0_Wizard
I have a personal vendetta against all stingrays and manta rays for what they did to my boy Steve Irwin.
Manta rays are large rays belonging to the genus "Manta".
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Manta ray
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Manta ray
Manta rays are large rays belonging to the genus "Manta". The larger species, "M. birostris", reaches in width while the smaller, "M. alfredi", reaches . Both have triangular pectoral fins, horn-shaped cephalic fins and large, forward-facing mouths. They are classified among the Myliobatiformes (stingrays and relatives) and are placed in the family Myliobatidae (eagle rays). Mantas are found in warm temperate, subtropical and tropical waters. Both species are pelagic; "M. birostris" migrates across open oceans, singly or in groups, while "M. alfredi" tends to be resident and coastal. They are filter feeders and eat large quantities of zooplankton, which they swallow with their open mouths as they swim.
Manta ray night dive
A manta ray night dive is a scuba diving excursion to view manta rays. Depending on the amount of microscopic plankton present, the number of manta rays will vary. Some days no manta rays are seen while on days with high plankton levels upwards of a dozen may be present. While diving, scuba divers shine lights up while snorkelers shine them down creating a column of light which attracts millions of minuscule plankton, which in turn attracts the manta rays. A popular site is just off the coast of Hawaii Island called Garden Eel Cove, as well as the Kona Surf Hotel. Located just off the coast of Keahole Point (near the Kona International Airport), it attracts scuba divers for the abundance of manta rays.
Steve Irwin
Stephen Robert Irwin (22 February 1962 – 4 September 2006), nicknamed "The Crocodile Hunter", was an Australian zookeeper, conservationist and television personality. Irwin achieved worldwide fame from the television series "The Crocodile Hunter" (1996–2007), an internationally broadcast wildlife documentary series which he co-hosted with his wife Terri; the couple also hosted the series, "Croc Files" (1999–2001), "The Crocodile Hunter Diaries" (2002–2006), and "New Breed Vets" (2005). They also owned and operated Australia Zoo, founded by Irwin's parents in Beerwah, about north of the Queensland state capital city of Brisbane.
MY Steve Irwin
The MY "Steve Irwin" is the flagship of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, and is used in their direct action campaigns against whaling and against illegal fisheries activities. The vessel was built in 1975 and formerly served as a Scottish Fisheries Protection Agency conservation enforcement patrol boat, the FPV "Westra", for 28 years. Sea Shepherd had originally christened the vessel the MY "Robert Hunter" after Canadian Robert Hunter, co-founder of Greenpeace, but it was renamed in honor of "The Crocodile Hunter" star Steve Irwin on December 5, 2007. Irwin had considered joining the vessel on a voyage to Antarctica shortly before his death, and the renaming was endorsed by his widow Terri.
Stingray
Stingrays are a group of rays, which are cartilaginous fish related to sharks. They are classified in the suborder Myliobatoidei of the order Myliobatiformes and consist of eight families: Hexatrygonidae (sixgill stingray), Plesiobatidae (deepwater stingray), Urolophidae (stingarees), Urotrygonidae (round rays), Dasyatidae (whiptail stingrays), Potamotrygonidae (river stingrays), Gymnuridae (butterfly rays), and Myliobatidae (eagle rays). Most stingrays have one or more barbed stingers (modified from dermal denticles) on the tail, which are used exclusively in self-defense. The stinger may reach a length around , and its underside has two grooves with venom glands.
Sea Shepherd Conservation Society operations
The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society engages in various demonstrations, campaigns, and tactical operations at sea and elsewhere, including conventional protests and direct actions to protect marine wildlife. Sea Shepherd operations have included interdiction against commercial fishing, shark poaching and finning, seal hunting and whaling. Many of their activities have been called piracy or terrorism by their targets and by the ICRW. Sea Shepherd says that they have taken more than 4,000 volunteers on operations over a period of 30 years. Sea Shepherd engaged in a multi-year campaign against driftnetting practices, which it calls a way of strip mining the ocean's wildlife.
List of threatened rays
Threatened rays are those vulnerable to endangerment (extinction) in the near future. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is the world’s oldest global environmental organization. It evaluates threatened species, and treats threatened species not as a single category, but as a group of three categories, depending on the degree to which they are threatened:  The term "threatened" strictly refers to these three categories (critically endangered, endangered and vulnerable), while "vulnerable" is used to refer to the least at risk of these categories. The terms can be used somewhat interchangeably, as all "vulnerable" species are threatened, all "endangered" species are vulnerable and threatened, and all "critically endangered" species are endangered, vulnerable and threatened.
