News

February, 2009

• 25 February

  Rampant shark poaching on

  

  Indiscriminate shark catching continues in the coastal areas to the south of Patuakhali and Barguna districts defying ban and threat to ecology in the Bay. With more and more fishermen and traders getting involved in the “lucrative business”, some 250 trawlers with around 2,000 fishermen are now engaged in netting …
• 24 February

  Mangroves face a big threat

  

  Mangroves of the city are being targeted and destroyed on a rampant basis. If inputs given by residents are to be believed then mangroves at various stretches of the city are being hacked and even encroached. Alarmed at the gradually effacing of mangroves being attempted by offenders nearby residents of …
• 24 February

  Coast cliffs could lose kittiwake

  

  The National Trust for Scotland has warned kittiwakes could disappear from some of the nation”s most important seabird colonies. It says the decline in numbers at its sites around the country was marked. The St Abb”s Head nature reserve in the Borders has seen its kittiwake levels fall from more …
• 24 February

  Dolphin found on beach dies

  

  A dolphin found a week ago on the beach in Pass Christian died over the weekend. Moby Solangi, president of the Institute of Marine Mammal Studies, said Monday the animal had too many health problems and couldn’t be saved.“He had too many complications,” Solangi said. “We tried our best to …
• 24 February

  Ban shark finning activities

  

  The Semporna Tourism Action Council (STAC) has proposed that a ban be placed on shark fishing and finning activities in Sabah to protect the State”s diving industry. Responding to reports that divers are threatening to boycott the State if such activities continue, the council which was initiated in October 2007 …
• 24 February

  Coorong dredging killing wetland

  

  An irrigator group in South Australia”s upper south-east says dredging in the Coorong has helped kill off a large part of the wetland. In its submission on the Federal Government”s Water Amendment Bill, the Meningie Narrung Lakes Irrigators Association says a lack of environmental flows in the Murray-Darling and continued …
• 23 February

  Human action changes urchins

  

  Sea stars, sea urchins, sea cucumbers and other similar creatures, many of them “keystone species” that are essential for keeping ecosystems healthy, are falling prey to a range of disturbances caused by human activity. In some cases these species are so crucial to their environments that if their populations either …
• 23 February

  Lifeline for endangered albatross

  

  Three-quarters of albatross species are at risk of extinction, largely due to the way long lines are deployed to catch fish such as tuna. The birds are attracted to the baited lines and can become entangled and pulled underwater to their deaths. A South African initiative shows how the lines …
• 23 February

  Greens welcome Steve Irwin’s safe return to Hobart

  

  The Tasmanian Greens today welcomed the safe return to Hobart of the anti-whaling group Sea Shepherd, and their ship Steve Irwin, and congratulated the activists for their heroic obstruction of Japanese whaling efforts in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary off Antarctica.
• 22 February

  Red tide endangers marine life in Persian Gulf

  

  Researchers now confirm that the soap-like foam substance produced by algae in the Persian Gulf is to blame for 45 tons of dead fish. A phenomenon known as a “red tide” is actually the result of an algal bloom, an event in which marine or fresh water algae accumulate rapidly …
• 21 February

  Shot dolphin on isolated beach

  

  A gunman has slaughtered a young dolphin, which was found washed up on an Adelaide beach peppered with shotgun pellets.The dolphin was discovered on Thompson Beach, near Dublin, a popular spot for crabbing and fishing just north of Adelaide. The killing has outraged authorities, while dolphin conservationists will conduct night-time …
• 21 February

  Peter Garrett lacks power and the passion

  

  With  the 2008-09 whaling season coming to a close Liam Bartlett gives his stinging assessment on the man who gave up his public morals to satisfy his personal ambitions. They grew up in different countries but with similar values. They shared the same dreams and worked tirelessly for many years …