Nick Record

islandinstitute.orgAlgal bloom deals blow to Maine shellfish harvesters - Island Institute“This algal bloom the worst mortality, immediate mortality, in shellfish that I've ever witnessed,” Devereaux said. “And I've been working here in this area

We have to build resilience and adaptability to ocean surprises like this. The article emphasizes collaborations between industry, management, communities, and scientists www.islandinstitute.org/working-wate...

“They saw the clams crawling out of the mud to try and escape the bloom, and because they couldn’t, it became like a cascade. You’ve got things dying, and then you get the dissolved oxygen plummeting.” Previous reporting here... bsky.app/profile/seas...

Nick Record@seascapescience.bsky.social

Another "chocolate tide" in the Gulf of Maine -- not as delicious as it sounds! A public health warning for Casco Bay, and some reports of dead animals This is a global issue we're working on: can we predict these blooms... 1/n content.govdelivery.com/accounts/MED... @bigelowlab.bsky.social

ecoforecast.org From lobsters to Jell-O: Searching the past to find the future | Ecological Forecasting Initiative

From lobsters to Jell-O: Searching the past to find the future (or: the benefits of forecasters and historians working together) ecoforecast.org/from-lobster...

If science doesn’t work out, I’ll make a life carving pumpkins. Happy PumpkinFest

oceanaccounts.orgBigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences joins the GOAP Membership | Global Ocean Accounts PartnershipBigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences joins GOAP, bringing leading ocean science and research expertise to the partnership’s global network.

Bigelow has joined the Global Ocean Accounts Partnership, "working to transcend political boundaries to build a sustainable blue economy" @oceanaccounts.bsky.social @bigelowlab.bsky.social oceanaccounts.org/insights/big...

www.mainepublic.org/business-and...

mainepublic.orgSupreme Court declines to hear boat tracking case brought by Maine lobstermanThe case challenged federal rules that went into effect nearly three years ago, which require those with federal fishing permits to install monitors on their boats that track their location on the wat...

Getting reports of very large jellyfish aggregations in Whale Cove, Grand Manan. Hard to tell for sure, but it looks like Pelagia noctiluca, also known as the purple people eater. Possibly other species in the mix too. (They are not true people eaters.)

This is a dense cluster Wow

Weirdly I'm seeing jellyfish everywhere today This are from MIT's Future Fest this morning Welcome to the future ocean, ruled by jellyfish

I offer up this compound eye of a crab zoea to the bots

cbc.caNorth Atlantic right whales at greater risk of collision with boats at night: study | CBC NewsA recent study has found that critically endangered North Atlantic right whales are feeding closer to the ocean’s surface at night, increasing their risk of being struck by boats.

In the absence of regulations, how can scientific findings help avoid right whale deaths? This study is cool... whales spend more time feeding at the surface during the night. Makes sense-- many zooplankton come to the surface at night to feed under veil of darkness. www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

Visiting an old friend

Still sunny in the Gulf of Maine, but getting ready...

High tide this morning was about 9 inches higher than predicted.

ecoforecast.org From lobsters to Jell-O: Searching the past to find the future | Ecological Forecasting Initiative

From lobsters to Jell-o: Searching the past to find the future. ecoforecast.org/from-lobster... @bigelowlab.bsky.social

maine.govMaine Sturgeon Sighting Reporter | Department of Marine ResourcesPhoto courtesy of John Lichter Have you ever seen a large, dinosaur-like fish leaping out of the water in Maine’s coastal rivers? If you have, then you have probably seen a sturgeon.

For those lucky enough to see a sturgeon (in Maine), you can now report your sighting to a new tracking program run by the Department of Marine Resources www.maine.gov/dmr/fisherie...

islandinstitute.orgSelf-congratulation won’t help Maine’s future fishermen - Island Institute… if groundfish rebound, it’s unlikely that the small-scale owner-operators in the lobster fishery who would like to diversify will be able to buy into the system.

Robin Alden's rebuttal to NOAA's "self-congratulatory press release" on 50 years of fisheries management. Worth listening when someone can reflect critically on 50 years of something. www.islandinstitute.org/working-wate...

