Marine life - The African Mirror

Sep

2023

Giant sea lizards: fossils in Morocco reveal the astounding diversity of marine life 66 million years ago, just before the asteroid hit

SIXTY-SIX million years ago, the Cretaceous period ended. Dinosaurs disappeared, along with around 90% of all species on Earth. The patterns and causes of this extinction have been debated since palaeontology began. Was it a slow, inevitable decline, or did the end come quickly, driven by a sudden, unpredictable disaster? NICHOLAS R. LONGRICH, Senior Lecturer in Paleontology and Evolutionary Biology, Life Sciences at the University of Bath, University of Bath Georges Cuvier, working in the early 19th century, was one of the first palaeontologists. He believed that geological catastrophes, or “revolutions”, drove waves of sudden extinction. In part, his ideas…

Mar

2023

By The African Mirror

200 countries sign deal to save Africa’s fish stocks

NEWS

BIRD STORY AGENCY AFTER years of negotiations, United Nations members finally forged the long-awaited and elusive treaty to safeguard the world's marine biodiversity. The announcement was made on March 5, 2023, after two weeks of negotiations at the UN headquarters in New York, when nearly 200 countries agreed to a legally-binding "High Seas Treaty" to protect marine life in international waters. "This agreement will guarantee a replenished ocean that has the potential to help feed the growing population in Africa," said Fidel Owusu, a Ghanaian International Relations and Geopolitical analyst. The talks formally called the Intergovernmental Conference on Marine Biodiversity…

Jul

2021

By The African Mirror

SA probes coastal chemical spill in Durban

NEWS

SIYABONGA SISHI and ROGAN WARD SOUTH African authorities in the port city of Durban said on Saturday they were investigating a coastal chemical spill that may have been caused by a warehouse fire during unrest this week. Other possible sources are also being investigated as the cause of the spill, which is affecting marine and bird life, the eThekwini municipality said late on Friday, urging local residents not to use beaches in the area. "Extensive environmental impacts are being reported at uMhlanga and uMdhloti lagoons and beaches in the vicinity, that have killed numerous species of marine and bird life,"…

Aug

2020

By The African Mirror

Locals pioneer safer fishing alternatives to protect seas off Madagascar

MULTIMEDIA

NICKY MILNE IN a small boat off the coast of Madagascar, Idrissa Tsirvelo struggled with a spanner on his rusted dive cylinder, then put a regulator in his mouth and disappeared under the water, risking death illegally harvesting sea cucumbers from the ocean floor. Deep sea diving for the worm-like marine animals - a delicacy selling for hundreds of dollars in Asia - can lead to death, injury or paralysis, but many young men in the Indian Ocean island say they have no other means of survival. "This work really scares me," said Tsirvelo. "As humans we are not meant…