Known fish species living in the Salish Sea increases in new report – UW Today

Posted on October 1, 2015 by Al Bergstein
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An illustration of the longfin sculpin (Jordania zonope).Joseph R. Tomelleri

Good news that a more precise count on species has been completed. Will be good for future monitoring efforts.

Coho salmon, Pacific halibut and even the dogfish shark are familiar faces to many people in the Salish Sea region. But what about the Pacific viperfish, northern flashlightfish, dwarf wrymouth or the longsnout prickleback?

These colorfully named species and others are compiled in a new, 106-page report that documents all of the fishes that live in the Salish Sea, a roughly 6,500-square-mile region that encompasses Puget Sound, the Strait of Juan de Fuca, the Strait of Georgia, the San Juan Islands and the Canadian Gulf Islands.

In total, 253 fish species have been recorded in the Salish Sea, and that’s about 14 percent more than in the last count, said Ted Pietsch, co-author of the new report and a University of Washington emeritus professor of aquatic and fishery sciences.

Read the whole story here:

http://www.washington.edu/news/2015/09/30/known-fish-species-living-in-the-salish-sea-increases-in-new-report/

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“Red List” of Endangered Species Grows – The Guardian

Posted on November 27, 2013 by Al Bergstein

While not directly related to our area, this is one of the critical lists that shows how our efforts to save species from extinction is progressing. Bottom line, not well. We are succeeding in some areas, and this does show that it’s possible. There is little time left for inaction, nor waiting on someone else to do the work. See you in the field.

The blue-tongued forest giraffe, the national symbol of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, is on the brink of extinction, according to the latest update to the red list of threatened species. The stripy-legged creature, which appears on Congolese banknotes and is actually a species of okapi, has become another victim of the DRC’s long-running war. But surveys reveal that conservation efforts have had a positive effect on ocean-roaming leatherback turtles and albatrosses, while a Californian fox has returned from the edge.

“This red list update shows some fantastic conservation successes, from which we must learn,” said Jane Smart, a director at the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), which compiles the list.

“However, the overall message remains bleak. With each update, whilst we see some species improving in status, there is a significantly larger number of species appearing in the threatened categories. The world must urgently scale up efforts to avert this devastating trend,” she added.

http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/nov/26/iucn-red-list-endangered-species-extinction?CMP=ema_565

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