New Deep-Sea Fish Species Found in Antarctica

To catch Antarctic toothfish, you must bait your hook with Peruvian squid and cast it into the depths of the Ross Sea. This is what a team of Ukrainians did on a fishing trip near Antarctica. But sometimes, Mother Nature trips you up. Sometimes, you catch a hopbeard plunderfish. 

In 2009-2010, Ukrainian mariners happened to pull up three fish that looked unfamiliar. Further analysis found that they were a previously undiscovered species, dubbed the hopbeard plunderfish and described in a study published online April 29 in the journal ZooKeys. The fish bear the scientific name Pogonophryne neyelovi. 

The strange-looking denizens of the deep have brownish-splotched bodies and are shaped somewhat like tadpoles, especially when young, according to the study. They have sharp dorsal fins that extend along the top of their bodies and strange "barbels," which resemble dirty Q-tips, that extend from their chins. 

The longest of the three specimens measured 14 inches (35.5 centimeters). And they really like to live in the deep — they were pulled from depths of up to 4,560 feet (1,390 meters). 

This newfound species is the hopbeard plunderfish

 (Pogonophryne neyelovi). It can live nearly a mile 

under the surface of Antarctica's Ross Sea. 

CREDIT: Gennadiy Shandikov and Richard Eakin / ZooKeys 

The fish have large livers, which fill up to 35 percent of their abdomen. Whether or not that means these sea creatures could drink like, well, fish, is unknown. 

If you're fond of the hopbeard, just wait until you meet its cousins. The genusPogonophryne, also known as the short-barbeled plunderfish, has a total of 22 species. These fish also live in the frigid waters surrounding Antarctica. Some of them live in the Ross Sea, like the hopbeard, which is found offshore of Antarctica's Ross Ice Shelf. 

Currently, next to nothing is known about their behavior, diet or what they do down there in the depths. 

Continued: http://www.livescience.com/29456-strange-new-fish-antarctica.html

Antarctic Blue Whales Found With Sound

Becky Oskin, OurAmazingPlanet Staff Writer

Date: 04 April 2013 Time: 03:14 PM ET

Whales may be the biggest animals on Earth, but finding them in the vast open ocean isn't easy.

Now, an Australia-led research team has demonstrated a novel idea for chasing down the massive marine mammals. To search for Antarctic blue whales, the group dropped sonar buoys in the Ross Sea west of Antarctica, and listened for whale calls. They triangulated the whale's location from their calls, and then sailed to the right spot.

During the research cruise, the scientists photographed 57 blue whales, collected 23 skin biopsy samples and stuck on two satellite-tracking tags. They also spotted 11 pygmy blue whales and eight humpback whales, among a total 720 cetacean species (the group that includes whales, dolphins and porpoises).

Read on:  

http://www.livescience.com/28451-antarctic-blue-whale-sonar-tracking.html

Major US supermarkets say no to Ross Sea seafood

Calls for the sea to be protected March 2012: A third US retailer has announced it will not stock seafood from Antartica's Ross Sea for environmental reasons, reports Greenpeace.

Harris Teeter joins US supermarket chains Safeway and Wegmans by taking the ‘Ross Sea Pledge' which means it will not buy or sell seafood from that area. It is also calling for the entire Ross Sea to be protected.

‘We have pledged not to buy or sell any seafood harvested from the Ross Sea,' the company states on its website. ‘By taking the "Ross Sea Pledge", we encourage the nations who are members of the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources to designate the entire Ross Sea as an MPA [Marine Protected Area],' it continues.

The area is being exploited to feed the wealthyThe Ross Sea has been identified as the least human-affected large oceanic ecosystem remaining on Earth. Many scientists are calling for it to be designated as a fully protected marine reserve. However, a longline fishery for Antarctic toothfish - better known to British consumers as Antarctic sea bass - started by New Zealand vessels in the late 1990s, is operating in the Ross Sea and supplying the luxury market. 

‘The delicate balance of the fragile Ross Sea is under threat from commercial fishing,' says Greenpeace New Zealand Oceans Campaigner Karli Thomas.

‘Although technology has made it possible, it is simply not sustainable to be fishing every last corner of our ocean. The Ross Sea is a special place that we should be protecting as the home to diverse and unique wildlife, and a refuge in the face of climate change - not exploiting to feed the wealthy.'

This should be a no-go areaIn 2010 Greenpeace published a report outlining the role that seafood traders, retailers and chefs can play in protecting the Ross Sea.

‘The announcement by Harris Teeter shows there is a growing awareness by retailers that the Ross Sea should be protected as no-go area,' says Thomas

The recently formed Antarctic Ocean Alliance, a group of environmental organisations, last week launched a report calling for a large-scale marine reserve to be established in the Ross Sea.

http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/ross-sea2012.html