LEO Network

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The LEO Network is a worldwide network of observers and experts that share their observations of environmental change.
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Observations

Giant squid caught in West Seattle
Seacrest Boathouse Pier, West Seattle, Washington, United States
King 5 News

Jumbo squid invade San Diego shores, spook divers
La Jolla, California, United States
The Christian Science Monitor

The Seattle Times: Sports: Notebook: Humboldt squid make rare appearance here
Washington's outer coast
Seattle Times

Jumbo squid is captured in unfamiliar waters
Sitka, Alaska
msnbc.com

Too Many Sea Otters?
Some want to be able to kill them again off BC's coast. Part one of a Tyee special report.
Chesterman Beach, British Columbia, Canada
The Tyee

Se observó una ballena gris albina
Laguna Ojo de Liebre, Baja California Sur
Reserva de la Biósfera El Vizcaíno Guerrero Negro

Fisherfolk raise concern over Manila Bay’s ‘discoloration’
Social media went abuzz the past few days after some parts of Manila Bay turned turquoise.
Manila, Philippines

Rain falls at Greenland ice summit for first time on record
Rain fell at the highest point on the Greenland ice sheet last week for the first time on record, another worrying sign of warming for the ice sheet already melting at an increasing rate, scientists said on Friday.
Summit Camp
Reuters

Busiest ferry routes inside Arctic Circle go electric
Norway’s successful transition to zero-emission transport sector continues. By the end of 2022, the last remaining ferry connection along European route E6, Bognes-Skarberget, will operate on batteries.
Bønes, Vestland, Norway
The Independent Barents Observer

Canada's AG warns Nunavut about dangers of not having a climate change action plan
Nunavut is not prepared to deal with the impacts of climate change and doesn't have a plan to deal with them, according to the latest report by Canada's auditor general.
Iqaluit, Nunavut, Canada
CBC News

Great Barrier Reef authority confirms unprecedented sixth mass coral bleaching event
Aerial surveys show almost no reefs across a 1,200km stretch escaping the heat, prompting scientists to call for urgent action on climate crisis.
Apple News

East Cook Inlet clamming to remain closed again this summer as population still lags
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game found an unexpectedly low number of clams during final surveying, but the agency still plans to monitor them in support of perhaps opening the fishery in years to come.
Clam Gulch, Alaska, United States
Anchorage Daily News

Fiona's aftermath in Port aux Basques: 'It looks like a bomb went off'
'We did what we could to prepare, and still, we were underprepared'. Harvey’s assessment is much uglier in the daylight. Much of the town looks like it took a point-blank blast from an army tank. The photos do little to capture the sheer shock of local residents, especially those who lost their homes. Some are a bit more stoic than others, focused on rebuilding. Others are understandably much more raw and emotional, dissolving into tears while passerby rush to comfort them.
Channel-Port aux Basques, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada
Saltwire.com

Australia: Rescuers rush to get stranded whales into the sea
Around 160 long-finned pilot whales washed up on the western Australian coast.Pia Courtis, from PWS said in a statement that a number of rescue agencies were trying to help but "unfortunately the outcome for our pilot whales once they strand on the beach is generally not good."
Dunsborough, Western Australia, Australia

Gulf Coast waters are hotter than ever
A relentless heat dome that has parked over the Gulf Coast region for much of summer reached a climax late last week and this weekend, bringing some of the highest temperatures ever recorded from coastal Texas to southern Alabama. The water has also heated up far beneath the surface. In fact, temperatures of nearly 88 degrees are common to depths of 165 feet below the surface, according to data posted to Twitter by Kim Wood, a professor of meteorology at Mississippi State University. University of Miami hurricane scientist Andy Hazelton called the ocean heat “other-worldly.”
New Orleans, Louisiana, United States

New Zealand sea sponge populations 'dying by the millions' due to climate change
Shocking images have emerged from New Zealand showing millions of once-velvety brown sea sponges bleached bone white, the worst mass bleaching event of its type ever recorded, marine scientists say.
New Zealand
CNN

North Slope communities are seeing more polar bears this year
From Point Hope to Kaktovik, North Slope communities saw anywhere from 10 to 15 bears in each village this winter. For the most part, bears are not going into the villages, but in some cases, they come close enough for people to take photos and sometimes, people come too close.
Point Hope, Alaska, United States
Alaska Media, LLC., Steve Keller designer and application developer

Another break in fiber network causes temporary internet and cell service outage in Arctic Alaska
Quintillion reconfigured the network and temporarily restored service as of Tuesday afternoon, the company’s president said. The break happened in an area with ongoing oil and gas maintenance and development.
Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, United States
Arctic Sounder

Prickly sharks (Echinorhinus cookei) observed in the shallow head of Monterey Submarine canyon

Seabirds dying of malnutrition in the sea north of Iceland, changing ocean conditions to blame
Unusually high numbers of dead seabirds have been found washed ashore on the beaches of North Iceland in the past months. A biologist who spoke to the Icelandic National Broadcasting Service RÚV said malnutrition and lack of feed for the birds were the most likely explanations.
Skagaströnd, Northwest, Iceland
Icelandmag

Holy crab! Rare, weirdly colored crustaceans found in Norton Sound
The red king crab that wasn't red appeared in Nome on Fourth of July.
Nome, Alaska, United States
Anchorage Daily News