1_Apprentice
Yeah I was deep sea fishing and it took almost 30 minutes for me to reel one in because they are so strong.
0_Wizard
Oh that's so cool! Were you fishing in tropical waters? I wouldn't even know where to go to fish for them.
Mantas are found in warm temperate, subtropical and tropical waters.
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Manta ray
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Coral reef
Coral reefs are diverse underwater ecosystems held together by calcium carbonate structures secreted by corals. Coral reefs are built by colonies of tiny animals found in marine water that contain few nutrients. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, which in turn consist of polyps that cluster in groups. The polyps belong to a group of animals known as Cnidaria, which also includes sea anemones and jellyfish. Unlike sea anemones, corals secrete hard carbonate exoskeletons which support and protect the coral polyps. Most reefs grow best in warm, shallow, clear, sunny and agitated water. Often called "rainforests of the sea", shallow coral reefs form some of the most diverse ecosystems on Earth.
List of fish in Sweden
List of fish encountered in Swedish waters; both fresh water (lakes and streams) and in the marine salt water. The table denotes species native to Sweden, as well as those introduced from a neighbouring country and those that have only occurred occasionally. There are approximately 140 species which are native and common in Sweden, plus another 90 which are sporadic, not established or extinct. The IUCN Red List is a set of certain criteria of the fish population status in Sweden. The following terminology is used: Extinct, Critically Endangered, Endangered, Vulnerable, Near Threatened, Least Concern, Disappeared, Data Deficient and Not Evaluated.
Marlin fishing
Marlin fishing (also called billfishing) is considered by some game fishermen to be a pinnacle of offshore game fishing, due to the size and power of the four marlin species and their relative rareness. Fishing for marlin captured the imagination of some sport fishermen in the 1930s, when well-known angler/authors Zane Grey, who fished for black, striped, and blue marlin in the Pacific, and Ernest Hemingway, who fished the Florida Keys, Bahamas and Cuba for Atlantic blue marlin and white marlin, wrote extensively about their pursuit and enthused about the sporting qualities of their quarry. These days a lot of resources are committed to the construction of private and charter billfishing boats to participate in the billfishing tournament circuit.
Lake Erie
Lake Erie (); is the fourth-largest lake (by surface area) of the five Great Lakes in North America, and the eleventh-largest globally if measured in terms of surface area. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also has the shortest average water residence time. At its deepest point Lake Erie is deep. Situated on the International Boundary between Canada and the United States, Lake Erie's northern shore is the Canadian province of Ontario, with the U.S. states of Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York on its western, southern and eastern shores.
Coastal fish
Coastal fish, also called inshore fish or neritic fish, inhabit the sea between the shoreline and the edge of the continental shelf. Since the continental shelf is usually less than 200 metres deep, it follows that pelagic coastal fish are generally epipelagic fish, inhabiting the sunlit epipelagic zone. Coastal fish can be contrasted with "oceanic fish" or "offshore fish", which inhabit the deep seas beyond the continental shelves. Coastal fish are the most abundant in the world. They can be found in tidal pools, fjords and estuaries, near sandy shores and rocky coastlines, around coral reefs and on or above the continental shelf.
Forage fish
Forage fish, also called prey fish or bait fish, are small pelagic fish which are preyed on by larger predators for food. Predators include other larger fish, seabirds and marine mammals. Typical ocean forage fish feed near the base of the food chain on plankton, often by filter feeding. They include particularly fishes of the family Clupeidae (herrings, sardines, shad, hilsa, menhaden, anchovies and sprats), but also other small fish, including halfbeaks, silversides, smelt such as capelin, and the goldband fusiliers pictured on the right. Forage fish compensate for their small size by forming schools.
Sonora
Sonora (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Sonora (), is one of 31 states that, with Mexico City, comprise the 32 federal entities of United Mexican States. It is divided into 72 municipalities; the capital city is Hermosillo. Sonora is bordered by the states of Chihuahua to the east, Baja California to the northwest and Sinaloa to the south. To the north, it shares the U.S.–Mexico border with the states of Arizona and New Mexico, and on the west has a significant share of the coastline of the Gulf of California. Sonora's natural geography is divided into three parts: the Sierra Madre Occidental in the east of the state; plains and rolling hills in the center; and the coast on the Gulf of California.