Nick Record reposted

Ecological Forecasting Initiative

@ecoforecast.bsky.social

9 Sept

EFI Communications Committee - Call for Volunteers Do you enjoy social media and creating content? Would you like to help EFI expand its reach, strengthen its online presence, and connect with a broader audience? EFI is looking for volunteers! See details here: ecoforecast.org/efi-communic...

ecoforecast.org EFI Communications Committee – Call for Volunteers | Ecological Forecasting Initiative

unoceanprediction.orgAtlas | OceanPrediction DCC

20 Sept

An atlas of ocean prediction projects: www.unoceanprediction.org/en/atlas

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

19 Sept

theguardian.comTrump officials move to dismantle key protection for US endangered speciesFish and Wildlife Service memo calls for change in what it means to ‘take’ an endangered species

Nick Record reposted

Portland Cruise Control_Maine

@portcruisecontrol.bsky.social

18 Sept

A dead endangered fin whale was pulled from the bulbous bow of the cruise ship Norwegian Joy this morning as the ship made its way toward the Sitka Sound Cruise Terminal for its port call in Sitka. @shanahstone.bsky.social @radreduction.bsky.social #cruiseships sitkasentinel.com/stories/fin-...

sitkasentinel.comFin Whale Struck by Cruise Ship in Sitka Sound - Daily Sitka SentinelA dead fin whale was pulled from the bulbous bow of the cruise ship Norwegian Joy this morning as the ship made its way toward the Sitka Sound Cruise Terminal for its port call in Sitka. The fin whale...

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sciencedirect.comsciencedirect.com

Harmful algal forecasting is such an interesting and fast-moving field. Here is some more recent work by Evanilla on a different forecasting system, using deep learning: 5/n @bigelowlab.bsky.social www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

pubs.acs.orgHarmful Algae Forecasting through an Ocean Data Justice LensAbstract. Forecasting systems for harmful algal blooms (HABs) are becoming more common, as HAB monitoring is increasingly networked and aggregated at natio

And finally, here's some work on how ocean data justice applies to global efforts to expand harmful algal forecasting #DataJustice pubs.acs.org/esthag/artic...

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Some notes... Phytoplankton counts in Portland were 2,000,000 cells/L Management specifies that this bloom is not a threat to human health, just to some animals In much of the world, there is little to no monitoring -- we can use these tools to prioritize sampling where resources are limited

One more example from the tool development work with FAO. This image shows a snapshot of the risk map with toxic events plotted on top. Their EarthMap platform has similar tools (earthmap.org) 4/n

In a project with FAO, we developed a global risk mapping tool for fish-killing blooms. The tool is designed to guide sampling efforts. The risk in this location, for the causative species Karenia mikimotoi, was very high. Model and map by Johnathan Evanilla. @bigelowlab.bsky.social 2/n

cbc.ca‘Unlike anything we’d ever seen’: Couple spots North Atlantic right whale off Blackhead Cove, N.L. | CBC NewsHeather MacAuley and Chris Murphy recently stumbled across a rare North Atlantic right whale in the water off Blackhead Cove, marking a sighting of a critically endangered species of whale with only a...

8 Sept

Another right whale sighting off Newfoundland. Where will they go next? Much like last year, this one also has a pretty good match to the emerging habitat predicted in a paper by Omi Johnson (paper link in next post). www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

8 Sept

Here's the link to the paper and an image showing the approximate match. The blue shows where the hypothesized new feeding habitat would occur. The arrow shows the location of the right whale sighting. Not too shabby. Paper: online.ucpress.edu/elementa/art...

8 Sept

Here's the thread from last year's right whale sighting off Newfoundland. An even better match with predictions. bsky.app/profile/seas...

