Algemeen

Analysis of Geneva Lake’s zooplankton populations shows that the numbers of the little animals that populate the bottom of the lake’s food chain are continuing to disappear in disturbing numbers. In a written report to the Geneva Lake Environmental Agency board of directors on Thursday, Ted Peters, GLEA director, said that in an email the analyst doing the zooplankton count for the GLEA has indicated that other species of zooplankton are now also starting to disappear.

Salmon fishing groups have called for urgent action over the "unprecedented collapse" of a major run in Argyll. The 2017 count from the River Awe in the south-west Highlands is projected to be the lowest since records began. The group said this year's count from the Awe has only been running at a third of the 2016 count, which was itself only just above the all-time low since records began in 1965. The 2016 total was 807 fish, but STCS said the 2017 count may "struggle to reach 400", with 30 weeks of the season already past.

More than 180 pesticides and their by-products were detected in small streams throughout 11 Midwestern states, some at concentrations likely to harm aquatic insects, according to a new study by the U.S. Geological Survey. The mixtures of pesticides are more complex than previously reported by the USGS—94 pesticides and 89 pesticide byproducts were detected. On average, 52 pesticide compounds were identified in each stream.

The delectable hilsa (Tenualosa ilisha) seems to be fast dwindling from the markets in the coastal districts of Kendrapada and Jagatsinghpur, putting a strain on the people of Odisha. Following a low catch, the cost of hilsa too has gone up significantly. These days the cost of hilsa ranges from Rs 700 to Rs 800/kg and even the small-sized fish are being sold for not less than Rs 500/kg. "The irony is that the hilsa has now turned into a luxury item, beyond the reach of the common man due to its exorbitantly high price," said Swadhin Dash, a bank employee from Kendrapada.

The population of spring-run Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) has ebbed to the point where fish advocates, Native Americans and environmentalists are warning near-term extinction is a real possibility. Last week, divers conducted the annual fish population survey on an 80-mile stretch of the Salmon River that winds its way near the California-Oregon border, and found the number of spring-run Chinook salmon was just 110. That figure represents the second lowest number in the 20 years of data collection.

Japan’s saury catches are expected to hit a record low from this month to December as the population of the fish shrinks, the Fisheries Agency said Friday. The distribution of saury (Cololabis adocetus) is expected to be reduced further this year after a third consecutive year of poor catches, which means prices for fresh saury are likely to rise, pundits said. The agency confirmed a decline in saury resources in a survey of coastal areas and the high seas from June to July.

After the construction of the storm surge barrier in 1986 a small population of harbour porpoises (Phocoena phocoena) seem to have been established in the Eastern Scheldt estuary in the last decades. But since 2009 the number of stranded porpoises found on the Eastern Scheldt shore increased every year, reaching highest level in 2011. In the same year the largest number of harbour porpoises was counted. Considering the number of alive animals counted by annual surveys, the number of stranded individuals is surprisingly high in the last 4 years.