Ocean Roundup: Seafood Fraud Ring Uncovered in Australia, Fish Species Found to Change Skin Color, and More | Oceana
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October 17, 2014

Ocean Roundup: Seafood Fraud Ring Uncovered in Australia, Fish Species Found to Change Skin Color, and More

 

A 16-foot-long baby humpback whale was released after becoming entangled in a net off Queensland, Australia. Humpback whales are currently migrating back to their feeding grounds in Antarctica. ABC Australia

Australian authorities uncovered a large illegal seafood trafficking network in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Officers charged 14 people to trafficking large amounts of abalone, a group of edible sea snails. ABC Australia

A rare beaked whale over ten feet long washed up on an Australia beach north of Sydney earlier this week. The specimen is being sent to the Australian Museum and Sydney, and scientists hope it will help scientists learn more about this rarely-encountered, deep-diving species. Discovery News

– It’s known that octopus and cuttlefish are able to change their skin color in a flash, but new research shows that a fish species has the same capabilities. Scientists found that the rockpool goby is able to change colors to camouflage in its dynamic tide pool habitat. National Geographic

Long Read:

Sea star wasting disease has been decimating sea star populations along North America’s Pacific Coast for over a year, but one location seems to be immune to the disease: Alaska. Scientists suspect the cooler waters may be keeping the disease at bay and will offer a refuge for these animals. PBS