Climate change: Sudden heat increase in seas around UK and Ireland
Scientists say water temperatures are as much as 3 to 4C above the average for this time of year in some areas.
Durham, England, United Kingdom
BBC News

Hours of work to clean a single swan after Marco Polo oil spill
50 cubic metres of oil is estimated to have been released into the Baltic Sea, after a passenger ferry ran aground just off the coast of Blekinge in south-eastern ...
Karlskrona, Blekinge, Sweden

What Greenland’s record-breaking rain means for the planet
For three days this month, 7 billion tonnes of rain fell across Greenland — the largest amount since records began in 1950. It’s also the first time since then that rain, not snow, fell on Greenland’s highest peak.
Greenland Summit Camp
ArcticToday

Hurricane Fiona: Canada hit by 'historic, extreme event'
Hundreds of thousands of people have been left without power, after Storm Fiona hit Canada's coastline. Parts of three provinces experienced torrential rain and winds of up to 160km/h (99mph), with trees and powerlines felled and houses washed into the sea.
Channel-Port aux Basques, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada
BBC News

Unusually Thick Sea Ice to Make for Challenging Shipping on Northern Sea Route This Summer
Unusual amounts of multiyear ice in the Laptev and Siberian Sea could lead to difficult summer navigation along parts of Russia’s Northern Sea Route this summer, says the country’s Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute.
Siberian Sea, Russia
High North News

Anglers on alert for invasive Pacific pink salmon
'Unprecedented numbers' of pink salmon were seen in 2017 and the fish have been spotted again this year.
Inverness, Scotland, United Kingdom
BBC News

Scientists Find Worrisome Lesions on Endangered Southern Resident Orcas
The peer-reviewed research published this week in the Public Library of Science suggests that 99% of the orcas studied had photographic evidence of skin lesions. Researchers evaluated photos from nearly 20,000 orca sightings from 2004 to 2016, finding that lesions — often gray patches and gray targets on the orcas' skin — generally became more prevalent over time.
Seattle, Washington, United States
The Daily Chronicle

Lack of food drives away southern resident killer whales
The southern resident killer whales who returned to their traditional summer feeding grounds in the Salish Sea on Tuesday and Wednesday after a long absence have apparently left again, and although most of the members of J-, K- and L-Pods appeared to be healthy, at least one may be close to starvation.
Salish Sea
Times Colonist

New Invasive Species Detected in Alaska
Last summer while scoping for marine invasive species we found the invasive colonial tunicate, Didemnum vexillum also know as marine vomit.
Sitka, Alaska, United States
ADFG News

Spring bounty: Utqiagvik landed 10 whales in less than two weeks
This early in spring, the season usually only starts, but the weather patterns have been changing, and so has been the harvest time, Donovan said.
Utqiaġvik, Alaska, United States
The Arctic Sounder

Ice jam floods Buckland
The Arctic Sounder - Serving the Northwest Arctic and the North Slope
Buckland, Alaska, United States
Arctic Sounder

Corals in peril at a popular Hawaiian tourist destination due to global climate change
Researchers from the Coral Reef Ecology Lab at the Hawai'i Institute of Marine Biology documented the third global bleaching event as it occurred from 2014 to 2016 at the Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve (HBNP) on the island of O'ahu, Hawai'i. Their findings, published in the international journal PeerJ, show that temperature is by far the most influential factor in coral bleaching at this well-managed location where corals, fish, and all other organisms are protected.
Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve, Hawaii, United States
EurekAlert!

Baby lobster numbers low off New England as waters warm
New data show the population of baby lobsters off New England is below average, raising concerns about the size of future commercial hauls of the valuable crustaceans as waters warm.
Gulf of Maine
Press Herald

Sounding the alarm about the lobster population: We must reverse the trend now
The lobster population along the Norwegian coast is much worse off than first thought. New research shows a huge decline.
Arendal, Agder, Norway
NRK

Crabbers catch fewer crab, see lower price
Summer commercial Dungeness crabbing was well below average in Lynn Canal, with fishermen hauling in an estimated 105,000 pounds this year compared
Haines, Alaska, United States
Chilkat Valley News

Tropical fish follow warmer waters south, devouring kelp forests
They are brightly coloured, beautiful and hungry — tropical fish and sea urchins are thriving in southern waters warmed by climate change. But now they are devastating kelp forests already knocked around by marine heatwaves.
southern Australia
ABC News

Storm Malik and Corrie: Thousands of homes without power after weekend storms
Gusts of up to 85mph were recorded in parts of Scotland as Storm Malik swept across the country.
Saint Andrews, Scotland, United Kingdom

Basking Sharks (Cetorhinus maximus) Return to Monterey Bay
Moss Landing, California, United States

Shellfish growers in Northwest’s oyster capital want ‘blitz’ against invasive green crabs
Shellfish growers in Willapa Bay in southwest Washington, the self-styled "Oyster Capital of the World," are alarmed by an invasion of potentially destructive nonnative European green crabs. Some are asking for an all-out trapping offensive to corral the invasive species.
Ocean Park, Washington, United States
opb

Climate change affecting fish production, says Fisheries head
FISH production is being affected by climate change. Acting director of fisheries Nerissa Lucky said this was due to high sea water temperatures. CANARI technical officer Dr Ainka Granderson also said climate change posed a challenge for coastal communities in Trinidad and Tobago.Those communities are affected by the effects of extreme weather, coastal erosion, sea level rise, sargassum and coral bleaching.
Port of Spain, City of Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad Express Newspapers

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