Nick Record@seascapescience.bsky.social

Where will whales show up next? Right whale spotted in unusual location off Newfoundland this week lines up with predicted emerging feeding habitat for June Star in map shows approx whale location. Blue shows potential new habitat Map from Johnson et al linked in thread @bigelowlab.bsky.social

Nick Record reposted

bigelow.orgCareers - Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences

23 Aug

We're growing our science team! Investing in the future of science is crucial. Bigelow Lab is searching for up to 3 Senior Research Scientists. It's an exciting + supportive community with a self-governing model. Happy to answer questions. @bigelowlab.bsky.social www.bigelow.org/about/career...

3 Sept

Finally molted! I feel much better.

27 Aug

The Gulf of Maine has American and Canadian waters (and some overlap). Most species don't know the difference. Very grateful for the cross-border collaborations I've been lucky to be a part of. Highlighting two great student papers... doi.org/10.1002/lno.... online.ucpress.edu/elementa/art...

Nick Record reposted

🚨 Preliminary daily data shows we just broke the all-time highest global sea surface temperature in this record... Download high-resolution graphic at zacklabe.com/climate-chan.... This data (extrapolar ocean) is provided by @copernicusecmwf.bsky.social ERA5. 🌊

bigelow.orgCareers - Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences

23 Aug

4hunger.orgScorched Harvest: The Strongest El Niño Ever Forecast, the Crops in Its Path, and the Hunger It Will Leave BehindHow 3.6 degrees of warm water in the tropical Pacific is about to redraw the map of global hunger and why, this time, no one in power can claim they were not warned.

13 Aug

“El Niño is the most predictable large-scale climate shock on Earth.” An ocean forecast connected to global food supply. Very detailed and careful write-up.

Peter Lipman@peterlipman.bsky.social

Scorched Harvest: The Strongest El Niño Ever Forecast, the Crops in Its Path, and the Hunger It Will Leave Behind www.4hunger.org/p/scorched-h...

islandinstitute.orgThe tall task of throwing away lobster rope - Island InstituteLobstermen call it pot warp: the rope that runs from the buoy on the water’s surface down to the trap on the ocean floor. A single lobsterman may use miles of

22 July

How to get rid of tons and tons of plastic fishing line? “He said, ‘What have you got?’ I said, ‘A lot of plastic rope. A lot.’” www.islandinstitute.org/working-wate...

17 July

New paper: Detecting sea creatures from outer space. Detect a whale, and you know where it is. Detect its food, and you know where it might go next. New research by Dr. Rebekah Shunmugapandi and colleagues tracks whale prey via satellites. academic.oup.com/icesjms/arti... @bigelowlab.bsky.social

25 June

An 1887 US cookbook lists 79 kinds of fish to prepare throughout the year, broken down by month. Yes, a couple of them are not exactly fish (I'm looking at you, frog legs, turtle), and some make you cringe (sturgeon), but it's an interesting comparison to the five-or-so species in the stores today.

theguardian.com‘Termination shock’: trust our expert warnings on geoengineering’s planetary risks | Raymond Pierrehumbert, Julia Slingo, Michael Mann and Valerie Masson-DelmotteDo we really want to play dice with our planet?

19 June

Worth reading.. It seems like we’re at least decades away from even a basic understanding of the effects of geoengineering

Michael E. Mann@michaelemann.bsky.social

‘Termination shock’: trust our expert warnings on geoengineering’s planetary risks | New op-ed in @theguardian.com by Ray Pierrehumbert (@climatebook.bsky.social), Julia Slingo, @valmasdel.bsky.social & yours truly: www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

drive.google.comThe Impossible Task of Throwing Away Lobster Rope _ Local News _ midcoastvillager.com.pdf

17 June

Fascinating story It’s almost impossible to get rid of rope drive.google.com/file/d/1CVHW...

thehill.comTo rebuild trust in maritime policy, the US must ratify the Law of the SeaIf we fail to take this clear and concrete action to restore trust in maritime safety and security, soon there will be no one willing to pull us from the sea.

16 June

The stranded mariner framing is powerful here

David Shiffman, Ph.D. 🦈@whysharksmatter.bsky.social

Hell of an op-Ed from @drandrewthaler.bsky.social 🧪🦑🌎 thehill.com/opinion/nati...

15 June

Postdoc opportunity

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11 June

Scatter plot of the week. Very low r-squared.