Jelly-cide: 100,000 Salmon Killed

(NEWSER) - "A world of slime without human form": that was how Victor Hugo once described the Seine, the murky, polluted river that divides Paris in two. Yet recent efforts to clean up the river, from skimming the surface to pumping it with oxygen, have led to a resurgent fish population swimming through the French capital. You can even catch a salmon in the middle of town if you're lucky, though the Times of London says eating it might not be the best idea. More»

Scientists blame global warming for 'white spot disease'

(NEWSER) - Alaskan king salmon are getting sick, and experts have named a culprit: global warming. Marine ecologists say that a rise in "white spot disease" is tied to a 3-decade trend of higher temperatures in the Yukon River, the Los Angeles Times reports. With cold-temperature barriers melting, parasites and bacteria are moving north—and threatening Alaska's prized salmon stock. More»

Incredibly low stocks prompt action from federal agency

(NEWSER) - A shortage of salmon in the waters along the Pacific coast has driven regulators to consider a ban on salmon-fishing this season, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. The Pacific Fishery Management Council has never recommended canceling the season before, and about 1,000 commercial fishermen could see their livelihood devastated by a final decision, due in April. More»

Striped bass is a prize in the Maryland Fishing Challenge

(NEWSER) - There's never been a better time to cast a fishing line into the Chesapeake Bay. You just might reel in a striped bass worth $10,000. The fish's name is Diamond Jim, and he's a prize in the Maryland Fishing Challenge, reports the Washington Post . The prize money increases and eventually hits $25,000 in August if Jim hasn't been caught. There are actually three "Jims" swimming around out there. Each is wearing a special tag, and if you catch one, do not remove it—or your fish will be worth zilch. More»

Reports of overfished oceans are exaggerated: Aquatics professor

(NEWSER) - The last few years have seen lots of gloom-and-doom scenarios about how the world is running out of fish . Don't believe it, writes aquatics professor Ray Hilborn in the New York Times . Flawed studies produced those results. In reality, "fish stocks worldwide appear to be stable, and in the United States they are rebuilding, in many cases at a rapid rate." It's true that some species, such as bluefin tuna, are overfished in international waters, a problem that requires "global cooperation and American leadership." More»