View allAll Photos Tagged shellfish
Rossini caviar with Norwegian scallops, Gillardeau oysters, and Danish langoustines, lobsters, stone crabs, whelks, and razor clams.
Marchal
Hôtel d'Angleterre
Copenhagen, Denmark
(September 11, 2019)
Aug. 5, 2009 – An FDA shellfish specialist and a state researcher collect clams for lab testing.
Slideshow: www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm180442.htm
Article: www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm180996.htm
To learn more about how FDA is helping to ensure seafood safety, read these Consumer Updates:
Fish Hazards and Controls: More Than a Fish Story
www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm257816.htm
How FDA Regulates Seafood: FDA Detains Imports of Farm-Raised Chinese Seafood
www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm094558.htm
This photo is free of all copyright restrictions and available for use and redistribution without permission. Credit to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is appreciated but not required.
Privacy and use information: www.flickr.com/people/fdaphotos/
FDA photo by Michael J. Ermarth
Oysters are bloody expensive, man.
Mamiya 645 AFD with ZD digital back. 1/125" @ f/8, 80mm f/4 macro lens. ISO 50, WB flash.
Post in Capture One and Photoshop.
Strobist info: Photogenic Powerlight 1500SL @ 1/8 power in shoot-through umbrella above (from the perspective of the camera), with a small sheet of white styrofoam to help bounce some light back into the scene.
2015 MAN TGM
A85 near Dalmally, Argyll, Scotland
18/09/2025
All photos on our Flickr page are frames taken from our videos on YouTube, and each photo's description contains a link to the video featuring the pictured vehicle. The photos are also all ordered into albums and collections and are tagged by registration number, so you can easily find any lorry we've filmed and watch it in action!
Featured in this YouTube video:
Aug. 4, 2009 – A state inspector checks the water temperature in the cleansing tanks while an FDA shellfish specialist talks to the plant operator. States take the lead regulating the shellfish industry, while FDA monitors and evaluates the state programs and provides training and technical assistance.
Slideshow: www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm180442.htm
Article: www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm180996.htm
To learn more about how FDA is helping to ensure seafood safety, read these Consumer Updates:
Fish Hazards and Controls: More Than a Fish Story
www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm257816.htm
How FDA Regulates Seafood: FDA Detains Imports of Farm-Raised Chinese Seafood
www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm094558.htm
This photo is free of all copyright restrictions and available for use and redistribution without permission. Credit to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is appreciated but not required.
Privacy and use information: www.flickr.com/people/fdaphotos/
FDA photo by Michael J. Ermarth
Aug. 5, 2009 – An FDA shellfish specialist watches as clam harvesters help transplant clams from Raritan Bay to Little Peconic Bay for cleansing. The harvesting is supervised by the state, with oversight from FDA.
Slideshow: www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm180442.htm
Article: www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm180996.htm
To learn more about how FDA is helping to ensure seafood safety, read these Consumer Updates:
Fish Hazards and Controls: More Than a Fish Story
www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm257816.htm
How FDA Regulates Seafood: FDA Detains Imports of Farm-Raised Chinese Seafood
www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm094558.htm
This photo is free of all copyright restrictions and available for use and redistribution without permission. Credit to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is appreciated but not required.
Privacy and use information: www.flickr.com/people/fdaphotos/
FDA photo by Michael J. Ermarth
Aug. 6, 2009 – An FDA shellfish specialist watches as clams are rinsed and sorted. The clams are lowered on racks into Little Peconic Bay, Southampton, NY. for cleansing.
Slideshow: www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm180442.htm
Article: www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm180996.htm
To learn more about how FDA is helping to ensure seafood safety, read these Consumer Updates:
Fish Hazards and Controls: More Than a Fish Story
www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm257816.htm
How FDA Regulates Seafood: FDA Detains Imports of Farm-Raised Chinese Seafood
www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm094558.htm
This photo is free of all copyright restrictions and available for use and redistribution without permission. Credit to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is appreciated but not required.
Privacy and use information: www.flickr.com/people/fdaphotos/
FDA photo by Michael J. Ermarth
Aug. 6, 2009 – Cleansed clams are hauled in, rinsed, bagged, and tagged for market Little Peconic Bay, Southampton, NY. The state monitors the transplant operation while FDA audits the state’s oversight.
