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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (June 8, 2018)
8A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, JUNE 8, 2018 Sleuthing leads to new findings about peculiar ocean fish New species of opah By PHUONG LE Associated Press SEATTLE — The fish buyer noticed something dif- ferent about the large, color- ful disc-shaped opah waiting to be sold at the auction house in Honolulu. Among the dif- ferences: one fish had a bigger eye than the other. His curiosity set in motion DNA testing and more sleuth- ing that led to the identification of three new species of opah — a peculiar deep-diving fish recently found to be the first fully warm-blooded fish. “The more we looked, the more differences we could pull out,” said Karen Underkoffler, lead author of a recently pub- lished paper in the peer-re- viewed journal Zootaxa that describes the anatomical char- acteristics of the different spe- cies of opah, including one marked by its big eyes and a purple tongue. In all, the team of scientists with NOAA Fisheries iden- tified five distinct species of opah, revealing that there isn’t a single global species. Three are newly identified, one was already named and researchers better identified another that had been previously described. “We have known for quite some time that opahs in differ- ent parts of the world look dif- ferent,” said Misty Paig-Tran, assistant professor of marine biology and biomechanics at Cal State Fullerton, who was not involved in the paper. People were calling them all the same thing, and the paper clearly shows their dif- ferences, she said, adding that it’s great to finally have ana- tomical descriptions and DNA to back those descriptions. The researchers say know- ing the population of opah — which has a silvery gray body, red fins and mouths, and white spots — is important to make sure they don’t get overfished. While opah isn’t harvested by commercial fisheries, the fish is often caught inciden- tally in commercial fishing for high-value tuna or swordfish off the coasts of Hawaii and California. Sport anglers also fre- quently catch the colorful fish, which on average weighs about 100 pounds and can be bigger than an automobile tire. Opah is becoming popu- lar at restaurants in Hawaii and elsewhere. The value of U.S. commercial landings of opah has increased from just a few thousand dollars before 2000 to nearly $3.2 million in 2016. The Hawaii-based long- line fishing industry reported the catching of nearly 30,000 opahs by vessels targeting tuna and swordfish in 2015. Most opah landed by those vessels arrive at the United Fishing Agency auction in Yellowstone boss says Trump administration is forcing him out By MATTHEW BROWN Associated Press James Poulson/ The Daily Sitka Sentinel John Petraborg holds up a 35-pound moonfish, also known as opah and normal- ly found in the deep waters near Hawaii, on board his troller Roulette at ANB Har- bor in Sitka, Alaska, in 2005. Honolulu, where Underkoffler was working several years ago when Garrett Kitazaki flagged the big-eyed opah for her and her colleague Megan Luers, another study co-author. BILLINGS, Mont. — Yellowstone National Park’s superintendent said Thurs- day that he’s being forced out as a “punitive action” follow- ing disagreements with the Trump administration over how many bison the park can sustain, a longstanding source of conflict between park offi- cials and ranchers in neigh- boring Montana. Superintendent Dan Wenk announced last week that he intended to retire March 30, 2019, after being offered a transfer he didn’t want. He said he was informed this week by National Park Ser- vice Acting Director Paul “Dan” Smith that a new super- intendent will be in place in August and that Wenk will be gone by then. “I feel this is a punitive action, but I don’t know for sure,” Wenk told The Associ- ated Press. He wasn’t given a reason and said the only dispute he’s had with U.S. Interior Secre- tary Ryan Zinke, who over- sees the park service, was over bison. Ranchers in neighboring Montana have long sought reductions in Yellowstone’s bison numbers because of worries that they could spread the disease brucellosis to cat- tle and compete with livestock for grazing space outside the park. Brucellosis causes ani- mals to prematurely abort their young and can be trans- mitted through birthing mate- rial. It also can infect people. Sobering report teases out factors leading to suicides Rates up in nearly every state By CARLA K. JOHNSON Associated Press SEATTLE — Suicide rates inched up in nearly every U.S. state from 1999 through 2016, according to a new govern- ment report released Thursday. More than half of suicides in 2015 in a subgroup of 27 states were among people with no known mental health con- dition, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found. Suicide is rarely caused by any single factor, health officials said, but information from cor- oners’ reports suggest many of the deaths followed relation- ship problems, substance use and financial crises. Prevention efforts, often focused on mental health, could be broadened to focus on people undergoing life stresses like job losses or divorces, the CDC’s Dr. Anne Schuchat said in a media briefing. “Suicide is more than a mental health issue,” Schuchat said. “We don’t think we can just leave this to the mental health system to manage.” Suicide is the 10th lead- ing cause of death and one of just three leading causes that are on the rise. The others are Alzheimer’s disease and drug overdoses. There were nearly 45,000 suicides in 2016. Middle- aged adults — ages 45 to 64 — had the largest rate increase, rising to 19.2 per 100,000 in 2016 from 13.2 per 100,000 in 1999. The report said people with- out known mental health prob- lems were more likely to die by firearms than those with known mental health problems. Family members or friends concerned about someone who is struggling can ask directly about suicide and remove fire- arms or any other means the person is considering from the home, said Jennifer Stuber, director of Forefront Suicide Prevention at the University of Washington in Seattle. Prevention efforts are best done when “people can get help solving the underlying drivers of the problems caus- ing them to feel hopeless and despair,” Stuber said. The CDC report comes at a time of heightened attention to the issue with the suicide this week of designer Kate Spade. The designer’s husband, Andy Spade, has said she suffered from depression and anxiety for many years. Overall, the rate rose to 15.4 per 100,000 in 2014-2016 from 12.3 per 100,000 in 1999- 2001. Rates ranged from 6.9 per 100,000 in the District of Columbia to 29.2 per 100,000 in Montana. Twenty-five states saw per- centage rate increases of more than 30 percent over the 17 years. The overall data came from coded death certificate records. The information on contribut- ing factors reflect what fam- ily and friends told coro- ners and police in a subgroup of states participating in the CDC’s National Violent Death Reporting System. In the one- year analysis of 27 states, opi- oids were found in 31 percent of the 3,003 suicides involving drug overdoses. The CDC said the 27 states represent nearly half the U.S. population but can- not be considered nationally representative. 5:00 pm Downtown Astoria Every month, year ‘round! June 9 th Visit Downtown Astoria on the 2nd Saturday of every month for art, music, and general merriment! Presented by the Astoria Downtown Historic District Association astoriadowntown.com facebook/astoriadowntown.com Wyndham Vacation Ownership is now Wyndham Destinations! We are a global leader in the industry and the world’s largest vacation ownership company. There has never been a more exciting time to join our team! 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