1_Apprentice
Well you have to think they are built to be strong underwater. So when you fish them they are literal battles to reel them in.
0_Wizard
I can see that, yeah, they're huge. Aren't they a protected species though? At least in international waters?
They are protected in international waters by the Convention on Migratory Species of Wild Animals, but are more vulnerable closer to shore.
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Wildlife of China
China's vast and diverse landscape is home to a profound variety and abundance of wildlife. As of one of 17 megadiverse countries in the world, China has, according to one measure, some 7,516 species of vertebrates including 4,936 fish, 1,269 bird, 562 mammal, 403 reptile and 346 amphibian species. In terms of the number of species, China ranks third in the world in mammals, eighth in birds, seventh in reptiles and seventh in amphibians. In each category, China is the most biodiverse country outside of the tropics. Many species of animals are endemic to China, including the country's most famous wildlife species, the giant panda.
Legal assessments of the Gaza flotilla raid
Many legal assessments of the Gaza flotilla raid were published subsequent to the event. International law experts (and non-lawyers) differed over the legality of the action by Israel. Most agree that Israel is entitled to impose and enforce a naval blockade, that Israel can intercept a ship in international waters headed for a belligerent territory, that Israel may use force when intercepting such ships, and that there must be a proportional relationship between the threat and response. The force necessary to respond to violent resistance and whether the force that was used was proportionate were disputed.
Gaza flotilla raid
The Gaza flotilla raid was a military operation by Israel against six civilian ships of the "Gaza Freedom Flotilla" on 31 May 2010 in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea. Nine activists were killed in the raid. The flotilla, organized by the Free Gaza Movement and the Turkish Foundation for Human Rights and Freedoms and Humanitarian Relief (İHH), was carrying humanitarian aid and construction materials, with the intention of breaking the Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip. The government of Israel stated that the flotilla was organized as a provocation or media stunt. On 31 May 2010, Israeli Shayetet 13 naval commandos boarded the ships from speedboats and helicopters in order to force the ships to the Israeli port of Ashdod for inspection.
Croatia–Slovenia border disputes
Following the breakup of Yugoslavia in 1991, Slovenia and Croatia became independent countries. As the border between the countries has not been determined in detail prior to independence, several parts of the border were disputed, both on land an at the sea, namely in the Gulf of Piran. According to the Croatian Bureau of Statistics, the two countries share about of border. According to the Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia, the border spans . The border runs in the direction from the southwest to the northeast. The countries have attempted to resolve the dispute, most notably with the Drnovšek-Račan agreement in 2001 that was ratified by Slovenia but not by Croatia.
Piracy
Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable items or properties. Those who engage in acts of piracy are called pirates. The earliest documented instances of piracy were in the 14th century BC, when the Sea Peoples, a group of ocean raiders, attacked the ships of the Aegean and Mediterranean civilizations. Narrow channels which funnel shipping into predictable routes have long created opportunities for piracy, as well as for privateering and commerce raiding. Historic examples include the waters of Gibraltar, the Strait of Malacca, Madagascar, the Gulf of Aden, and the English Channel, whose geographic structures facilitated pirate attacks.
Korean Air Lines Flight 007
Korean Air Lines Flight 007 (also known as KAL007 and KE007) was a scheduled Korean Air Lines flight from New York City to Seoul via Anchorage, Alaska. On September 1, 1983, the South Korean airliner serving the flight was shot down by a Soviet Su-15 interceptor. The Boeing 747 airliner was en route from Anchorage to Seoul, but deviated from its original planned route and flew through Soviet prohibited airspace around the time of a U.S. aerial reconnaissance mission. The Soviet Air Force treated the unidentified aircraft as an intruding U.S. spy plane, and proceeded to destroy it with air-to-air missiles, after firing warning shots which were likely not seen by the KAL pilots.
Marine protected area
Marine protected areas (MPA) are protected areas of seas, oceans, estuaries or large lakes. MPAs restrict human activity for a conservation purpose, typically to protect natural or cultural resources. Such marine resources are protected by local, state, territorial, native, regional, national, or international authorities and differ substantially among and between nations. This variation includes different limitations on development, fishing practices, fishing seasons and catch limits, moorings and bans on removing or disrupting marine life. In some situations (such as with the Phoenix Islands Protected Area), MPAs also provide revenue for countries, potentially equal to the income that they would have if they were to grant companies permissions to fish.
1_Apprentice
Well this was just off the Texas coast and it was fresh water. I dont think they were protected the boat captain made it seem like they were more of a problem than anything.
