Autonomous, self-contained soft robotic fish at MIT

Soft robots — which don't just have soft exteriors but are also powered by fluid flowing through flexible channels — have become a sufficiently popular research topic that they now have their own journal, Soft Robotics. In the first issue of that journal, out this month, MIT researchers report the first self-contained autonomous soft robot, a "fish" that can execute an escape maneuver, convulsing its body to change direction, in just 100 milliseconds, or as quickly as a real fish can.

Striped Bass Cooperative Anglers Program

New York State would like your help.

Here's a chance for recreational anglers to participate in a fishery research project on its most important level, that of data collection for the DEC Striped Bass Cooperative Anglers Program (SBCA).

LINK (via:Surfcaster's Journal)

Stalking Puget Sound Steelhead With Science

LINK (via: Earthfix)

Stress Physiology of Sharks in Fishing

A new study led by scientists at the University of Miami (UM) Abess Center for Ecosystem Science and Policy and the Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science investigated how several species of coastal sharks respond to stress from catch-and-release fishing.

LINK (via: redOrbit)

Hybrids of genetically-modified and wild fish outgrow their parents

If genetically-modified (GM) salmon escape from farms and mate with wild fish from a different species, the results could be surprising. According to a study, the hybrid offspring grow even faster than the GM fish.

LINK (via: UW Conservation)

The Quest for Golden Trout

In a highly critical new book that challenges conventional thinking on trout fishing and trout fisheries management, a Connecticut College professor argues that trout hatcheries, river restoration projects and trout habitat enhancements on streams often do more environmental harm than good.

The Quest for the Golden Trout is about looking at our nation's rivers with a more critical eye--and asking more questions about both historic and current practices in fisheries management.

LINK (via: The Courant)