NuclearEnergy is no solution to energy and #ClimateCrisis
#GreenpeaceInternational, April 16, 2023
Sapporo, Japan – "The nations of the G7 have chosen politics over science and the protection of the #MarineEnvironment with their decision today to support the Japanese government’s plans to discharge Fukushima #RadioactiveWaste water into the Pacific Ocean.
"The 1.3 million cubic meters/tons of radioactive waste water at the #FukushimaDaiichi plant, currently in tanks, is scheduled to be discharged into the Pacific Ocean this year. Nations in the Asia Pacific region, led by the Pacific Island Forum, have strongly voiced their opposition to the plans. Some of the world’s leading oceanographic institutes and marine scientists have criticised the weakness of the scientific justification applied by #TEPCO, the owner of the #NuclearPlant, warned against using the #PacificOcean as a #DumpingGround for radioactive contaminated water, and called for alternatives to discharge to be applied.
“'The Japanese government is desperate for international endorsement for its Pacific Ocean radioactive water dump plans. It has failed to protect its own citizens, including the vulnerable fishing communities of Fukushima, as well as nations across the wider #AsiaPacific region. The aftermath of the nuclear disaster at Fukushima is still strongly felt, and the Japanese government has failed to fully investigate the effects of discharging multiple #radionuclides on #MarineLife. The government is obligated under international law to conduct a comprehensive environmental impact assessment, including the impact of transboundary marine pollution, but has failed to do so. Its plans are a violation of the UN Convention Law of the Sea.
"'The marine environment is under extreme pressure from #ClimateChange, #overfishing and #ResourceExtraction. Yet, the G7 thinks it’s acceptable to endorse plans to deliberately dump nuclear waste into the ocean. Politics inside the G7 at Sapporo just trumped science, environmental protection, and international law,' said Shaun Burnie, Senior Nuclear Specialist at Greenpeace East Asia.
"'#GreenpeaceEastAsia analysis has detailed the failures of liquid waste processing [ALPS] technology at the Fukushima Daiichi plant and the environmental threats posed by the releases. There is no prospect of an end to the nuclear crisis at the plant as current decommissioning plans are not feasible. Furthermore, the report finds the nuclear fuel debris in the reactors cannot be completely removed and will continue to contaminate the ground water over many decades. Claims that the discharges will take 30 years is inaccurate as in reality, it will continue into the next century. Viable alternatives to discharge, specifically long term storage and processing, have been ignored by the Japanese government.
"'The Japanese government’s attempt to normalise the Fukushima nuclear disaster is directly linked to its overall energy policy objective of increasing the operation of nuclear reactors again after the 2011 disaster. 54 reactors were available in 2011 compared to only ten reactors in 2022, generating 7.9% of the nation’s electricity in FY21 compared to 29% in 2010. Meanwhile, five of the other six G7 governments led by France, the US and the UK are also aggressively promoting nuclear power development.
"'The idea that the nuclear industry is capable of delivering a safe and sustainable energy future is delusional and a dangerous distraction from the only viable energy solution to the climate emergency which is 100% #RenewableEnergy. The global growth of low cost renewable energy has been phenomenal – but it has to be much faster and at an even greater scale if carbon emissions are to be reduced by 2030. Approval for nuclear waste dumping and nuclear energy expansion sound like the 1970’s but we have no time for such distractions. We are in a race to save the climate in the 21st century, and only renewables can deliver this,' said Shaun Burnie.
#FukushimaAnniversary #FukushimaIsntOver #RethinkNotRestart
#NoNukes #Japan #TEPCOLies #WaterIsLife #Bioaccumulation