cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/47586531

With tentacles extended in all directions, the Rhopalonematid jelly Crossota millsae is caught in a very interesting natural pose by the remotely operated vehicle (ROV) Deep Discoverer’s cameras in waters south of La Parguera on the southwestern shore of Puerto Rico at a depth of 1,015 meters (3,330 feet). Moving just above the seafloor, ROV Deep Discoverer came across this jellyfish hovering with its tentacles extending outward in all directions. Looking into known accounts of jellyfish similar to this one, it appears the jellyfish shown is a male individual of Crossota millsae, a jellyfish in the Family Rhopalonematidae.

This is not the first time we have encountered a specimen like this – other species in this family of jellies have been caught by our ROV’s cameras. Certainly psychedelic, the video shows a jelly in a very interesting pose, suggesting this jellyfish may feed by hovering above the seafloor with stinging cell-loaded tentacles extended and waiting for prey. In other dives, these poses were followed by rapid swimming.

Known from the Atlantic as well as the Pacific, jellies similar to these have been found not too far from the seafloor, suggesting a linkage between the benthos and the water column. Recording seemingly natural behaviors and stances by deep-ocean life in high-definition has given us the ability to not only identify these organisms, but learn a little about how they live.

Author: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

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The Center for Biological Diversity has submitted a petition to NOAA [National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in the U.S.] Fisheries, urging the agency to identify and impose sanctions on China for extensive shark finning conducted by commercial fishing vessels. According to the environmental group, Chinese-flagged ships have caught and finned thousands of sharks in offshore waters, yet China has failed to take sufficient measures to stop the practice.

[...]

The group notes that in 2024, China and Japan blocked an attempt by the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas to adopt a fins-naturally-attached policy, despite support from about 80 percent of member parties.

An investigation by the Environmental Justice Foundation released earlier this year reported widespread shark finning among China's distant-water fleet. The nonprofit interviewed 81 fishers from 60 Chinese-flagged vessels and found that 60 percent of those vessels allegedly engaged in finning sharks and disposing of their bodies. The report also noted that China's regulation on controlling shark finning does not apply to squid vessels operating in the Southeast Pacific.

[...]

In its petition, the Center for Biological Diversity asserts that China's distant-water longline fishing fleet regularly targets sharks and also harvests them as bycatch within regional fishery management organization convention areas globally. The group claims that in 2023, Chinese-flagged vessels discarded more than 10,000 blue sharks and nearly 1,700 shortfin mako sharks in the Western and Central Pacific.

[...]

Found through this Vice article: https://www.vice.com/en/article/scientists-finally-identified-that-weird-golden-orb-they-found-in-the-deep-sea/

A call to oceanographer Edie Widder about a fish with a very odd immune system quickly becomes something else: a dive into the deep sea, into a world of brilliant light. But down there, the light doesn’t behave like light—it sparkles and glows, but also drips, squirts, and dribbles. Today, find out how creatures make the light and how they use it, from hunting and hiding to maybe even … talking, and hear about a series of mysterious moments where Edie goes from studying the creatures to becoming one of them.

cross-posted from: https://hexbear.net/post/7255502

cross-posted from: https://news.abolish.capital/post/17368

A new study reveals that microplastics are impairing the oceans' ability to absorb carbon dioxide, a process scientists find crucial for regulating Earth's temperature.

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Good job as always, Cnidaria, you scary fucking phylum.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/33778892