Slideshow: www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm180442.htm
Article: www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm180996.htm
To learn more about how FDA is helping to ensure seafood safety, read these Consumer Updates:
Fish Hazards and Controls: More Than a Fish Story
www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm257816.htm
How FDA Regulates Seafood: FDA Detains Imports of Farm-Raised Chinese Seafood
www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm094558.htm
This photo is free of all copyright restrictions and available for use and redistribution without permission. Credit to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is appreciated but not required.
Privacy and use information: www.flickr.com/people/fdaphotos/
FDA photo by Michael J. Ermarth
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Natural Resources and Conservation Service (NRCS) Stormwater management at this beach parking lot controls the quantity and quality of the rain and stormwater that runs off the parking lot in Town Neck Beach, Sandwich, MA, on October 10, 2019. The grade of the parking lot brings water into common channels at the ends and intermediate points. It enters a cement basin/channel where the water slows over cement ridges, rocks, and sand layers. The slower cleaner water disperses into the tidal wetlands. The process helps keep debris and sand from entering the wildlife and shellfish habitat.
Stormwater Runoff Control (NRCS Conservation Practice 570) provides control of quantity and quality of runoff caused by construction operations at development sites, and by other land-disturbing activities
The purpose of this practice is to regulate the rate and amount of water runoff and sediment from development sites during and after construction operations, to minimize flooding, erosion, and sedimentation. The practice is used when there is a need to compensate for increased peak discharges and erosion resulting from construction operations at development sites or other disturbed areas needing this conservation practice. For more information about this, please see nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprdb1255157.pdf
NRCS has a proud history of supporting America’s farmers, ranchers, and forest landowners. For more than 80 years, we have helped people make investments in their operations and local communities to keep working lands working, boost rural economies, increase the competitiveness of American agriculture, and improve the quality of our air, water, soil, and habitat.
As the USDA’s primary private lands conservation agency, we generate, manage, and share the data, technology, and standards that enable partners and policymakers to make decisions informed by objective, reliable science.
And through one-on-one, personalized advice, we work voluntarily with producers and communities to find the best solutions to meet their unique conservation and business goals. By doing so, we help ensure the health of our natural resources and the long-term sustainability of American agriculture.
Farm Production and Conservation (FPAC) is the Department’s focal point for the nation’s farmers and ranchers and other stewards of private agricultural lands and non-industrial private forest lands. FPAC agencies implement programs designed to mitigate the significant risks of farming through crop insurance services, conservation programs, and technical assistance, and commodity, lending, and disaster programs.
The agencies and services supporting FPAC are Farm Service Agency (FSA), Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), and Risk Management Agency (RMA).
NRCS – NRCS - nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/site/national/home/
FPAC - Farm Production and Conservation - usda.gov/our-agency/about-usda/mission-areas
USDA - USDA.gov
USDA Photo by Lance Cheung.
Aug. 4, 2009 – The creamy color of a cleansed clam contrasts with the gray color of a clam before cleansing. After each 48-hour cleansing process, a state-approved lab takes water and clam meat samples for testing before the shellfish may be sold.
Slideshow: www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm180442.htm
Article: www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm180996.htm
To learn more about how FDA is helping to ensure seafood safety, read these Consumer Updates:
Fish Hazards and Controls: More Than a Fish Story
www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm257816.htm
How FDA Regulates Seafood: FDA Detains Imports of Farm-Raised Chinese Seafood
www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm094558.htm
This photo is free of all copyright restrictions and available for use and redistribution without permission. Credit to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is appreciated but not required.
Privacy and use information: www.flickr.com/people/fdaphotos/
FDA photo by Michael J. Ermarth
Aug. 5, 2009 – An FDA shellfish specialist monitors the state's oversight as clams from Raritan Bay are transplanted to Little Peconic Bay for cleansing.
