Background Articles

Fish populations are declining as oceans warm, putting a key source of food and income at risk for millions of people, according to new research.

The survey started in 1971 as a review of commercially important fish like cod and halibut, but has grown into an annual scientific assessment of all sea life hauled up from the deep.

Chalky meat is not dangerous to humans but is not desirable and thus costs the fishermen at the dock.

After years of hearing concerns from fishermen about the prevalence of “chalky” halibut, the International Pacific Halibut Commission is planning an investigation.

A new study has documented unexpected consequences following the decline of great white sharks from an area off South Africa. The study found that the disappearance of great whites has led to the emergence of sevengill sharks, a top predator from a different habitat. A living fossil, sevengill sharks closely resemble relatives from the Jurassic period, unique for having seven gills instead of the typical five in most other sharks.

If the trend of reduced ice on the world's lakes continues at its current pace, the Canadian tradition of shinny could become a thing of the past, according to new research.

Greenhouse gas emissions provide extreme warming on Svalbard.

The fishing communities of Saugeen First Nation and Chippewas of Nawash are finding higher winds and warmer temperatures are affecting populations of lake whitefish in Lake Huron and Georgian Bay, which many rely on for their livelihoods.

In some regions, this was the first time in 37 years of water surveys that there was no cold pool.

A 2008 report by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency said there were at least 486 invasive alien plant species alone in Canada.

The catch is shifting northward as water temperatures rise, forcing crews to retool their boats and rework their businesses. Pollock is retreating from Alaska while black sea bass throng around Rhode Island.

Climate change is ravaging the natural laboratory that inspired Darwin. The creatures here are on the brink of crisis.

In 2016 and 2017 commercial fishers near Cambridge Bay in Nunavut were surprised when they pulled in sockeye salmon — because they were expecting to see only Arctic char. While these are just two fish, found far from their usual home waters, the two salmon are likely an indication that Pacific salmon will continue to

Only one, located in British Columbia's Thompson River, is considered stable.

December 3, 2018 – A new study by MBARI scientists shows that pulses of sinking debris carry large amounts of carbon to the deep seafloor, but are poorly represented in global climate models.

"Sockeye salmon harvest has been pretty constant for the last four years or so, but pink salmon has been oscillating," he said. "We were forecasting almost 70 million pink salmon harvest, and we had 40 million.

Fisheries and Oceans Canada confirms the findings of independent research that says sea lice on salmon farms are becoming resistant to SLICE, a pesticide used to kill sea lice.

Reports that the sea star population was rebounding appear to have been overly optimistic, says the Coastal Ocean Research Institute.

Sockeye salmon runs across Alaska were dismal this year. But no one is certain why.

Bad weather is bad news, also for the red-listed kittiwake. New research reveals that wind conditions combined with the availability of different prey species are determinants of chick production in this seabird.