Ocean Sentry
(From un.org)- Dolphins, small whales and manatees living in the waters off West Africa or islands in the mid-Atlantic Ocean will now receive greater protection after 15 countries signed an agreement under a United Nations-backed treaty that aims to conserve wildlife and habitats. A memorandum of understanding with the Convention …
October, 2008
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7 October
Baby sea turtles being pushed back to beach by strong winds
(From tcpalm.com) Indialantic, Florida- Exhausted and dehydrated, helplessly tumbling amid the roiling surf, tiny sea turtles are washing ashore across the central Space Coast. Measuring only a few inches long, these hard-shelled critters typically spend their formative years in floating seaweed “nurseries,” roughly 25 miles offshore, near the Gulf Stream. …
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7 October
Dam builders sued to save lungfish
(From livenews.com.au)- A coalition of environmental groups says legal action launched today against the builders of a dam in southeast Queensland could affect the proposed Traveston Crossing dam. The lawsuit alleges that a fishway built for the unique lungfish at Paradise dam on the Burnett River, 80km southwest of Bundaberg, …
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7 October
Korean shipping company pleads guilty to illegal dumping on voyage
(From dailyastorian.info)- STX Pan Ocean Co., Ltd., a South Korean shipping company pleaded guilty Friday in U.S. District Court in Tacoma, Wash., to violating the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships by knowingly failing to maintain an accurate Garbage Record Book. The inaccuracy was a failure to record a dumping …
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7 October
The toxic mercury menace in San Francisco Bay
(From sfgate.com)- It”s been long known that mercury from old mines leaks into the San Francisco Bay from the hills above San Jose where the New Almaden Quicksilver Mine operated for more than 120 years before it was shut down in the 1970s. Mercury, a potent neurotoxin, also was freely …
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7 October
Mexico tourism boom kills coral quicker than climate change
(From scotlandonsunday.scotsman.com)- Dainty blue fish still dart around coral shaped like antlers near the Mexican resort of Cancun, but pollution is threatening one of the world”s largest reefs.Parts of the reef, nestled in turquoise waters, have died, and algae – which feed on sewage residues flowing out of the fast-growing …
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7 October
Future looks bleak for one of world’s smallest seal species
(From sciencedaily.com)- Scientists from the University of Leeds together with international partners have documented the disastrous decline of the seal – a species found only in the land-locked waters of the Caspian Sea – in a series of surveys which reveal a 90 per cent drop in numbers in the …
August, 2008
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5 August
Sharks Are Friends Not Food
(From news.medill.northwestern.edu)- Sharks are a valuable catch in the U.S., not for their meat, but for their fins. The lucrative market for shark fins is driven by the increasing demand for shark fin soup, a delicacy in China and some other Asian countries. “Shark finning” is catching a shark, cutting …
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5 August
Sea Shepherd Flagship in Brisbane for Major Refit
(From abc.net.au)- The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society (SSCS), which owns the Steve Irwin, says the ship is undergoing a major refit ahead of their next campaign in Antarctica later this year. The ship is docked at the Rivergate Marina at Murarrie where work has commenced on one of the biggest …
July, 2008
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19 July
Tougher Laws Introduced For White Whale Protection
(From news.com.au)- As A third white whale heads towards Queensland waters, the State Government has moved to give the rare mammals greater protection. Sustainability, Climate Change and Innovation Minister Andrew McNamara has ordered wider exclusion zones and tougher fines to protect the rarest of the whale herd. A $9000 penalty …
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19 July
Dolphin Volunteer’s Mermaid Walk
(From news.bbc.co.uk)- A volunteer involved in the operation to save dolphins caught up in a mass stranding in Cornwall is now raising funds to deal with future incidents. A total of 26 dolphins died when they became trapped in a Cornish creek in June. She is planning to fundraise by …
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19 July
Delta Diversion Threat To Salmon, Judge Rules
(From sfgate.com)- A federal judge in Fresno affirmed Friday that water diversions in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta have jeopardized the existence of California”s beleaguered salmon. “Project operations through March 2009 will appreciably increase jeopardy to the three species. … All three testifying experts … conclude that the three salmonid …