Slideshow: www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm180442.htm
Article: www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm180996.htm
To learn more about how FDA is helping to ensure seafood safety, read these Consumer Updates:
Fish Hazards and Controls: More Than a Fish Story
www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm257816.htm
How FDA Regulates Seafood: FDA Detains Imports of Farm-Raised Chinese Seafood
www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm094558.htm
This photo is free of all copyright restrictions and available for use and redistribution without permission. Credit to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is appreciated but not required.
Privacy and use information: www.flickr.com/people/fdaphotos/
FDA photo by Michael J. Ermarth
Aug. 4, 2009 – The FDA shellfish specialist and the plant operator examine a tag that indicates the water condition at the start of the cleansing process. Under the highly controlled conditions, the clams purge themselves of bacteria within 48 hours.
Slideshow: www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm180442.htm
Article: www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm180996.htm
To learn more about how FDA is helping to ensure seafood safety, read these Consumer Updates:
Fish Hazards and Controls: More Than a Fish Story
www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm257816.htm
How FDA Regulates Seafood: FDA Detains Imports of Farm-Raised Chinese Seafood
www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm094558.htm
This photo is free of all copyright restrictions and available for use and redistribution without permission. Credit to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is appreciated but not required.
Privacy and use information: www.flickr.com/people/fdaphotos/
FDA photo by Michael J. Ermarth
How did I spend my weekend? Well, I took my old all-in-one scanner-printer to the local authority "recycling centre" this afternoon. A few yards from its entrance is a pleasing walk along the bank of one of the area's many man-made drainage channels. Evidently this one had lately been cleaned, for mounds of grey silt and heaps of waterweed were lying all along the bank. Amongst the debris I noticed the nacreous blue gleam of an empty shell. Some kind of mollusc had been dredged up in large quantities. I pocketed a couple of complete specimens to take home. I would look them up in my Oxford Book of Invertebrates. I ran them under the tap, cleaned them up a bit and took them outside to photograph them. In the book they looked like examples of the Swollen River Mollusc (Unio tumidus). I showed them to my lady wife. "Do you think they are still occupied?" she asked. This hadn't occurred to me. "Put them in the bath in shallow water and see what happens".
I did this. Ten minutes later my wife called out that the shells were "squirting". Sure enough, both creatures ...as I must now call them... were shooting out little cloudy puffs into the clear bath water. So what now? Alright, shellfish aren't cute, warm-blooded or cuddly, but somehow I couldn't just chuck them in the bin now that I'd used them to satisfy my curiosity. This meant, of course, a five mile drive to "return them to the wild". Mrs B, a tender-hearted soul, came with me this time and insisted that we search the mounds of silt for further potentially living specimens. We found a dozen or so and threw them back into the water.
Aug. 6, 2009 – An FDA shellfish specialist watches as cleansed clams are hauled in, rinsed, bagged, and tagged for market in Little Peconic Bay, Southampton, NY. The state monitors the transplant operation while FDA audits the state’s oversight.
Slideshow: www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm180442.htm
Article: www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm180996.htm
To learn more about how FDA is helping to ensure seafood safety, read these Consumer Updates:
Fish Hazards and Controls: More Than a Fish Story
www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm257816.htm
How FDA Regulates Seafood: FDA Detains Imports of Farm-Raised Chinese Seafood
www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm094558.htm
This photo is free of all copyright restrictions and available for use and redistribution without permission. Credit to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is appreciated but not required.
Privacy and use information: www.flickr.com/people/fdaphotos/
FDA photo by Michael J. Ermarth
Interviewing a lobster general impressions of habitat health
Photographer: Adam Obaza, adam.obaza@noaa.gov
Broad Beach, Malibu, California
Aug. 6, 2009 – An FDA shellfish specialist watches as clams are transplanted for cleansing in Little Peconic Bay, Southampton, NY. The state monitors the transplant operation while FDA audits the state’s oversight.
This photo is free of all copyright restrictions and available for use and redistribution without permission. Credit to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is appreciated but not required.
