I had grand designs of getting caught back up with the blog, but those were thwarted by thesis writing, teaching, grading… plus St. Patrick’s Day and March Madness.  Turns out I do have a tiny sliver of a life outside of dogfish, I just have to look pretty hard to find it.  Let’s get caught up.

The biggest news since last week was the earthquake in Japan and the subsequent tsunami.  This was ably covered by Rick at Deep See News, Mark at Blogfish, and Christie at Observations of a Nerd.  While most places other than Japan were relatively unscathed, the Charles Darwin Research Station was hit pretty hard.  Of course the damage toll continues to climb in Japan, and among the most pressing concerns is the potential for meltdown at those nuclear power plants that were in the path of the wave.  Keep Japan in your thoughts and look for opportunities to help out.

On a lighter note, check out this catchy little Irish ditty about the biology of beer.  Thanks, yeast!

Interested in shark tagging?  Close enough to Charleston, South Carolina to keep the travel from being too brutal?  Then you can help Dave “WhySharksMatter” Shiffman tag sharks.  I’m hoping to partake in a little sharking myself.

Will Chile be the next country to adopt a ban on shark finning?

Ahab’s Journal is a good place to get the fisherman’s perspective on things, which is good to pay attention to when you’re working in marine biology and fisheries management.  Check out their views on the impending gamefish listing for striped bass, red drum, and spotted seatrout.

And to finish off this link dump, check out these amazing aerial photos of thousands of sharks feeding on an absolutely massive school of fish in Florida.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this update on the blue blogosphere.