March 26, 2009 - From Martha Mendoza (AP) - Fish caught near wastewater treatment plants serving five major US cities had residues of pharmaceuticals in them, including medicines used to treat high cholesterol, allergies, high blood pressure, bipolar disorder, and depression, researchers reported yesterday.

Findings from this first nationwide study of human drugs in fish tissue have prompted the Environmental Protection Agency to significantly expand similar ongoing research to more than 150 different locations.

A person would have to eat hundreds of thousands of fish dinners to get even a single therapeutic dose, said study coauthor Bryan Brooks, a Baylor University researcher. But researchers including Brooks have found that even extremely diluted concentrations of pharmaceutical residues can harm fish, frogs, and other aquatic species.

Here's the full story at Boston.com

March 24, 2009 - During the warm summer months Santuit Pond in Mashpee acquires the color and consistency of pea soup. Swimming is unthinkable and eating fish from the pond could make you sick. The green muck is evidence of toxic algae blooms caused by excess phosphorous and nitrates. Santuit Pond is already on state and federal watch lists and the town's board of health has listed the pond as a human health concern. The Friends of Santuit Pond, a group of local residents is starting a petition drive this weekend to support the sustained cleanup of the pond. The group will be seeking funding for a study of the problem at an upcoming town meeting. Here's the full story from Mathhew M Burke.

March 21, 2009 - Georgia inventor Billy Willeby has created a portable refrigeration unit that oystermen and other harvesters of shellfish can use on their boats to keep their catch chilled, especially during the warmer months. The system consists of a large cooler filled with ice connected by hoses to a second, larger container where the oysters would be placed. An electric pump powered by a 12-volt battery keeps ice-cold water circulating between the two containers. More from Tallahasee.com.

March 5, 2009 - Along the South Atlantic coast commercial and charter fishermen report that they've been catching more and bigger red snapper than at any time in the past ten years. At the same time the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council and fisheries reasearchers say that red snapper stocks are perilously low, just 3% of what they should be. For this reason a ban has been proposed that would place red snapper off limits for up to six months in Atlantic waters off Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina.  Fishermen say that red snapper stocks are rebounding since 1992 regulations required them to throw back any snapper under 20 inches and also limited recreational anglers — who catch three-quarters of all Atlantic snappers — to two fish per trip. But the most recent  assessment by the National Marine Fisheries Service says the Atlantic snapper is being caught faster than they can sustainably reproduce.  Here's the full story from Russ Bynum at AP.