Privacy and use information: www.flickr.com/people/fdaphotos/
FDA photo by Michael J. Ermarth
So if a crab gets too shellfish, do you cook him up with garlic and butter to teach him a lesson?? ;p
The Red Knot is a migratory shorebird that travels up to 20,000 km twice a year from its breeding grounds on the high Arctic tundra to its southern non-breeding sites. Along with having one of the longest total migrations of any bird, some populations also fly as much as 8–9,000 km between stopover sites in a single flight. As a shellfish-eating specialist avoiding pathogen-rich freshwater habitats, the Red Knot relies on the few large tidal flats with abundant food resources that the world has to offer. To undertake the physiologically demanding flight from West Africa to northern Siberia, for example, Calidris c. canutus refuels during three weeks of fast feeding in the national parks of the European Wadden Sea. After nearly doubling its weight, it burns off fat stores during the 3 or more days of non-stop flying. The Porsanger fjord in Northern Norway is beside Iceland the most important spring staging area (refueling site) for Calidris canutus islandica on their way from the Wadden Sea to Northern Greenland and North-East Canada.
For any form of publication, please include the link to this page:
This photo has been graciously provided to be used in the GRID-Arendal resources library by: Peter Prokosch
Aug. 6, 2009 – An FDA shellfish specialist monitors the state's oversight as clams are transplanted from Raritan Bay to Little Peconic Bay for cleansing.
Slideshow: www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm180442.htm
Article: www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm180996.htm
To learn more about how FDA is helping to ensure seafood safety, read these Consumer Updates:
Fish Hazards and Controls: More Than a Fish Story
www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm257816.htm
How FDA Regulates Seafood: FDA Detains Imports of Farm-Raised Chinese Seafood
www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm094558.htm
This photo is free of all copyright restrictions and available for use and redistribution without permission. Credit to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is appreciated but not required.
Privacy and use information: www.flickr.com/people/fdaphotos/
FDA photo by Michael J. Ermarth
Song Sparrow, Oso Flaco, CA
Foraging on algae covered lake
TOXIC ALGAE BLOOMS
Green pond scum floating on a lake is not just unsightly. As animal lovers have learned the hard way, it can be deadly. In recent days, three pet dogs in North Carolina and another in Georgia diedafter swimming in water contaminated with toxic organisms.
Warm temperatures and an influx of nutrients from agricultural runoff or other sources can prompt toxic algae and bacteria to grow out of control. The result is a phenomenon called a toxic algae bloom. As the planet warms, these blooms are becoming more frequent — leading to a greater chance for human and animal exposure.Here’s what you need to know to protect yourself and your pets from toxic algae blooms.
What are algae?
Algae are plant-like organisms that grow in water or other damp environments. They can be as small as a single cell or as large as a kelp forest. For the most part, they get their energy through photosynthesis. However, they lack roots, leaves and other characteristic components of plants.
The microorganisms known as blue-green algae aren’t actually algae at all. They are cyanobacteria, bacterial cells that get their energy from photosynthesis.\\
Toxic blooms in freshwater lakes and streams are usually caused by cyanobacteria, while blooms that occur in the ocean are typically the result of algae.
What is an algae bloom?
A bloom occurs when algae or cyanobacteria suddenly grow to huge numbers. In 2011, for instance, a toxic algae bloom in Lake Erie grew so large over the course of four days that it could be seen from space. This growth is typically fueled by warm temperatures, still water and nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorous.
Algae blooms can range from completely innocuous to incredibly toxic, said David Caron, a microbial ecologist at USC. They can turn the water different colors, from bright reds and greens to shades of brownish-yellow.
What makes them harmful?
Some species of algae release toxins into their aquatic environment. During a bloom, the concentration of toxins in the water can reach levels that are dangerous for both humans and animals.
The type of toxin released depends on the species causing the bloom. Some of the most common ones affect the liver or the nervous system, said Donald Anderson, director of the U.S. National Office for Harmful Algal Blooms and a senior scientist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute.
“In the ocean at least, there’s about 100 species that can produce known toxins, and there’s a lot of them in freshwater as well,” Anderson said.
Are toxic algae blooms the same as red tides?
Not quite. Red tides are certainly an example of an algae bloom, but although the water may be red, the algae might not be producing toxins. (State public health officials monitor these blooms to check for toxin production.)
Scientists have moved away from using the term “red tide” because it’s not quite descriptive enough. Blooms can produce a variety of colors; they can also be dangerous even when the water isn’t discolored at all, Anderson said.
