Ocean Sentry
(from New Zeland) The Conservation Minister sees next week”s meeting of the International Whaling Commission as a crucial point in the long-running row over Japan”s actions in the Southern Ocean. Steve Chadwick is travelling to Chile on Monday for the 60th meeting of the organisation. She says New Zealand remains …
June, 2008
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21 June
Shell Delays Alaska Drilling Plan Due Legal Dispute
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (Reuters) – Shell Oil said on Friday it would delay its 2008 drilling plan in Alaska”s Beaufort Sea for a year because of an ongoing legal challenge filed by groups concerned about the potential impact on whales, walruses and other marine mammals. “This lack of decision has delayed …
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20 June
Trophy Hunters Aim to Kill Polar Bears
Just days after polar bears gained new life-saving protections, the powerful Safari Club International sued the federal government. The reason? To once again allow wealthy U.S. hunters to kill struggling polar bears in Canada — and bring their carcasses back as trophies. On Monday, Defenders went to court to stop …
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19 June
Second Polar Bear Comes To Grief In Iceland
(Agence France-Presse, DPA) Authorities in Iceland have been forced to shoot dead a polar bear that had travelled hundreds of kilometres across the north Atlantic Ocean atop an ice floe. The polar bear, which they had hoped to save, was the second in two weeks to be shot in Iceland, …
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19 June
Climate Change Threat to Whales: Study
(AAP)The effect of climate change on the ecology of krill and whales in the Southern Ocean urgently needs monitoring, a group of Australian scientists warn. The Australian Antarctic Division scientists say the effects of climate change on the sea ice that breeds krill which feeds whales can no longer be …
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19 June
No Compromise On Whaling: Garrett
The Rudd government says it will not soften its opposition to whaling at an international meeting in Chile next week. The coalition has accused the government of surrendering to Japan after Prime Minister Kevin Rudd indicated Australia would take a more diplomatic approach to the disagreement between the two countries …
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18 June
Fears Over Race’s Impact On Dolphins
Safety concerns have been raised over the potential impact of a high-speed boat race on dolphins and whales in the Moray Firth. About 50 powerboats will take part in the Round Britain Offshore Powerboat Race, at speeds of up to 75mph. The 10-day race is scheduled to travel along the …
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18 June
Oceans Warm More Quickly Than Suspected: Study
PARIS (AFP) — The world”s oceans have warmed 50 percent faster over the last 40 years than previously thought due to climate change, Australian and US climate researchers reported Wednesday. Higher ocean temperatures expand the volume of water, contributing to a rise in sea levels that is submerging small island …
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17 June
Fearing For The Shark
Shark-fishing tournaments don”t pose a serious threat to the survival of sharks as a species. The problem is that these annual events, which on Long Island have become highly publicized, outsized celebrations of man”s triumph over a fearsome predator, tend to trivialize the plight of sharks. Sharks ought to engender …
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17 June
Climate Change Threatens 4,000 Species of Fish, Corals
(Indo-Asian News Service) Beautiful coral reefs are increasingly under threat from climate change, and so are 4,000 species of fish, critically dependent on them for food, shelter or reproduction, warns a study. It blames global warming for the latest threat to marine biodiversity. Already many corals have died because of …
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17 June
Divers Catch Sight of Monk Seal
Palma (EFE) .- A diver from Palma de Mallorca, saw a monk seal in the Isla del Toro (Calvià) marine reserve , which was believed extinct animal from the waters of the Balearic Islands since the 50″s. The encounter with the specimen, just over two meters in length, “light-colored almost …
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17 June
Greenland aboriginals abusing whaling quota
(Reuters) Greenland”s aboriginal people are selling around a quarter of their subsistence whale catch to local supermarkets for profit, an undercover investigation by an animal welfare group showed on Tuesday. The World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA) said hidden cameras probing the North Atlantic island”s whaling industry found …