Sushi Anyone?

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Anisakis simplex (left) in cod

One of my friends invited me to go out for sushi tonight (coincidence considering todays lecture!!)...fair enough, I am a vegetarian and I had class so I couldn't/wouldn't go....BUT I did want to mention Herring Worm Disease (after we discussed it in class today) to her...just to bug her a little!!



The presence of parasites in fish is very common, but most of them are of little concern with regard to economics or public health. Anisakiasis is a gastrointestinal parasitosis caused by the larval stages of anisakid nematodes. Humans acquire the disease by eating raw or improperly cooked or preserved seafood. Surviving worms will then penetrate the gut wall and enter the peritoneal cavity. Symptoms are often non-specific with abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting. Vague abdominal pain and possibly fewer may persist for weeks. Anisakiasis is common in Europe (the Netherlands), Japan and the US.

Lunenburg-The Fisheries Museum

The field trip to the fisheries museum was really enjoyable! I didn't really know what to expect upon going there. I was pleasantly suprised with the vast history in Nova Scotia, and especially Lunenburg! My great-grandfather was a ship builder so it was really fascinating to learn the history of the boats built and how they functioned out at sea. I thought that the model of the Atlantic coast was really neat and how we saw the 200 mile limit, as well as the extent of the continental shelf. I found it really interesting when Nancy, our tour guide mentioned that when her husband is out at sea, sometimes when the tides are low, they can get out and actually play a game of baseball.

My grandfather grew up as a fisherman, and I honestly didn't realize how difficult and dangerous of a job it was. I definitely attained a much greater respect for his work.

I asked Nancy what the general feeling was in Lunenberg in regards to bottom trawling was...she said that they are making great efforts to become more sustainable fishers, and they have developed a 2 tierd net, so when they are fishing haddock for example, there will be a barrier in one level, and the cod have a natural instinct to duck, therefore do not catch the cod.

The old way of fishing was intensely difficult, and really heoric, especially going out in the smaller boats, by themselves or with another mate. Hooking two miles of net by hand would be exhausting! I was also astounded that those small boats could hold up to 2000 lbs of fish at a time!!!

I didn't know much about the Bluenose Expeditions, but I do intend to do more research on that in another blog. ---Not to mention the massive size of that lobster crustacean...and the metamorphosism of Halibut! I have grown up working in a seafood restaurant and never knew that happened!!! It was really neat to see that the camoflauge themselves too!!!

Nancy's (our tour guide) last name is Knickle which seems to be a well known family in Lunenberg, from company's named after them, to many men in their family who lost their lives. I couldn't believe that 9 year olds or 13 year olds would be out working on these ships! What a different time it is today!!

Lunenberg was a beautiful town and is a great example of a self-sustaining coastal community! It is nice to see that not every place in the world has become inundated with commercialization....even if they do have a few tacky tourist shops!!!

Killer Jellyfish!!

Today in class we discussed the "Portuguese Man-of-War" is found in the waters of Hawaii. I found this species interesting because when I was younger and travelling in Mexico, a woman in the ocean near me had a sea snake wrapped around her leg. She was not phased by this, and proceeded to show her5 year old daughter. The beach security cleared the beach and grabbed the woman. The snake was exteremely poisonous, and if it bit this woman, she would die within 30 minutes. The topic today reminded me of this situation.

The man-of-war ranges or occurs most commonly in the tropical and subtropical regions of the Pacific and Indian oceans, and the northern Atlantic Gulf Stream, although found in warm seas throughout the world. It is sometimes found floating - some even say "swarming" - in groups of thousands.

The man-of-war's body consists of a gas-filled (mostly nitrogen), bladder-like float (a polyp, the pneumatophore) - a translucent structure tinted pink, blue, or violet - which may be 3 to 12 inches (9 to 30 centimeters) long and may extend as much as 6 inches (15 centimeters) above the water.

Beneath the float are clusters of polyps, from which hang tentacles of up to 165 feet (about 50 meters) in length. The polyps are three different types that are concerned, with detecting and capturing prey, with reproducing, and with feeding. The "animal" moves by means of its crest, which functions as a sail.

Tentacles of the dactylozooids bear stinging nematocystic (coiled thread-like) structures that paralyze small fish and other prey. The gastrozooids then attach to the immobilized victim, spread over it, digesting it. The Portuguese man-of-war is eaten by other animals, including the loggerhead turtle, Caretta caretta.

In case you are stung by a Portuguese Man-of-War, this is what you should do:

1. Pick off any visible tentacles with a gloved hand, stick, or anything handy, being careful to avoid further injury.

2. Rinse the sting thoroughly with salt or fresh water to remove any adhering tentacles.

3. Apply ice for pain control.

4. Irrigate exposed eyes with copious amounts of room temperature tap water for at least 15 minutes. If vision blurs, or the eyes continue to tear, hurt, swell, or are light sensitive after irrigating, see a doctor.

