Over the last few months, southern Chile has turned into a graveyard for maritime animals.

[Dubious]

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=265084243824913

337 whales dead in Chile in one of history's biggest beachings
Tuesday 1 December 2015 23.47 GMT


Biologist reports discovery made in June during observation flight over Patagonia region, as cause of whales’ death remains unknown

In this photo taken in April and released on Tuesday, by the Huinay Scientific Center, a dead sei whale lies in Caleta Buena, in the southern Aysén region of Chile. Photograph: Vreni Haussermann/AP

The coast of southern Chile has become a grave for 337 sei whales that were found beached in what scientists say is one of the biggest whale strandings ever recorded.

Biologist Vreni Haussermann told the Associated Press on Tuesday that she made the discovery along with other scientists in June during an observation flight over fjords in Chile’s southern Patagonia region.

The team has been collecting samples since then. She declined to disclose the conclusions, which will be published by a scientific journal later this year.

The cause of death of the whales is unknown, although human intervention has been ruled out.

The scientific expedition counted 305 bodies and 32 skeletons of whales through aerial and satellite photography in an area between the Gulf of Penas and Puerto Natales.


http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/dec/01/chile-337-whales-beached-stranding



Cthulhu-geddon: Thousands of dead squid wash up on beach in Chile
Published time: 17 Jan, 2016 05:42

© Anne Margaret Eley / Facebook

Thousands of dead squid have washed up on the Chilean shores of Santa Maria Island over the past week. The reason for a mass die-out of these large cephalopods is so far a mystery.

The mass death has prompted health concerns locally as around 10,000 decomposing squid bodies have invaded a beach on the small island, causing something of a stench, according to Latin Correspondent

Technicians from the Chilean National Service for Fisheries and Aquaculture (Sernapesca) have collected samples of the dead squid and water for analysis in specialized centers.


Experts say the phenomenon may have been caused by higher than usual seawater temperatures, but have not ruled out pollution either.

The arrival of dead fish and mollusks on Santa Maria’s beaches at this time of year is not unusual, but this is the first time it has reached biblical proportions.

A Chilean works to clean up the thousands of dead jumbo flying squid that washed up on the beaches of Santa Maria in May 2003 © Reuters

Experts and local police are working to evaluate the scale of the situation and determine whether it could cause a sanitary emergency.

Heavy machinery was brought in by the Chilean government to remove the dead squid on Wednesday, five days after they began to appear.

The delay has been blamed on the country’s poor emergency response structure.

goberconcepción ‎@GoberdeConce
Equipo de emergencias de la gobernación, rumbo a la Isla Santa María con maquinaria para eliminar varazón de jibias

1:32 PM - 15 Jan 2016

Jorge Luis Palacios‏@CSE_PALACIOS
Varamiento masivo de jibias en la isla santa maria región de Chile #DespiertaPorLaVida


“God help us that the children do not get sick from the smell,” said one resident in an interview with Reuters.

Deputy Police Chief Mario Grandon said that the squid have been rotting for nearly a week.

“Experts are coming here to determine whether the incident could cause sanitary emergency, which is probable, given the quantity of squid that have washed up here,” he said.

Rodrigo Valencia of the National Fishing and Agriculture Service says preliminary evidence suggests the squid died and washed up on shore due to a phenomenon called “upwelling.” This refers to a situation when dense, cooler and usually nutrient-rich water moves towards the ocean surface, replacing the warmer, usually nutrient-depleted surface water.

“It was caused by an upwelling, due to a drop in oxygen levels, which led to the death of these creatures,” Valencia said.

https://www.rt.com/news/329216-thousands-squid-dead-chile/

 

[Dubious]

Thousands of Dead Sardines Found Floating in Chile’s Queule River

Orietta Estrada | April 13, 2016 9:30 am | Comments

A massive fish kill in the Queule River Estuary in Chile last week has left fishermen overworked, residents in fear and thousands of tons of dead sardines floating along local shorelines. According to a statement on the website Chile’s National Fisheries and Aquaculture Service (SERNAPESCA), the entire area has been declared a human health hazard and the dead sardines have been banned for consumption.


