The Census of Marine Life, a ten-year initiative to assess the diversity and abundance of marine life, is turning up more than two new fish species per week.  You may remember I mentioned this in October 2003.  Since that time the project has discovered 106 new fish species, two new types of octopus, and a burrowing 20-centimeter worm.

Included in the 2004 discoveries were a growing understanding of the migratory habits of marine life.  Bluefin tuna were found to traverse the entire Pacific, tagged off the coast of California before turning up off Japan — then returning to California waters.  Tuna are known to travel across the Atlantic, but the Pacific is three times as broad!

Another surprise is that green turtles, tagged near the equator, go in huge loops around the Pacific.  The data thus far indicates they may travel around the ocean up to three times in a lifetime (near perpetual movement).

Now finishing it's fourth year (with six to go), the census is finding new species everywhere, including in heavily studied waters like those off Europe.