Insects are an economical, environmentally efficient, nutrient rich feed that could reduce the need for wild caught fish feed or other plant-based protein feed additives in aquaculture. This seems like a win all around, right?
Category: Human Health Issues
Where does the mercury in our fish come from?
By: Dana Sackett The answer to the question, “Where does the mercury in our fish come from?” can be a bit complicated. While most mercury in our air and water originates from burning coal and other industrial sources, the form of mercury released from these sources is usually inorganic, meaning not the form that we…
Talking trash in the deep sea
By: Anela Choy (guest blogger and postdoctoral researcher at MBARI) Plastic debris in the ocean is no stranger to headline news… Surfers gliding through waves filled with plastic in Indonesia. The world’s largest landfill in the middle of the ocean, a vast area otherwise deemed the “Great Pacific Garbage Patch.” Sea birds ingesting large amounts…
Plankton or Plastic?
By: Dana Sackett At the end of this article you will get to play a game that many aquatic species are playing these days: Plankton or Plastic? If aquatic animals get it right and choose plankton, they get to enjoy a tasty treat full of life-sustaining nutrition, if not, they fill the much-needed space in…
Using fish for sunscreen?
By: Dana Sackett The title of this post may produce images of holding up a fish like an umbrella to block the sun but the real meaning comes from natural compounds created by fish that can block harmful ultraviolet (UV) radiation. Recent findings have suggested that it may be possible to reproduce these natural benefits for humans….
Raw Salmon Linked to Death In Dogs
By Patrick Cooney Knowledge of two simple things could make the difference in the life of your dog: Know the geographic region where your salmon was harvested. Do not feed raw or undercooked salmon to your dog. Can salmon kill my dog? Consumption by dogs of raw or undercooked salmon from California, Oregon, and Washington…
Nutrients: how too much of a good thing can be bad
By: Dana Sackett Consuming too many nutrients is something many of us can understand following the holidays. Similar to ourselves too many nutrients in streams, rivers, lakes, and oceans can cause major health problems. In fact, excess nutrients that enrich plant growth in aquatic ecosystems has a special name: eutrophication. While this term was originally…
Radioactive fish: probably not going to turn you into Aquaman
By: Dr. Dana Sackett with contributions and edits by Dr. Daniel Madigan, an expert in the field of radioactivity in the environment. Articles ranging from fear-inducing hysteria to ‘everything is totally cool’ have been hitting the media about radioactivity in the Pacific Ocean over the last several years following the disaster at Fukushima. This week…
As it turns out, what we don’t know can hurt us.
By: Dana Sackett Perfluorooctanesulfonic acid or perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) is quite the mouthful and while, like me, you may have difficulty pronouncing it, chances are you, along with almost all of your surrounding aquatic environments, are home to these chemicals. A potential problem considering that recent research has a number of scientists concerned about the prevelance, persistence…
Fish Oil, and Other Sources of Omega 3s
By Steve Midway Omega 3 fatty acids are a regular health item in the news cycle. One month these ‘fish oil’ supplements are good for lowering cholesterol, the next month they are linked to prostate cancer, and soon there will undoubtedly be another claim. It would take a lot of sleuthing through the primary literature to…
Fill in the blank: You are more likely to be killed by a ________ than a shark.
Tobey Curtis (@Mojoshark), Guest Author, PhD Candidate, School for Marine Science and Technology, University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth Tobey’s recent research suggests an optimistic outlook for the recovery of White Sharks in the Western Atlantic Ocean since protective measures were enacted in 1990s. Did you come up with one of the following to fill in the above…
Q-n-A: The Susquehanna River
By Steve Midway Welcome to another Fisheries Blog Q-n-A! This segment is designed to showcase the knowledge and specialty of someone in the fisheries world who flat out knows their stuff. For this Q-n-A, we are featuring Megan Kepler, a PhD student at the Pennsylvania State University who is conducting dissertation research on fish in the Susquehanna River basin….
Pharmaceuticals for Fish
By Craig Springer, Guest Author The Aquatic Animal Drug Approval Partnership (AADAP) moves medicine from the theoretical to the practical The parallel is too curious to be overlooked. James Henshall, M.D., had his home just a short walk from his work in a Victorian two-story that still stands. There on the grounds at a national…
Plastic trash is an increasing but preventable hazard to fish health
By Sarah Wheeler Look around you. How many plastic items are within your arms reach? There is no question that it is virtually impossible to avoid plastic. It wraps our food, transports our water, and is the building block of countless products. But, less than half of produced plastic ends up in landfills, and alarming…
Coal-ash goes unchecked
By: Dana Sackett When most people think of pollution caused by coal-burning power plants, a tall smokestack spewing a large cloud of soot and fumes is the first image that comes to mind. This image represents the air pollution caused by coal combustion and is perhaps the most obvious. In actuality, there are many less…
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