5. For persistent itching or skin rash, try 1 percent hydrocortisone ointment four times a day, and one or two 25 milligram diphenhydramine (Benadryl) tablets every 6 hours. These drugs are sold without prescription. Diphenhydramine may cause drowsiness. Don't drive, swim or surf after taking this medication.

Coral Reefs: The Rainforests of our Oceans

Coral reefs are found in the tropical seas photic zone where there is mild wave action, not so strong to tear the reef apart yet strong enough to stir the water and deliver sufficient food and oxygen. Coral reefs also need nutrient-rich, clear, warm, shallow water to grow. Reefs are made of organisms that are composed of calcium carbonate.

Coral reefs are estimated to cover 284,300 square kilometres of our oceans.
The Great Barrier Reef is the largest coral reef system in the world, located off the coast of Queensland, Australia. The Belize Barrier Reef is the second largest reef in the world, located off the coast of Belize, Central America. An abundance of reefs can be found around the Maldives as well. Coral reefs support an abundance of sea life and biodiversity. However, human activities are harming our coral reefs in a great way. Pollution, sea traffic and overfishing have caused the greatest destruction to our reef systems. if destruction increases at the current rate, 70% of the world’s coral reefs will have disappeared within 50 years. This loss would be an economic loss for peoples living in the tropics. It is estimated that about 60% of the world’s reefs are at risk due to destructive, human-related activities. The threat to the health of reefs is particularly strong in Southeast Asia, where an enormous 80% of reefs are considered endangered.

Beach Clean Up

On Sunday I participated in the Ocean Use and Management Beach Clean Up. Having never been to a beach in Nova Scotia, I was amazed by how beautiful Crystal Crescent is, although I was a bit thrown off by the amount of garbage!!! The random artifacts in the rocks, such as a home made bomb, or a dirt bike helmet for instance. The evidence of longshore drift was apparent as there are more concentrations of garbage in certain areas. The most amount of garbage was found entangled in the rocks.

As I was walking home from the library that evening in the rain, I noticed the immense amount of garbage in our streets, and I thought if we are this lazy on land, how lazy are we with our garbage in the ocean?! In Monday's Ocean Use and Management class, Cathy mentioned in the 1950's parts of Nova Scotia dumped their waste into the ocean, over cliffs. I am sure that is still not all that far off with boats traveling in the sea.

A major societal wake up needs to occur. For example, the abundance of cigarette butts on the ground. Yes its a good thing that patrons aren't smoking in public venues and subjecting others to second hand smoke, but how is it okay to subject the public to your butts littering the ground? The city should put ash tray's around the city to deter this pollution. These get washed away by rainwater and enter our sewar system, which ultimately ends up in our oceans.

We need to WAKE UP!!!

Sea Shepard

The Sea Shepard Organization sparked interest in me and I wanted to learn more.

The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society was founded in 1977 in Vancouver BC by Captain Paul Watson. The mandate of the organization was marine mammal protection and conservation with an immediate goal of shutting down illegal whaling and sealing operations.

Founder, Paul Watson, is born and raised in Canada, with a vast history of activism. He was a Canadian Coast Guard and was the co-founder of Green Peace. In June 1977, Paul Watson resigned from the Greenpeace Foundation because of disagreements with the emerging bureaucratic structure of the organization. Patrick Moore had replaced Robert Hunter and was opposed to direct action campaigns. Moore had informed Watson that he would not be allowed to lead another seal campaign. Paul left Greenpeace because he felt the original goals of the organization were being compromised, and because he saw a global need to continue direct action conservation activities on the high seas by an organization that would enforce laws protecting marine wildlife.

To answer that need, that same year, Paul founded the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society - dedicated to research, investigation and enforcement of laws, treaties, resolutions and regulations established to protect marine wildlife worldwide. In December 1978, with the assistance of the Fund for Animals, Paul purchased a North Atlantic trawler in Britain and converted her into the conservation enforcement vessel Sea Shepherd.

Paul Watson has dedicated his life to the conservation of animals, and as it seems will stop at almost nothing to achieve these results. As he says in the film, it only takes a few people to change the way the world works, for example, Ghandi. It is not our governements that change the world, it is mass movements of the generaly public.

SHARK WATER

Wow. Honestly there are no words to describe Shark Water other than enlightening, informative, and amazing. I really enjoyed seeing this documentary. Rob Stewart has provided the world with a new view of our oceans. Throughout the film I was trying to remember a bunch of quotes that I found interesting, but then I found myself attempting to remember way too many. The entire film was important and relavent. It was entirely too difficult to walk out with all of them.

I think the most valuable aspect and perspectiveI took from it was the comparison to stretching 60 miles of traps through the jungle or forest to the long lines in our oceans.

Sharkwater is a film everyone should see. Ron Foley reviewed Sharkwater at the Atlantic Film Festival, “like ‘An Inconvenient Truth’, it rates as utterly essential viewing for anyone who cares about the state of the environment and the future of the world as a whole."

Check out this clip: http://www.sharkwater.com/downloads/videos/Soft_Spot_Web/Conservation_TV_Spot_480.mp4