Alastair Bland’s Contributions:
Surfers to the Rescue
Surfers are just, like, totally stoked to help, bro.
Dec 22, 2023 | 700 words, about 3 minutes
Biodegradable Fishing Gear Isn’t Good Enough
Lower efficiency makes the eco-friendly nets and ropes fall short. That’s a trade-off we might have to accept.
Sep 14, 2023 | 800 words, about 4 minutes
California’s Slightly Less Gray Laws on White Sharks
California has new rules restricting white shark fishing, but advocates say the convoluted legislation won’t solve the problem of fishers targeting the protected species.
Dec 2, 2022 | 750 words, about 3 minutes
If a Turtle Is Caught in a Gill Net and No One Is Watching …
Does its capture get recorded in a legally mandated by-catch report?
Jan 12, 2022 | 750 words, about 3 minutes
The Ocean’s Mysterious Vitamin Deficiency
A puzzling lack of thiamine is disrupting some marine ecosystems.
Jan 28, 2021 | 2,700 words, about 14 minutes
Tabulating the Victims of Plastic Pollution
Hundreds of sea turtles and marine mammals have been choked, snared, and hooked by plastic debris.
Nov 19, 2020 | 600 words, about 3 minutes
Gray Laws on White Sharks
A loophole in California law is letting fishers who repeatedly catch great white sharks off the hook.
Oct 1, 2019 | 2,300 words, about 11 minutes
Eating Urchins: Can Gourmet Diners Reverse the Collapse of an Ecosystem?
A company wants to take urchins from the wild, then fatten them up for sale.
Sep 20, 2019 | 950 words, about 4 minutes
The Benefits of Marine Protected Areas Spill into Neighboring Waters
A new genetic analysis demonstrates the spillover effect in action, showing that fish leave marine protected areas for fishable waters.
Jul 12, 2019 | 750 words, about 3 minutes
To Save the Whales, Crab Fishers Are Testing Ropeless Gear
From devices designed to automatically cut the line, to crab pots that use no ropes at all, scientists are working to ease the threat posed by trap fishing.
Jun 24, 2019 | 1,000 words, about 5 minutes
Citizen Science Comes of Age
Increasingly, scientists are relying on data gathered by volunteers to make their research happen.
Feb 19, 2019 | 2,100 words, about 11 minutes
A Faster Way to Find Illicit Fins
Slow, expensive testing has made DNA analysis a poor fit for customs agents on the hunt for protected species—but a new technique could change that.
Feb 4, 2019 | 650 words, about 3 minutes
Fermenting Fish Takes Guts
It may sound gross, but jarring the blood and innards of fish yields a gourmet sauce once prized by ancient Romans and now enjoyed by modern-day foodies. And you can make it in your kitchen.
Jan 15, 2019 | 1,300 words, about 6 minutes
Off the Green and into the Blue
A staggering number of golf balls wind up in the ocean. What happens to them?
Feb 21, 2018 | 1,600 words, about 8 minutes
California Fishermen Are Throwing Explosives at Sea Lions
And it is, surprisingly, legal.
Nov 20, 2017 | 1,100 words, about 5 minutes
California: the State of Salmon
Even if the levees are torn down, chinook restoration faces walls.
Aug 23, 2017 | 1,100 words, about 5 minutes
Hypothesis Confirmed: Sea Lion Mass Deaths Caused by Malnutrition
The warm water Blob hurt a generation of sea lions.
Aug 2, 2017 | 600 words, about 3 minutes
Northern California’s Farmers Want to Drop the Bass
Chinook salmon and striped bass are the focus of a proxy war over California water rights.
May 31, 2016 | 950 words, about 4 minutes
Practicing the Ancient Art of Cast Netting in San Francisco Bay
The recreational herring fishery is growing—and it’s beginning to catch regulators’ attention.
Feb 9, 2016 | 950 words, about 4 minutes
Feeding the World, One Fish Head at a Time
Entrepreneurs and governments are trying to make use of the whole fish.
Dec 21, 2015 | 750 words, about 3 minutes
Ruled Out
West coast US small-boat fishermen are struggling to stay afloat.
Sep 21, 2015 | 1,000 words, about 5 minutes