0_Wizard
Well they definitely are a problem, RIP Steve. Luckily with a slow reproductive rate they might soon be gone for good.
Their slow reproductive rate exacerbates these threats.
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Velvet belly lanternshark
The velvet belly lanternshark (or simply velvet belly) ("Etmopterus spinax") is a species of dogfish shark in the family Etmopteridae. One of the most common deepwater sharks in the northeastern Atlantic Ocean, the velvet belly is found from Iceland and Norway to Gabon and South Africa at a depth of . A small shark generally no more than long, the velvet belly is so named because its black underside is abruptly distinct from the brown coloration on the rest of its body. The body of this species is fairly stout, with a moderately long snout and tail, and very small gill slits. Like other lanternsharks, the velvet belly is bioluminescent, with light-emitting photophores forming a species-specific pattern over its flanks and abdomen.
Colares stingray
The Colares stingray, "Dasyatis colarensis", is a species of stingray in the family Dasyatidae, native to the shallow brackish waters of the Amazon River estuary in northern Brazil. This species inhabits inshore bays during the dry season and moves away from the coast in the rainy season. It is characterized by a rhomboid pectoral fin disk, elongated snout, and a dark band on the lower lip. A fairly large species, males and females attain disk widths of and respectively. Females give birth to 1–4 young, possibly annually. Colares stingrays are both targeted and caught as bycatch by Brazilian artisanal and commercial fisheries; these pressures coupled with its small range and slow reproductive rate has led the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) to list this species as Vulnerable.
Feral pig
The feral pig (from Latin "fera", "a wild beast") is a pig ("Sus scrofa") living in the wild, but which has descended from escaped domesticated individuals in both the Old and New Worlds. Razorback and wild hog are American colloquialisms, loosely applied to any type of feral domestic pig, wild boar, or hybrid in North America; pure wild boar are sometimes called "Russian boar" or "Russian razorbacks". The term "razorback" has also appeared in Australia, to describe feral pigs there. A feral pig is a domestic pig that has escaped or been released into the wild, and is living more or less as a wild animal; or one that is descended from such animals.
List of ecoregions in North America (CEC)
This list of ecoregions of North America provides an overview of North American ecoregions designated by the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) in its North American Environmental Atlas. It should not be confused with Wikipedia articles based on the classification system developed by the World Wildlife Fund, such as List of ecoregions (WWF) and Lists of ecoregions by country. The commission was established in 1994 by the member states of Canada, Mexico, and the United States to address regional environmental concerns under the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation (NAAEC), the environmental side accord to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
Dusky shark
The dusky shark ("Carcharhinus obscurus") is a species of requiem shark, in the family Carcharhinidae, occurring in tropical and warm-temperate continental seas worldwide. A generalist apex predator, the dusky shark can be found from the coast to the outer continental shelf and adjacent pelagic waters, and has been recorded from a depth of 400 m (1,300 ft). Populations migrate seasonally towards the poles in the summer and towards the equator in the winter, traveling hundreds to thousands of kilometers. One of the largest members of its genus, the dusky shark reaches 4.2 m (14 ft) in length and 347 kg (765 lb) in weight.
Cross River gorilla
The Cross River gorilla ("Gorilla gorilla diehli") is a subspecies of the western gorilla ("Gorilla gorilla"). It was named a new species in 1904 by Paul Matschie, a mammalian taxonomist working at the Humboldt University Zoological Museum in Berlin, but its populations were not systematically surveyed until 1987. It is the most western and northern form of gorilla, and is restricted to the forested hills and mountains of the Cameroon-Nigeria border region at the headwaters of the Cross River (Nigeria). It is separated by about from the nearest population of western lowland gorillas ("Gorilla gorilla gorilla"), and by around from the gorilla population in the Ebo Forest of Cameroon.
Night shark
The night shark ("Carcharhinus signatus") is a species of requiem shark, in the family Carcharhinidae, found in the temperate and tropical waters of the Atlantic Ocean. An inhabitant of the outer continental shelf and upper continental slope, this shark most commonly occurs at depths of and conducts a diel vertical migration, spending the day in deeper water and moving into shallower waters at night. Off northeastern Brazil, large numbers congregate around seamounts of varying depth. A slender, streamlined species, the night shark typically reaches a length of . It can be identified by its long pointed snout and large green eyes (when alive), and is dark grayish blue or brown above and white below.