Farmed fish may transmit mad cow disease

September 8th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Aquaculture, accounting for half the fish consumed globally, is imposing a heavy burden on marine resources, says a new report. The report attributes the burden to consumption of large amounts of feed derived from wild sea fish.

September 7th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A new report by an international team of researchers has determined that aquaculture, once a fledgling industry, now accounts for 50 percent of the fish consumed globally. The findings are published in the Sept.

August 19th, 2009 WASHINGTON - If scientists have their way, giant robotic cages may one day roam the seas as future fish farms, which could help produce greener, healthier, and more numerous fish. According to a report in National Geographic News, scientists propose that in the future, giant, autonomous fish farms may whir through the open ocean, mimicking the movements of wild schools or even allowing fish to forage "free range" before capturing them once again.

July 21st, 2009 WASHINGTON - A new research by scientists from the University of Victoria has shown that fish avoid the divers and snorkelers who try to count them, and that is why using snorkelers and SCUBA divers may misrepresent the number of fish. Not all types of fish are equally frightened by the divers, and Faculty of 1000 member Helen Yap, who recommended the study, explains that therefore "such methods may not provide an accurate picture of the actual diversity and abundance of fish communities." Counting coral reef fish informs researchers about local ecological changes.

July 7th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A new study by an international team of researchers has suggested that fish may have become an important part of the year-round diet for early humans in China as far back as 40,000 years ago. Freshwater fish are an important part of the diet of many peoples around the world, but it has been unclear when fish became an important part of the year-round diet for early humans.

June 30th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A new research has determined that fish are more likely to exhibit natural behavior in a home aquarium in large groups, rather than when kept alone or in pairs. Scientists at the Universities of Plymouth and Exeter in the UK conducted the research.

June 26th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Rising carbon dioxide (CO2) levels in the ocean can cause abnormally large growth in the otoliths, or ear bones, of fish, say researchers at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego. Considered a fundamental bodily structure in fish, otoliths serve a vital function in fish by helping them sense orientation and acceleration.

June 17th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A new research study has suggested that the way fish learn could be closer to humans' way of thinking than previously believed. The subject of the research was a common species of fish which is found across Europe including the UK, called the nine-spined stickleback, which could be the first animal shown to exhibit an important human social learning strategy.

June 13th, 2009 Fish toss a go for veterinarians visiting SeattleSEATTLE — Despite complaints from an animal-rights group, a national veterinary association says Seattle's famed fishmongers will be tossing dead fish at its Seattle convention next month. American Veterinary Medical Association CEO Ron DeHaven says his organization will proceed with a plan to host a team-building program offered by the famous fish-throwers of Seattle's Pike Place Fish Market.

June 10th, 2009 Veterinary group rethinks fish toss in SeattleSEATTLE — Seattle's famed fishmongers may be tossing rubber fish instead of real ones at a national veterinary association's convention next month following complaints from an animal-rights group. American Veterinary Medical Association chief executive Ron DeHaven said the Schaumburg, Ill.-based organization had thought inviting one of Seattle's top tourist attractions — the fish-throwers at the Pike Place Fish Market — to the event would be a great "team-building experience." But after People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals raised concerns about the ethics of using dead fish as props at a veterinary event, DeHaven said the AVMA would explore other options, including an alternative PETA suggested: using rubber fish.

May 19th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Scientists have come up with a theory that attributes the historic migrations of the Polynesians from the Cook islands to New Zealand, Easter Island and Hawaii in the 11th to 15th centuries, to fish poisoning. The theory has been proposed by Teina Rongo, a Cook Island Maori from Rarotonga and a Ph.D.

April 22nd, 2009 WASHINGTON - Eating salmon or other fatty fish once a week has been found to help reduce men's risk of heart failure, bolstering evidence that omega-3 fatty acids do benefit the heart. 'Previous research has demonstrated that fatty fish and omega-3 fatty acids help to combat risk factors, lowering triglycerides (fats in the blood), reducing blood pressure, heart rate and heart rate variability,' explained Emily Levitan of Cardiovascular Epidemiology Research Centre at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Centre (BIDMC), who co-authored a new study on the subject.

March 29th, 2009 TAIPEI - Fish pedicures are becoming hot in Taiwan, but authorities are pouring cold water on the practice by questioning the effect of the treatment, a newspaper said Sunday. Some spa operators in Taiwan, like those in Japan, South Korea and other countries, have imported a special kind of toothless fish to nibble the feet of bathers in their pools, claiming the fish remove dead skin, give a pedicure and treat psoriasis and other ailments.

March 19th, 2009 WASHINGTON - The purported benefits of fish for such things as cardiovascular health have been overstated and have put increased pressure on global fish stocks, according to a new research. Researchers at St.

February 27th, 2009 LONDON - The fossil of a pregnant fish has shed light on the possible origin of sex, according to a new study. The fossil is an adult placoderm, an extinct group of armoured fish, and it contains a five cm-long embryo.