Thousands of dead sardines have been found floating in Chile’s Queule River. Photo credit: SERNAPESCA
Seven major areas in the estuary have been affected by the sardine die-offs with Playa de Los Piños being hit the hardest. The news comes at a bad time for a region already struggling with stocking its national fisheries. Sardines, along with anchovy, were recently closed to fishing in the country due to low catch numbers. SERNAPESCA estimates that there were several hundred tons of dead fish in the water.

Fisherman Hernan Machua, told El País that 1,000 tons of dead sardines have been scooped out of the water so far and several thousand tons remain. He also added that more help from the government in the clean up efforts was desperately needed.

Last week, SERNAPESCA tweeted images of the massive sardine die-offs. The images were captured during an aerial evaluation of the extent of the fish kill. The evaluation team included the mayor of Queule:

IntendenciaAraucanía‏@iaraucania
Int @AndresJouannet junto a @sernapesca sobrevuelan zona costera para evaluar situación de peces varados en Queule


Over the weekend SERNAPESCA tweeted this image of fishermen beginning the removal of the dead fish:

Images publicly posted to Facebook from a Queule resident presented an alternative perspective to the clean up efforts:

At this time it is unclear why the fish kill happened, nor is it clear where it originated. It is also unknown if other fish species have been affected. What is clear is that fluctuations in sardine populations are common and occur for several reasons. One reason is hypoxia. Hypoxia is the result of increased primary production in waterways which leads to a decrease in the availability of oxygen, subsequently suffocating marine organisms. Unfortunately, this is not Chile’s first time dealing with massive fish kills related to hypoxia.

The country’s salmon industry was left reeling last month after harmful algal blooms (HABs) caused massive die-offs. Eutrophication, natural or synthetic fertilization of algae, causes HABs which result in hypoxia. The salmon die-offs slashed 15 percent of Chile’s total salmon production totaling around $800 million in economic losses.

Although sardines are not listed as a threatened species, in a food web, their recent-historic population declines have far reaching implications for animals at higher trophic levels—animals like sea lions. This past March, in the U.S., the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reported that low stocks of sardines and anchovy were to blame for starving sea lion pups. Female sea lions were unable to receive proper nutrition due to the scarcity of their staple food source—sardines and anchovy. Therefore, undernourished females were unable to properly feed their own pups.

The struggle to maintain adequate fish stocks in the Chile was echoed this week by the U.S. when the U.S. Pacific Fishery Management Council closed sardine fishing in the Pacific Northwest. This is the second consecutive year that the council has taken this action. Both countries face tremendous obstacles rebuilding their national fisheries. Among those obstacles are overfishing, water pollution and climate change.

Residents in Queule are frustrated with authorities for the slow pace of the clean up, according to Reuters. Health concerns have also been raised as the decomposing fish continue to crowd the shoreline. Euronews reported that a similar incident occurred in the neighboring region of Los Rios last month, but that report is not yet confirmed.

Clean up efforts are ongoing and the environmental impacts are unknown.

http://ecowatch.com/2016/04/13/dead-sardines-chile-river/

 

[Hamartia Antidote]

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=265084243824913

337 whales dead in Chile in one of history's biggest beachings
Tuesday 1 December 2015 23.47 GMT


Biologist reports discovery made in June during observation flight over Patagonia region, as cause of whales’ death remains unknown

In this photo taken in April and released on Tuesday, by the Huinay Scientific Center, a dead sei whale lies in Caleta Buena, in the southern Aysén region of Chile. Photograph: Vreni Haussermann/AP

The coast of southern Chile has become a grave for 337 sei whales that were found beached in what scientists say is one of the biggest whale strandings ever recorded.

Biologist Vreni Haussermann told the Associated Press on Tuesday that she made the discovery along with other scientists in June during an observation flight over fjords in Chile’s southern Patagonia region.

The team has been collecting samples since then. She declined to disclose the conclusions, which will be published by a scientific journal later this year.

The cause of death of the whales is unknown, although human intervention has been ruled out.

The scientific expedition counted 305 bodies and 32 skeletons of whales through aerial and satellite photography in an area between the Gulf of Penas and Puerto Natales.


http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/dec/01/chile-337-whales-beached-stranding



Cthulhu-geddon: Thousands of dead squid wash up on beach in Chile
Published time: 17 Jan, 2016 05:42

© Anne Margaret Eley / Facebook

Thousands of dead squid have washed up on the Chilean shores of Santa Maria Island over the past week. The reason for a mass die-out of these large cephalopods is so far a mystery.

