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FISH by Connie Murtagh |
1. The Aquatic Network is a plainly-designed site that includes a wide range of information. Job opportunities; lots of educational information for a wide range of ages; historical stories; a bookstore; and scientific publications and reports. The layout is a bit scattered, with categories and topics not so well-defined. I was extremely disappointed not to be able to access the "Fun With Plankton" area the three times I tried, but all-in-all a solid site for a variety of fish-related information.
2. Mote Marine Laboratories, offers thorough information ranging from fish kills to manatee beachings to red tides. Strong on science and academia, weak on outside, this site addresses a limited audience. However weather fans will want to check the 15 minute updates and the Red Tide Update provides a very factual, if not depressing, overview of the situation. Basically designed, the site is clear and accessible, though the continual use of Very Big Pictures and Very Big Typeface gets Very Old Fast.
3. Unfortunately billed as "A Bouillabaisse of Fascinating Facts About Fish," National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) site pretty much tells you everything you've always wanted to know about fish. Slow loading but extremely easy to navigate, the site is separated into distinct sections which cover the 125 year history of NMFS, most frequently asked NMFS questions (and the answers too), Fishery Regulations, Legislation, Monitoring Reports, Research Projects, and Definitions. It also provides a good deal of outside links. These are mostly kid-oriented, but since most of the NMFS stuff isn't relevant to kids, it's a nice inclusion.
4. SeaWatch, a citizen organization dedicated to saving the Sea of Cortez, is devoted to that subject and covers it thoroughly. Destructive Fishing Practices, Overfishing, Illegal Fishing, and By-Kills are all reported in emotional language with powerful photos to back up the words. It's nicely designed and easy to cruise through, in part because it's devoted solely to one subject--fishing problems in the Sea of Cortes. It doesn't offer many links or much general information on destructive fishing practices or declining fish populations.
5.
Time-Warner's Underwater is an interactive site aimed at elementary school-aged kids, but interesting to adults if you have the patience to bounce around quite a bit from link to link. My favorite part was SCUBA diver Jack Stein Grove's tours of Seychelles, Indonesia and Galapagos, providing both underwater and above water photos, facts, and histories. Decidedly apolitical, the site offers little information on the dangers currently facing marine life, like, for example, the havoc its own paper mills are wreaking on fish populations in North America.
Also worth mentioning: the Reef Resource Page and a good, but slightly dated, overview of the dwindling resources confronting local fishermen in North Carolina and Earhwave, a non-profit documentary producer that has focused on several endangered fish species.
Connie Murtagh is Research Associate at Seaweb, which she humbly omitted from this list.