Let me say up front that we at The Fisheries Blog are in no way qualified to dispense medical advice. We do, however, get excited when the potential for scientific and medical breakthroughs make news. And we get even more excited when those breakthroughs involve fish. Most of you have probably heard about the benefits…
Category: Human Health Issues
Q-tip anyone?
By Dana Sackett You may have come across a video or two (or ten) of sharks munching down on dead whales and it’s easy to understand how a few sharks may get excited over encountering all that easily acquired energy-rich blubber. However, sharks are not the only ones that can benefit from these large dead…
Top 5 Most Poisonous and Venomous Fish!
By Dana Sackett Many TV shows and nature guides have been dedicated to educating the public on the most poisonous and venomous spiders, snakes and even frogs, but what about fish? Unlike spiders or snakes, we rarely hear about which fish are the most poisonous (or venomous). This week we are dedicating our blog post…
When the quick cure causes long-term danger: Who knew antibiotics could be such a problem?
by Dr. Dana Sackett Whether for an ear infection or something more serious, chances are we have all had to take antibiotics at one point in our lives. Despite this regular use of antibiotics, few people know where they come from or that our overuse of these drugs are causing some serious problems in our…
Doctor Fish: What seems to be the problem?
By Erin Miller Walking through a touristy district of Bangkok, Thailand, I saw a sign that read “Fish Massage: Only $300 Baht For 30 Minutes!” As always, my imagination ran wild. I pictured a carp, sprawled out across a massage table, cucumbers over his eyes, a steaming, damp towel over his forehead, relaxing as two…
Bold, hungry, anti-social, but anxiety-free fish
By: Dana Sackett We have all seen the numerous drug advertisements on TV with their list of ridiculous disclaimers and adverse effects. These commercials are an indication, and have even been considered the reason behind, the increased societal use of pharmaceuticals drugs in recent years. In fact, it was only in 1997 that the FDA…
The BP oil spill saga continues..
By: Dana Sackett More than 2 years have passed since the BP–Deepwater Horizon rig spill caused more than 200 million gallons of oil and 1.8 million gallons of dispersants to be dumped into the Gulf of Mexico. Despite being one of the largest oil spills in history, the Gulf fisheries were back in business only…
Rotenone: the fish killer
By Dana Sackett Rotenone has been used for centuries by fishermen to harvest fish. More recently, scientists and fishery managers have used rotenone to sample fishes and remove unwanted species from freshwater systems. But how does this toxic chemical work so effectively to kill fish, is it toxic to other species including humans, and…
Mercury in fish, what should I eat?
By: Dana Sackett Mercury contamination in fish and aquatic systems has received a lot of attention because of the potential health concerns for people and wildlife. In fact, my own research has focused on mercury dynamics in aquatic systems and fishes over the last several years. Here I wanted to share some of my expertise…
Small things can make a big difference
By: Dana Sackett You may have noticed that many everyday products are much smaller than they were a few decades ago, with cell phones being a perfect example. Every now and then you may catch a glimpse of those archaic brick phones in a rerun of Saved by the Bell and get a good laugh…
Where is Captain Planet when you need him?
By: Dana Sackett I briefly provided some background on this weeks topic in a previous blog (“Surrounded by poisons; understanding the world fish face in today’s aquatic environment”). Here I expand on that subject. Clutching the bottle of water I had just collected from the Pee Dee River, I climbed the steep embankment back to…
The Latest on Ciguatera Fish Poisoning
By: Dana Sackett Friedman et al. 2008. (http://www.mdpi.com/1660-3397/6/3/456) Ciguatera fish poisoning can cause a number of nasty symptoms (nausea, vomiting, painful electric-shock-like sensations, reversal of hot and cold sensations, intense itching, tingling, numbness, slowed heart rate, weakness, fatigue, muscle and joint pain, depression, headaches, and others) that can last from a few days to…
Trout, a canary in the phosphate-mine
By: Dana Sackett Recent debates on fish selenium toxicity due to mining operations in southern Idaho have brought to light selenium’s toxic effects on fish populations and the various views on selenium policy from different environmental constituents (e.g., industry, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), Forest Service, Idaho Department of Environmental Quality,…
Ocean Acidification and How Little We Actually Know
By: Dana Sackett Ocean acidification, sometimes referred to as “the other carbon dioxide (CO2) problem,” is a major concern for our future marine ecosystems. The rate at which CO2 is taken up by the ocean increases as its concentration increases in our atmosphere, resulting in more acidic ocean water. The resulting decrease in pH can…
Millions Displaced by Dams
As a fish person, I have heard the joke a hundred times, and each time I must pretend that it is the first time in order to not deflate the enthusiasm of the joke teller. You know the one, “What did the fish say when it ran into the wall?” I wait, not too long,…
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