Ocean Sentry
July 11 is World Population Day, as declared by the United Nations in 1989 to raise awareness of global population issues. Sadly, there doesn’t seem to be a lot of awareness out there. Of the 6.77 billion people on the planet, too few have either the courage or the awareness …
July, 2009
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11 July
Devastation of mangrove swamps
Advocating one thing and doing another best describes the situation in Sungai Sepang Kecil where mangrove trees lining the river have been sacrificed by a certain authority for a river-deepening and widening project. The culprit in question is the Sepang Drainage and Irrigation Department (DID). According to experts, the damage …
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9 July
A thinner Arctic for bears and ice
Another research paper has confirmed that ice in the Arctic is thinning, while another report warns that polar bears are too. Using data from NASA’s ICE-Sat (Ice, Cloud, and land Elevation Satellite), Ron Kwok of the space agency’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and colleagues found overall Arctic sea ice thinned by …
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5 July
Coral Reefs Exposed To Imminent Destruction From Climate Change
Organised by ZSL, the International Programme on the State of the Ocean (IPSO) and the Royal Society, the meeting identified the level of atmospheric CO2 predicted to result in the demise of coral reefs. At anticipated rates of emission increase, it is expected that 450 ppm CO2 will be reached …
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3 July
Lebanon’s struggling fishermen angling for a catch
Mustapha Shaalan yearns for the days when he would go out to sea and haul in 40 kilograms (88 pounds) of fish in the blink of an eye. Nowadays, like most fishermen in this southern Lebanese coastal town and elsewhere in the country, he says he is lucky if he …
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1 July
Fleet cuts, quotas the buzz at tuna meet
It”s no secret that overfishing has driven many tuna species including the iconic blue fin to the brink of extinction. But there is plenty of disagreement over what should be done about it. The European Commission thinks reducing fleets is the answer while environmentalists say tougher quotas would do the …
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1 July
Mangrove-dependent Animals Globally Threatened
More than 40 percent of a sample of anfibians, reptiles, mammals, and birds that are restricted to mangrove ecosystems are globally threatened with extinction, according to an assessment published in the July/August issue of BioScience. The conclusions emphasize the vulnerability of animals that are dependent on a habitat rapidly being …
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1 July
Vital marine habitat under threat
While the world has focused on the destruction mankind has brought to coral reefs, the massive loss of an equally important ecosystem has been widely ignored. Now the first comprehensive assessment of the state of seagrass meadows around the world has revealed the damage that human activities have wrought on …
June, 2009
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27 June
Aboriginal elder says mass kills with guns wiping out wildlife
For centuries his people have lived off the rich bounty of the Coral Sea – hunting fish, turtles, crabs, rays and dugong – by the coloured sands of Cape Bedford. Mr Deemal still hunts the traditional way himself. Every morning he wades kilometres through knee-deep water over the white sand …
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24 June
Spain tops EU fishing ‘overcapacity’ ranking
EU subsidies have been fuelling the overcapacity of Europe”s fishing fleets, according to new research by the Pew Environment Group, which found that almost half of EU fisheries funding goes to Spain. “Rather than encouraging sustainable fishing, subsidies have contributed to ever-greater capacity of fishing fleets and in turn to …
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17 June
A plea to support Marine Parks
Merome Darvill of Blue Spirit Surf and Adventure Retreats is urging people to comment on the zoning of new marine parks between Kalbarri and Kangaroo Island, South Australia. “The marine parks will be multiple use and will include marine sanctuaries where fishing and mining will be excluded but non-extractive uses …
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15 June
Multiple threats to the health of the Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is one of many marine areas facing manmade and natural pressures. Recent changes in the ecosystem have caused serious losses in ecological and economic resources. According to a new study, improved management is needed to restore a healthy ecosystem in the Baltic Sea. This includes closing fisheries …