MidnightWatcher – Prophecy in Motion

“An investigation is under way after more than 100 fish were found dead in a stream off the River Usk in Powys.

Environment Agency Wales made the discovery at around 13:30 GMT on Friday.

The fish and a large amount of silt were found in the stream, about a mile from Brecon, and officers are trying to establish the cause of death.

Anyone with information is being urged to contact the Environment Agency’s incident hotline on 0800 807060.” Source – BBC News.

By Maya Rodriguez – “NEW ORLEANS– It’s been a busy few months for Suzanne Smith of the Audubon Aquarium of the Americas.

‘We keep all kinds of species here,’ she said.

Smith is also a part of the Louisiana Marine Mammal and Sea Turtle Rescue Program. Just last week alone, she conducted necropsies on three dead dolphins found near Grand Isle.

‘We’re finding, unfortunately, more dead dolphins than we normally would,’ Smith said. ‘So, the testing on the necropsies has gotten very strict and we are taking duplicate and triplicate samples on all parts, externally and internally on these animals, to try and find out what is happening out in the wild population.’

Since the beginning of the month, 14 marine mammals, including a dozen dolphins, have been found along the northern Gulf of Mexico. Half of the dead dolphins washed up on the Louisiana coast.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) calls it an ‘Unusual Mortality Event’ in the northern Gulf and next month will mark two years since it began. The tally so far: 630 dead.

The event started in February of 2010 – two months before the oil spill began. Still, the deaths raise a red flag with the Gulf Restoration Network.” Read more.

Demerara Waves – “In what authorities believe is one of the worst fish-kills in recent times, a lot of Curiass is being washed up on the Guyanese and Surinamese foreshores, apparently due to murky Atlantic Ocean waters and the discharge of freshwater into the sea.

The Fisheries Department of the Ministry of Agriculture says mostly dead Cuirass have been sighted since January 9 and the situation peaked on January 20 when a ‘significant’ amount of dead fish was observed on the beaches in the area.

Consultations with Surinamese Fisheries Department officials have revealed that similar occurrences of dead fish have been observed in the vicinity of Nickerie and Coronie during the same period, the ministry here stated.

‘An on the spot observation conducted by the Regional Fisheries Officer revealed that the gills were heavily coated with sling mud and slime. This condition may have resulted in oxygen deprivation to the fish resulting in death,’ Guyana’s Fisheries Department added.

While the observance of dead fish is said to an annual occurrence by local fisherfolk in both countries, Guyana’s Fisheries Department believes that this year’s was ‘noticeably worse’ and may have resulted from one of or a combination of factors.

They include turbidity of the water in the area – caused by excessive rainfall in the general region resulting in excessive cloudiness of the water due to suspended particles from the rivers which flow into the ocean and reduced dissolved oxygen levels. The other major factor could have been a high fresh water discharge – the high discharge of fresh water from the rivers may have disrupted the salinity content of the water in the area which could adversely affect fish in the area.

The University of Guyana’s Biodiversity Centre is expected to conduct tests on samples collected on January 22 to determine the cause of death of the fish. Results will be available several weeks later.” Read more.

Here’s an update on this story …

Update: All remaining 33 stranded pilot whales have been euthanized …

By Dave Williams – “A final attempt will be made on Wednesday to refloat the 35 surviving pilot whales from a pod that has repeatedly stranded on Farewell Spit, near the top of New Zealand’s South Island.

About 100 whales stranded themselves near the base of the spit in Golden Bay on Monday and 34 of them died that night.

Others managed to free themselves while the rest were refloated on Tuesday with the help of dozens of volunteers. However, some stranded again later in the day.

Four died on Tuesday night leaving 35 survivors. Another attempt will be made to refloat them at high tide, which is about 11.40am on Wednesday.

Department of Conservation spokesman Nigel Mountford told AAP the whales lost condition each time they were stranded out of water on the low tide, and if they restranded again they would likely die.

‘The third day of stranding is pretty much crunch time for the whales,’ he said.

Project Jonah chief executive Kimberly Muncaster told NZ Newswire the restranded whales had moved seven or eight kilometres up the beach, which meant volunteers had to be taken by bus to look after them.” Read more.

By JESS BIDGOOD – “WELLFLEET, Mass. — When a single dolphin washed up on Cape Cod on Jan. 12, it was nothing out of the ordinary.

But eight days later, 81 more had been found stranded on this craggy coastline, according to the International Fund for Animal Welfare, bringing the weekly count unusually close to the 120 animals the group typically responds to in high stranding season, which typically runs from January to April. By Jan. 23, the count was 85.

‘It’s just about as intense as I’ve ever experienced,’ said Katie Moore, the manager of the mammal rescue and research team at the nonprofit fund, which employs six scientists to rescue dolphins and whales that find themselves the unwitting occupants of Cape Cod’s empty winter beaches.

It is common for dolphins to be corralled by the cape’s U-shape and flummoxed by its shallow inlets and extreme tides. In fact, Cape Cod is, like parts of New Zealand and Australia, a world hotspot for dolphin strandings.