The mass death has prompted health concerns locally as around 10,000 decomposing squid bodies have invaded a beach on the small island, causing something of a stench, according to Latin Correspondent

Technicians from the Chilean National Service for Fisheries and Aquaculture (Sernapesca) have collected samples of the dead squid and water for analysis in specialized centers.


Experts say the phenomenon may have been caused by higher than usual seawater temperatures, but have not ruled out pollution either.

The arrival of dead fish and mollusks on Santa Maria’s beaches at this time of year is not unusual, but this is the first time it has reached biblical proportions.

A Chilean works to clean up the thousands of dead jumbo flying squid that washed up on the beaches of Santa Maria in May 2003 © Reuters

Experts and local police are working to evaluate the scale of the situation and determine whether it could cause a sanitary emergency.

Heavy machinery was brought in by the Chilean government to remove the dead squid on Wednesday, five days after they began to appear.

The delay has been blamed on the country’s poor emergency response structure.

goberconcepción ‎@GoberdeConce
Equipo de emergencias de la gobernación, rumbo a la Isla Santa María con maquinaria para eliminar varazón de jibias

1:32 PM - 15 Jan 2016

Jorge Luis Palacios‏@CSE_PALACIOS
Varamiento masivo de jibias en la isla santa maria región de Chile #DespiertaPorLaVida


“God help us that the children do not get sick from the smell,” said one resident in an interview with Reuters.

Deputy Police Chief Mario Grandon said that the squid have been rotting for nearly a week.

“Experts are coming here to determine whether the incident could cause sanitary emergency, which is probable, given the quantity of squid that have washed up here,” he said.

Rodrigo Valencia of the National Fishing and Agriculture Service says preliminary evidence suggests the squid died and washed up on shore due to a phenomenon called “upwelling.” This refers to a situation when dense, cooler and usually nutrient-rich water moves towards the ocean surface, replacing the warmer, usually nutrient-depleted surface water.

“It was caused by an upwelling, due to a drop in oxygen levels, which led to the death of these creatures,” Valencia said.

https://www.rt.com/news/329216-thousands-squid-dead-chile/

More fishing boats with more sophisticated equipment equals this:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marine_mammals_and_sonar

 

[Dubious]

More fishing boats with more sophisticated equipment equals this:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marine_mammals_and_sonar

and nothing to do with global warming?

Article also suggest turnover of the hot and cold water...which is essential to churn the ocean nutrients ....

It is conjectured that active sonar transmitters could confuse these animals and interfere with basic biological functions such as feeding and mating.

sonar has been implicated in causing behavioral changes that can lead to decompression sickness.


Not sure but what we are sure of is weather patterns changing around the world and yet the ignorance of the world to do anything about it!

 

[Hamartia Antidote]

and nothing to do with global warming?

Article also suggest turnover of the hot and cold water...which is essential to churn the ocean nutrients ....

It is conjectured that active sonar transmitters could confuse these animals and interfere with basic biological functions such as feeding and mating.

sonar has been implicated in causing behavioral changes that can lead to decompression sickness.


Not sure but what we are sure of is weather patterns changing around the world and yet the ignorance of the world to do anything about it!

Oh I have no doubt that global warming is playing a key role in ocean die offs.
But as if global warming wasn't bad enough other things are compounding the problems too. There is over-fishing, plastic in the water, toxic pollutants being dumped, and who knows what other horrible things.

 

[Gauss]

Its clearly due to deoxygenation of seawater. But the question is what is causing the deoxygenation? It also looks like there was on over-population of marine life in that region of the sea and it later suffered a cataclysmic end.

 

[XenoEnsi-14]

Its clearly due to deoxygenation of seawater. But the question is what is causing the deoxygenation? It also looks like there was on over-population of marine life in that region of the sea and it later suffered a cataclysmic end.

Red tide plus warmer than usual waters.


Bible thumpers are probably having panic attacks right now.

 

[T-123456]

The salt level(higher then normal) of the water could be a reason for this.