Category: Research

Beached Whale to be used in Shark Research

The 75-foot beached whale found at the Point Loma Wastewater Treatment Plant will be used for conservation research focused on pregnant white sharks.  Last week, the dead whale washed ashore in the same location a 2011 whale carcass.  It is believed by NOAA scientists the whale was hit by a ship and sustained injuries causing… Read more »

UC San Diego Scientists Making Waves With Ocean Bacteria

UC San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography have discovered a way to more efficiently develop potential drugs from ocean bacteria. The full article can be found at http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2014/Jan/24/ucsd-scripps-moore-yamanaka/. Essentially, researchers using ocean bacteria, which can not be grown in a lab, developed a new method to create previously unknown biological processes.  These new processes produce antibiotics… Read more »

California Yellowtail Research

During the summer fishing season in southern California, the yellowtail are a prized fish onboard the Sea Star.  These fish put up a great fight, excite everyone onboard, and make for great dinner meals!  This last year, we caught an 18lb yellow in the middle of August and everyone onboard was stoked! https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10200667676591328&set=o.162031247182536&type=1&theater There isn’t… Read more »

Cleaning up the Ocean in Five Years

Nineteen year old Boyan Slat claims he can clean up the world’s oceans in five years.  Best of all, he would turn a profit. httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ROW9F-c0kIQ The Pacific Ocean has an area with millions of floating plastic debris particles.  This area is better known as the “Great Pacific Garbage Patch” because this gyre accumulates all the… Read more »

Why are the large swells good for fishermen?

The large swells off the Southern California coast can be deadly for surfers, kayakers, and fishermen alike.  However, when the swells calm down, they bring life to California’s inshore sportfishing grounds. The large storm to the north of Oceanside produced very large waves this past weekend.  When this happened, upwelling occurred.  Upwelling is when the… Read more »