Can scientists predict when and where they will occur?
Not yet. The precise conditions that result in an algae bloom aren’t completely clear.
“There are a lot of nuances in why blooms occur, when blooms occur, which species bloom and whether they produce toxin,” Caron said. Scientists are trying to understand these factors “so that we can have better predictive ability of when and where blooms will occur,” he said.
Is climate change making these toxic blooms more common?
Absolutely. Global warming is making harmful freshwater blooms more frequent and more dense, Anderson said. They’re also moving farther north and leaving their more southern boundary behind.
“We’re seeing that these problem organisms are changing the ranges in which they occur because of climate,” he said.
In the ocean, patches of warm water are prime real estate for algae blooms.
An increase in water temperature off the west coast of the United States caused a massive toxic algal bloom in 2015. Lethal concentrations of toxins closed fisheries in California and halted clam harvesting in Oregon and Washington.
This bloom was not necessarily a result of global warming, Anderson said. “But it gives you a feeling of what might happen with climate change and warming of waters,” he said.
How are humans exposed to these toxins?
The most common way is through what Anderson calls “recreational exposure.”
“It would be people swimming in a lake and either swallowing water or breathing in aerosolized cells and toxin while they ride on a motorboat or Jet Ski,” he said.
It can show up in our food, too. For instance, fish and shellfish can eat algae that produce the toxin domoic acid. It’s not harmful for them, but it’s toxic to people. High doses can be lethal, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Lower doses can damage the brain and cause memory loss.
What about dogs?
Unfortunately, dogs can be quite attracted to toxic algae, and pet owners need to be vigilant, Anderson said.
“A lot of these animals just go down to the shore and drink. They’re just used to doing that,” he said. “Sometimes some of these algae dry on the shore of the water and get kind of crispy or crunchy, and dogs will eat that. They tend to like the taste of it.”
The toxin’s effects kick in rapidly in dogs, Caron said, so it’s vital to get to the vet as quickly as possible.
What can people do to protect themselves and their pets?
Be observant. Check for signs indicating that the area is closed to the public. Even if no signs are posted, take a look at the water and make sure the color is normal.
“If you see that slimy green surface to the water, you really should not let your animals go swimming or drinking along the edge,” Anderson said.
If you do come into contact with an algae bloom, “try not to swallow the water,” he said. “Wash really well with hoses because you can get rashes as well.”
Don’t go fishing and don’t harvest shellfish if a harmful algae bloom is underway. Government agencies including state departments of public health keep a close eye on toxin levels, and you can rely on their advice, Anderson said.
“These monitoring programs are truly effective,” he said. “If there are shellfish on the market at a reputable store or restaurant, you can eat them. I eat them all the time.”
Stephanie De Marco is an intern with the Los Angeles Times’ science
Los Angeles Times, August 14, 2019
White-bellied Sea Eagle
The white-bellied sea eagle (Haliaeetus leucogaster), also known as the white-breasted sea eagle, is a large diurnal bird of prey in the family Accipitridae. Originally described by Johann Friedrich Gmelin in 1788, it is closely related to Sanford's sea eagle of the Solomon Islands, and the two are considered a superspecies. A distinctive bird, the adult white-bellied sea eagle has a white head, breast, under-wing coverts and tail. The upper parts are grey and the black under-wing flight feathers contrast with the white coverts. The tail is short and wedge-shaped as in all Haliaeetus species. Like many raptors, the female is slightly larger than the male, and can measure up to 90 cm (35 in) long with a wingspan of up to 2.2 m (7.2 ft), and weigh 4.5 kg (9.9 lb). Immature birds have brown plumage, which is gradually replaced by white until the age of five or six years. The call is a loud goose-like honking.
Resident from India and Sri Lanka through Southeast Asia to Australia on coasts and major waterways, the white-bellied sea eagle breeds and hunts near water, and fish form around half of its diet. Opportunistic, it consumes carrion and a wide variety of animals. Although rated as Least Concern globally, it has declined in parts of southeast Asia such as Thailand, and southeastern Australia. It is ranked as Threatened in Victoria and Vulnerable in South Australia and Tasmania. Human disturbance to its habitat is the main threat, both from direct human activity near nests which impacts on breeding success, and from removal of suitable trees for nesting. The white-bellied sea eagle is revered by indigenous people in many parts of Australia, and is the subject of various folk tales throughout its range.
