Looking for some cownosed rays? Photo by Tom Burns (elasmodiver.com).

Apologies for the long lag time between posts this week.  Let’s catch up.

From Rick over at Deep Sea News: Holy crap that’s a lot of bull sharks! Remind me to find some way to do my PhD research in Fiji.

Also linked from DSN, let Hipster Ariel brighten your day.

It seems that Sea Shepherd’s campaign down in the Southern Ocean has been at least a temporary success: Japan has suspended whaling.  Of course the internet is full of opinions on this.  Personally, I’m waiting to see if this is a permanent change, but a win is a win, so congrats to those lovable vegans.

Speaking of Japan and Asia in general, can we ever get them to harvest seafood more sustainably without making it seem like we’re trampling on their culture?  One thing Sea Shepherd is not doing is winning hearts and minds over there.

Everything is segueing rather nicely in this link post.  Check out this write-up of the busiest shark fin port in the world.  Despite the gory title, this article reveals that Japanese shark fishing may not be as wasteful as it once was, and smart management may do better by the sharks than trying to completely change the Japanese diet.

On the lighter side, it turns out that not all musicians have a solid science background.  Whatever, I’m still planning on hiring Lady Gaga to dance my thesis.

My students are always interested to know that they are attending school in a hotbed of carnivorous plant biodiversity.  Insects beware!

That’s it for now.