Overfishing of Atlantic Cod Likely Did Not Cause Genetic Changes

Bottom-dwelling fish such as Atlantic cod are often found near structures such as shipwrecks. Photo: NOAA

Study suggests reducing fishing and addressing environmental changes would help cod recover Overfishing likely did not cause the Atlantic cod, an iconic species, to evolve genetically and mature earlier, according to a study led by Rutgers University and the University of Oslo – the first of its kind – with major implications for ocean conservation. “Evolution has been used in …

Nuclear War Could Trigger Big El Niño and Decrease Seafood

Nuclear War Could Trigger Big El Niño and Decrease Seafood

Unprecedented warming in equatorial Pacific Ocean could last up to seven years A nuclear war could trigger an unprecedented El Niño-like warming episode in the equatorial Pacific Ocean, slashing algal populations by 40 percent and likely lowering the fish catch, according to a Rutgers-led study. The research, published in the journal Communications Earth & Environment, shows that turning to the oceans …

Big Differences in How Coral Reef Fish Larvae are Dispersed

Rutgers-led research could help scientists improve conservation of species

Rutgers-led research could help scientists improve conservation of species How the larvae of colorful clownfish that live among coral reefs in the Philippines are dispersed varies widely, depending on the year and seasons – a Rutgers-led finding that could help scientists improve conservation of species. Right after most coral reef fish hatch, they join a swirling sea of plankton as tiny, …

COVID-19 Pandemic had Big Impact on Commercial Fishing in Northeast

COVID-19 Pandemic had Big Impact on Commercial Fishing in Northeast

Rutgers study shows resilience among fishermen facing market disruptions With restaurants and supply chains disrupted due to the global coronavirus pandemic, two-fifths of commercial fishermen surveyed from Maine through North Carolina did not go fishing earlier this year, according to a Rutgers study that also documented their resilience and adaptation. Of those who kept fishing, nearly all reported a decline …

Planning Ahead Protects Fish and Fisheries

Effective planning for climate change helps avoid conflicts over ocean uses

Effective planning for climate change helps avoid conflicts over ocean uses Conservation of fish and other marine life migrating from warming ocean waters will be more effective and also protect commercial fisheries if plans are made now to cope with climate change, according to a Rutgers-led study in the journal Science Advances. “Sticking our heads in the sand doesn’t work,” said lead author Malin …

#EOAS in the News: Ximing Guo speaks to Science Magazine about the Impact of Genomics on Aquaculture

Science Magazine interviewed EOAS faculty member Ximing Guo for the article “New genetic tools will deliver improved farmed fish, oysters, and shrimp. Here’s what to expect” published Nov. 19, 2020

Science Magazine interviewed EOAS faculty member Ximing Guo for the article “New genetic tools will deliver improved farmed fish, oysters, and shrimp. Here’s what to expect” published Nov. 19, 2020 Guo is a Professor at the Haskin Shellfish Research Laboratory, Rutgers Department of Marine and Coastal Sciences. His primary research interests are the biology, genetics, and evolution of marine mollusks, and marine aquaculture. He is interested …

Marine Fisheries Will Not Offset Farm Losses after Nuclear War

Marine Fisheries Will Not Offset Farm Losses after Nuclear War

Effective pre-war fisheries management could help in global food emergency After a nuclear war, wild-catch marine fisheries will not offset the loss of food grown on land, especially if widespread overfishing continues, according to a Rutgers co-authored study. But effective pre-war fisheries management would greatly boost the oceans’ potential contribution of protein and nutrients during a global food emergency, according …

#EOAS in the News: “To Stabilize Climate We Must Fix Democracy First”

In an op-ed in the Star Ledger titled “To Stablize Climate We Must Fix Democracy First,” EOAS Director Robert Kopp wrote,

In an op-ed in the Star Ledger titled “To Stablize Climate We Must Fix Democracy First,” EOAS Director Robert Kopp wrote,  “Barring extraordinary new technologies to hasten the removal of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, most of the warming we are causing will last for millennia. So we need not only to act decisively to decarbonize the global economy but …

#EOAS in the News: “Managing the Majestic Jumbo Flying Squid”

In an article in The New York Times titled  “Managing the Majestic Jumbo Flying Squid,” EOAS faculty member Malin Pinsky, an associate professor in the Rutgers Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Natural Resources, said, “The impacts of climate change and variability are playing out much more dramatically in the ocean than on land . . . It’s a largely unseen and yet incredibly dramatic …