The white-bellied sea eagle has a white head, rump and underparts, and dark or slate-grey back and wings. In flight, the black flight feathers on the wings are easily seen when the bird is viewed from below. The large, hooked bill is a leaden blue-grey with a darker tip, and the irides are dark brown. The cere is also lead grey. The legs and feet are yellow or grey, with long black talons (claws). Unlike those of eagles of the genus Aquila, the legs are not feathered. The sexes are similar. Males are 66–80 cm (26–31 in) long and weigh 1.8–3 kg (4.0–6.6 lb). Females are slightly larger, at 80–90 cm (31–35 in) and 2.5–4.5 kg (5.5–9.9 lb). The wingspan ranges from 1.78 to 2.2 m (5.8 to 7.2 ft). A 2004 study on 37 birds from Australia and Papua New Guinea (3 °S to 50 °S) found that birds could be sexed reliably on size, and that birds from latitudes further south were larger than those from the north. There is no seasonal variation in plumage. The moulting pattern of the white-bellied sea eagle is poorly known. It appears to take longer than a year to complete, and can be interrupted and later resumed from the point of interruption.
The wings are modified when gliding so that they rise from the body at an angle, but are closer to horizontal further along the wingspan. In silhouette, the comparatively long neck, head and beak stick out from the front almost as far as the tail does behind. For active flight, the white-bellied sea eagle alternates strong deep wing-beats with short periods of gliding.
A young white-bellied sea eagle in its first year is predominantly brown, with pale cream-streaked plumage on their head, neck, nape and rump areas. The plumage becomes more infiltrated with white until it acquires the complete adult plumage by the fourth or fifth year. The species breeds from around six years of age onwards. The lifespan is thought to be around 30 years.
The loud goose-like honking call is a familiar sound, particularly during the breeding season; pairs often honk in unison, and often carry on for some time when perched. The male's call is higher-pitched and more rapid than that of the female. Australian naturalist David Fleay observed that the call is among the loudest and furthest-carrying of all Australian bird calls, in stark contrast to the relatively quiet calls of the wedge-tailed eagle.
Adult white-bellied sea eagles are unmistakable and unlikely to be confused with any other bird. Immature birds can be confused with wedge-tailed eagles. However, the plumage of the latter is darker, the tail longer, and the legs feathered. They might also be confused with the black-breasted buzzard (Hamirostra melanosternon), but this species is much smaller, has white patches on the wings, and has a more undulating flight. In India, the Egyptian vulture has white plumage, but is smaller and has a whiter back and wings. The white tail of the white-bellied sea eagle in flight distinguishes it from other species of large eagles. In the Philippines, it can be confused with the Philippine eagle, which can be distinguished by its crest; immature white-bellied sea eagles resemble immature grey-headed fish eagles, but can be identified by their more wholly dark brown underparts and flight feathers, and wedge-shaped tail.
The white-bellied sea eagle is found regularly from Mumbai (sometimes north to Gujarat, and in the past in the Lakshadweep Islands) eastwards in India, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka in southern Asia, through all of coastal Southeast Asia including Burma, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Indochina, the main and offshore islands of the Philippines, and southern China including Hong Kong, Hainan and Fuzhou, eastwards through New Guinea and the Bismarck Archipelago, and Australia. In the northern Solomons it is restricted to Nissan Island, and replaced elsewhere by Sanford's sea eagle. In Victoria, where it is otherwise scarce, it is locally more common at Corner Inlet and Gippsland Lakes. Similarly in South Australia, it is most abundant along the north coast of Kangaroo Island. The range extends to the islands of Bass Strait and Tasmania, and it is thought able to move between the islands and the mainland. There is one unconfirmed record from Lord Howe Island and several from New Zealand.
