Giant Jellyfish Sink Trawler

Sea salp invade Diablo Canyon

(NEWSER) - A horde of jellyfish-like animals has forced the shutdown of a nuclear power plant in California. The gelatinous creatures, 2 to 3 inches long, are called sea salp. The crisis began Tuesday, when workers at the Diablo Canyon plant discovered that screens which take in cooling water were clogged by the critters, reports the San Luis Obispo Tribune . “The conditions got to the point where we had to shut it down,” says the chief nuclear officer. “So we’ll have to wait until the salp situation clears up.” More»

Canada monitors squid-fishing boat for marine pollution

(NEWSER) - Canadian air patrol has spotted an empty Japanese squid-fishing boat drifting across the Pacific and heading for land. Beat-up and likely worthless, the 150-foot ship is part of 20 million tons of tsunami debris floating toward US and Canadian shores—so Canadian authorities may just leave it alone, the Vancouver Sun reports. The good news: The ship's owner, contacted in Japan, says no one was on board when the boat was swept away last year, reports CNN . More»

Video could heighten tension over September incident

(NEWSER) - Video of a September maritime crash that has made political waves appeared on YouTube today, potentially escalating tensions between China and Japan, AFP reports. The video shows what appears to be the Chinese fishing boat at the heart of the conflict sailing, then changing course and hitting a Japanese vessel. Until now, video footage had been shown only to Japan’s prime minister. More»

The story of rare earth minerals has many lessons, writes Paul Krugman

(NEWSER) - When Japan detained a Chinese fishing boat captain whose vessel had collided with two of its Coast Guard ships, China cut off its access to rare earths, the essential minerals on which China has a near-monopoly. For Paul Krugman, this highlights two concerns: First, that the US let “unreliable” China get “a stranglehold on key materials”; second, that new economic superpower China isn’t ready for the role, he writes in the New York Times . More»

(USER SUBMITTED) - The biggest Sino-Japanese row in years looks to be coming to an end. Japan will release Chinese fishing boat captain Zhan Qixiong after two weeks in detention, the BBC reports. Zhan was detained by Japanese authorities on suspicion of ramming two patrol vessels near disputed islands in the East China Sea, believed to be rich in oil and gas deposits. China reacted angrily to the arrest, calling it "illegal and invalid." More»