Welcome to our first newsletter of 2025! In this feature article we will be discussing the American paddlefish, and why this special fish has its own national day. The American paddlefish, scientifically known as Polyodon spathula, was discovered in North America during the late 1700’s. This fish was perplexing to many naturalists as its tail and cartilaginous bones resembled those of a shark, but its long snout—or rostrum—was unique. Taxonomists determined through fossil records that paddlefish prevailed for millions of years, from the Cretaceous period to be exact, and that their last ancestor was not a shark, but a sturgeon! The rostrum of the American paddlefish contains electroreceptors, allowing the paddlefish to detect the electrical field from groups of plankton. The only other member of the paddlefish genus observed in the wild was the Chinese paddlefish, last spotted in the Yangtze River in 2003. Since then, the Chinese paddlefish has been declared extinct, and sadly the American paddlefish isn’t far behind.

The American paddlefish has been declared a vulnerable species by the IUCN Red List and there is a growing fear that the last living Paddlefish species might soon disappear. When the Chinese paddlefish went extinct, the primary causes were overfishing and habitat loss. Unfortunately, with the installation of dams within the Mississippi watershed, historic migratory paths for paddlefish have been completely cut off. This reduces critical spawning grounds for these fish, and was similar to the situation in China. The relation between paddlefish and sturgeon is also an important factor in population decline. Sturgeon have been exploited in the past by commercial fisheries, similarly to the American paddlefish, meaning both species are at risk. Along with overfishing and habitat loss, there are invasive parasites and pollution to consider. Luckily, American paddlefish are under both federal and state protection in the majority of their migratory range, and thanks to Shreveport Aquarium’s initiative to repopulate Caddo Lake with paddlefish, we now have a national appreciation day! You can celebrate on March 9th by learning about one of the most ancient fish species around, refrain from using plastics, and educate yourself on USFW fishing regulations in your area!

In ecosystems, every member plays an important role and is essential to the functioning of the system– it’s a lot like a symphony orchestra! When you think of the ocean ecosystem, it would be incomplete without the chortle of a dolphin, a call from a whale, or the bark of a seal. On the 22nd of March, we try to focus on those barks, because the 22nd of March is International Seal Day! 2025 is the 43rd year we’ve taken this day to celebrate seals, and while this day has brought recognition to the challenges that seals face as a species, we still have a long way to go until they can thrive in our oceans again. So today let’s learn more about the seal and what we can do to celebrate them!

Though we commonly call them seals, seals and sea lions are also called pinnipeds, which means fin/flipper-footed. There are two types of pinnipeds, phocids and otariids. Scientists think of phocids as the “true” seals— when you think of a seal, this is most likely what you think of. They have ear holes, but no flaps or covers for their ears, and they travel on their bellies. Otariids are known as eared seals; they have external ear flaps and have large front flippers that they use to move on land. Stellar sea lions and Northern fur seals are in the otraiid family. 

Across the 33 types of seals, their size can range wildly from 1.1 meters long (Baikal seal) to 6.5 m (the elephant seal). Seals can also vary drastically in appearance: some seals are striped (the ribbon seal), some have whiskers, and some like the harp seal have very self-explanatory names! Seals live on all continents and prefer cold water. Mother seals typically give birth to one pup at a time and the seal mating season typically begins around March, with different species mating beginning in late spring into early fall. 

Prior to the introduction of International Seal Day, two species of seal were thought to be extinct. The Caribbean monk seal and the Japanese sea lion have not been seen for around 50 years. To date the Mediterranean monk seal is considered to be the most at risk seal species according to the IUCN Red List, which categorizes threatened species based on a set of criteria. As with most marine species, the most common threats to seals are effects from climate change, hunting, and bycatch. The biggest decline in the seal population prior to the Endangered Species Act and the Marine Mammal Protection act was hunting. Seals are still hunted for their blubber and pelts, but this activity has decreased slightly in the United States since new protection acts. The Hawiian Monk seal, like its other monk seal brothers the Caribbean and the Mediterranean is among the most threatened species of seal. Thanks to some recovery efforts from the NOAA and other organizations the population has seen some growth, with a 2% increase from a period of 2016 to 2022. There are estimated to be around 1,600 Hawaiian monk seals in existence today. Though this seems like a small change, it is incredible to think how the actions of a few dedicated scientists can bring back an entire population of seal. By staying informed on the threats to seals and learning how you can help, through donations or advocacy, you are doing your part to help seals. 

For much of human history, whale hunting (or “whaling”) has been a long lasting tradition, job, or sport. The Norwegian and Japanese people are thought to have begun whaling over 4,000 years ago! In many cultures, whaling was a part of cultural identity and a source of food, income, and materials (i.e. meat, blubber, oil, baleen, bone). As new hunting technology, like gun-loaded harpoons were developed, whaling became an easier and easier task, causing whale populations to plummet. However, people began to realize the huge negative impacts whaling was having on whale populations and ocean ecosystems as a whole, leading to the creation of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) in 1946. The IWC’s purpose is to manage whaling practice and whale conservation. As scientists have come to better understand the negative impacts human actions can have on nature and the general public has moved towards environmentalism, awareness of the need to conserve and protect whale species has grown. 

One whale that scientists strive to protect is the Antarctic blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus intermedia), a subspecies of the blue whale. Antarctic blue whales are the largest animals on Earth, weighing up to 400,000 pounds. These whales are “baleen whales”, meaning that despite their enormous size, they feed on teeny-tiny crustaceans or “krill”. Krill can range in size from 1 centimeter to 6 cm, while the blue whales can grow up to 30 meters long! To sustain themselves, these blue whales must eat thousands of tiny krill, which they filter out of ocean water via “baleen”— plates of thin bristles that trap krill within the whale’s mouth, but allow seawater to pass through. On average, baleen whales live for 80 to 90 years. They migrate every year between their feeding and breeding grounds. In the summertime, they travel south towards Antarctica, where they feed on krill in cold, ocean waters. In the wintertime they travel northwards towards the equator, where they breed in warmer tropical waters.

Unfortunately, due to heavy commercial whaling, the Antarctic blue whale populations have shrunk to a dangerously small size; the species is listed as critically endangered. The IWC instituted protections against whaling in the 1960s, but illegal hunting continued to cut down whale populations. Other threats to whales include boat strikes, fishing gear entanglement, and habitat degradation. In 1926, the Antarctic blue whale population was estimated to be around 125,000. In 2004, the population hit its lowest point, estimated at only 300 individuals. However, due to global efforts, the Antarctic blue whale population seems to be slowly growing. In surveys of summer feeding grounds near South Georgia Island in 2020, scientists observed 55 Antarctic blue whales, the highest number observed at one time yet! Furthermore, scientists are using tools like satellite tagging and photo identification to track and analyze individual whale behaviors to better understand their feeding, breeding, and migration patterns. As more information is collected and scientists fill in knowledge gaps on Antarctic blue whales, hope for this once declining species continues to grow!