Are Jellyfish Increasing in the World’s Oceans? A UCSB Study

Blooms, or proliferation, of jellyfish have shown a substantial, visible impact on coastal populations, clogged nets for fishermen, stinging waters for tourists, even choked intake lines for power plants, and recent media reports have created a perception that the world’s oceans are experiencing increases in jellyfish due to human activities such as global warming and overharvesting of fish.

Accoustic Pollution and Naval Sonar testing

Over the past 40 years, cumulative research across the globe has revealed a coincidence between naval sonar testing events and acute decompression sickness in beached marine mammals. Under a plan announced by the NOAA, marine mammal “hot spots” in areas including Southern California’s coastal waters, may become off limits to testing of a type of Navy sonar linked to the deaths of whales.

Ninety Whales Stranded on New Zealand Beach

A pod of 90 pilot whales beached themselves at the top of New Zealand’s South island Monday in the same area where seven whales died in a mass stranding earlier this month, officials said.