They are a common sight in coastal areas, but may also be seen well inland (It is reportedly seen at the Panna Tiger Reserve in central India, nearly 1,000 km (621 mi) away from the sea shore) The white-bellied sea eagle is generally sedentary and territorial, although it may travel long distances. They have been reported travelling upriver to hunt for flying foxes (Pteropus). Populations in inland Australia move around as inland bodies of water appear and then dry up. In one instance, a pair came to breed at Lake Albacutya in northwestern Victoria after the lake had been empty for 30 years. The species is easily disturbed by humans, especially when nesting, and may desert nesting sites as a result. It is found in greater numbers in areas with little or no human impact or interference.
The white-bellied sea eagle is an opportunistic carnivore and consumes a wide variety of animal prey, including carrion. It often catches a fish by flying low over the water and grasping it in its talons. It prepares for the strike by holding its feet far forward (almost under its chin) and then strikes backwards while simultaneously beating its wings to lift upwards. Generally only one foot is used to seize prey. The white-bellied sea eagle may also dive at a 45 degree angle from its perch and briefly submerge to catch fish near the water surface. While hunting over water on sunny days, it often flies directly into the sun or at right angles to it, seemingly to avoid casting shadows over the water and hence alerting potential prey.
The white-bellied sea eagle was important to different tribes of indigenous people across Australia. The guardian animal of the Wreck Bay aboriginal community, it is also the official emblem of the Booderee National Park and Botanic Gardens in the Jervis Bay Territory. The community considered localities around Booderee National Park to be connected with it. A local Sydney name was gulbi, and the bird was the totem of Colebee, the late 18th century indigenous leader of the Cadigal people. The white-bellied sea eagle is important to the Mak Mak people of the floodplains to the southwest of Darwin in the northern Territory, who recognised its connection with "good country". It is their totem and integrally connected to their land. The term Mak Mak is their name for both the species and themselves. The Umbrawarra Gorge Nature Park was a Dreaming site of the bird, in this area known as Kuna-ngarrk-ngarrk. It was similarly symbolic to the Tasmanian indigenous people—Nairanaa was one name used there.
Known as Manulab to the people of Nissan Island, the white-bellied sea eagle is considered special and killing it is forbidden. Its calls at night are said to foretell danger, and seeing a group of calling eagles flying overhead is a sign that someone has died. Local Malay folk tales tell of the white-bellied sea eagle screaming to warn the shellfish of the turning of tides, and a local name burung hamba siput translates as "slave of the shellfish". Called Kaulo in the recently extinct Aka-Bo language, the white-bellied sea eagle was held to be the ancestor of all birds in one Andaman Islands folk tale. On the Maharashtra coast, their name is kakan and its call is said to indicate the presence of fish in the sea. They sometimes nest on coconut trees. Owners of the trees destroy the nest to avoid attacks when harvesting the coconuts.
Aug. 4, 2009 – An FDA shellfish specialist and the manager of New Jersey’s Food and Drug Safety Program check a clam depuration plant’s monitoring system.
Slideshow: www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm180442.htm
Article: www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm180996.htm
To learn more about how FDA is helping to ensure seafood safety, read these Consumer Updates:
Fish Hazards and Controls: More Than a Fish Story
www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm257816.htm
How FDA Regulates Seafood: FDA Detains Imports of Farm-Raised Chinese Seafood
www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm094558.htm
This photo is free of all copyright restrictions and available for use and redistribution without permission. Credit to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is appreciated but not required.
Privacy and use information: www.flickr.com/people/fdaphotos/
FDA photo by Michael J. Ermarth
Aug. 5, 2009 – Clams from Raritan Bay are tagged “For Cleansing Only" and will be transplanted into the cleaner waters of Little Peconic Bay for natural cleansing.
Slideshow: www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm180442.htm
Article: www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm180996.htm
To learn more about how FDA is helping to ensure seafood safety, read these Consumer Updates:
Fish Hazards and Controls: More Than a Fish Story
www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm257816.htm
How FDA Regulates Seafood: FDA Detains Imports of Farm-Raised Chinese Seafood
www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm094558.htm
This photo is free of all copyright restrictions and available for use and redistribution without permission. Credit to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is appreciated but not required.
Privacy and use information: www.flickr.com/people/fdaphotos/
FDA photo by Michael J. Ermarth