But so many dolphins washing up in less than two weeks — 61 of which were dead, killed by stress or injuries from the stranding — has baffled researchers, who have been working relentlessly with volunteers to rescue as many as possible.

Six of those dolphins turned up on Thursday in ‘The Gut’ of the Herring River, in Wellfleet, a waterway in the Cape Cod National Seashore that turns into a squelchy stretch of sticky mud at low tide. When researchers arrived, they found five live dolphins gulping for air with their blowholes, sounding like asthmatic humans. The sixth was dead. At the time, hundreds more dolphins were being coaxed out another part of Wellfleet Harbor by a small team of rescuers and its harbormaster.” Read more.

“Low oxygen levels and hot weather are believed to have killed thousands of fish in Perth’s Swan River.

About 5,000 dead fish were discovered between the Middle Swan Bridge and the Ellen Brook in the upper reaches of the river.

Mark Cugley from the Swan River Trust says recent rain and hot weather have decreased oxygen levels in the waterway and that particular area is outside the reach of the river’s oxygenation plants.

‘Sudden rainfall often drags nutrient rich organic matter into the river and this typically causes oxygen levels to rapidly drop below levels suitable for fish and other aquatic fauna,’ he said.

‘It is something that is of a concern and although we believe that the cause was low oxygen levels in the water column, we are monitoring the water quality and sending off samples of those fish for that to be clarified.’

Mr Cugley says most of the fish appear to be juvenile black bream with the remainder being trumpeter.” Source – Seven News.

“Malkangiri (Odisha), Jan 22 (PTI) The death of a large number of birds at several places in this tribal district of Odisha has triggered a bird flu scare, especialy with villagers throwing carcasses in the open. Hundreds of dead birds including crows, storks, pigeons and mynahs were seen in many villages under Malkangiri and Korkunda blocks during the last week. ‘We just received a report about death of birds. A team of veterinarians rushed to the area to initiate remedial measures,’ chief district veterinary officer Rabi Narayan Behera said. Meanwhile, due to lack of awareness, fear stricken people threw carcasses in the open which were then devoured by stray dogs and other animals. ‘No step has been taken by the district administration to create awareness among the people on dealing with bird carcasses. Ignorant villagers throw them here and there, causing health hazards in the area,’ said village president of MV-20 Subash Banarjee. Another village leader, Paritosh Ray, said that people have been advised not to eat the fowls, even as poultry business in the area came to a standstill. A member of the state bird-flu team Rajesh Kumar Kuanr, now on a tour of the district, said they were yet to get proper information about the incident. ‘We will rush to the spot once we get the information from the concerned authorities,’ Kuanr said.” Source – IBNLive.

By NAOMI ARNOLD and AAP – “Twenty-two pilot whales, from a pod of 99 that stranded in Golden Bay, have died and fears are mounting for the remaining 77.

Project Jonah chief executive Kimberly Muncaster said volunteers had tried desperately to save the whales, which became stranded just after midday.

‘It was very sad,’ she said.

‘But there was nothing more that we could have done.’

Volunteers had begun leaving the scene for the evening about 8.45pm on Monday for safety reasons.

Ms Muncaster said although there was only a small chance the remaining live whales would refloat at high tide about 11pm, she remained hopeful.

Volunteers had spent the afternoon trying to keep the whales cool and upright.

Project Jonah marine mammal medics have also been called to give the whales first aid.

Rescue efforts were due to resume at first light on Tuesday.

Project Jonah volunteer Jo Woods, of Motueka, said it was difficult to leave the whales to their fate this evening.

‘It’s hard to walk away. You get attached. My one had a big chunk behind his eye missing and every time we talked to him he’d would put his head up and shake it.’

She spent the day laying wet sheets on the whales to keep them cool and using sandbags to keep them upright. She trained as a volunteer after seeing a previous stranding on the Spit.

‘I realized I would have no idea what to do and I just want to be helpful rather than doing nothing,’ she said.” Read more.

By Dominique Debucquoy-Dodley – “(CNN) — At least 20 dolphins have died after washing up near several Cape Cod towns, an International Fund for Animal Welfare spokeswoman said Monday.

Between 40 and 50 common and Atlantic white-sided dolphins have been found stranded close to the shore since Thursday, and the number will likely rise, said IFAW spokeswoman Kerry Branon. Some animals were released Monday near Provincetown, bringing the total number of animals saved to 19.

‘It may not sound like a high success rate, but when you consider that 27 were alive when they washed up, I think we’re doing pretty well.’ The remaining eight that were stranded alive died.

Stranded living animals are given full health assessments, including ultrasounds and hearing tests; dead animals are given CT scans and necropsies, Branon said. Five released dolphins have been equipped with satellite tags on their dorsal fins to track their location and to see if they’re surviving.

Despite January-April being ‘high season’ for dolphin stranding near Cape Cod, IFAW experts aren’t exactly sure why so many dolphins are appearing now.” Read more.