News

January, 2009

• 26 January

  Oil slick kills hundreds of birds

  

  The slick is located six kilometers from a new compressed natural gas (CPG) plant, which is still being built. Vladimir Bardin, head of a local diving centre, said there were “hundreds of dead birds” in the area.  “Here are ducks, murres and divers. The birds along three kilometres of coastline …
• 26 January

  Antarctic Sea Creatures Hypersensitive to Warming

  

  Antarctica”s marine ecosystem is at higher risk than almost anywhere else on planet. Thriving only in near-freezing waters, creatures such as Antarctic sea spiders, limpets or sea urchins may be among the most vulnerable on the planet to global warming, as the Southern Ocean heats up. Isolated for millions of …
• 25 January

  More plastic than plankton in Pacific Ocean

  

  Each day, North Americans throw away more than 385,000 cellphones and 143,000 computers– electronic waste is now the fastest-growing stream of garbage. Lead and mercury are seeping from this waste into ground water. Most of this electronic waste is shipped overseas, where it is dismantled and burned, deleterious to the …
• 25 January

  Maldives moves to protect whale sharks

  

  The Maldives has taken the first steps towards establishing a protected area for whale sharks. The government-backed initiative is being supported by biologists, diving professionals and representatives of the local community.For years, the Maldives has been renowned for its whale shark encounters, which, while not as seasonal as those of …
• 25 January

  U.S., Japan Negotiate Over Whaling Limits

  

  The United States is initiating a closed-door negotiation that could open up new areas to whale hunting for the first time in decades, part of an attempt to end a long-standing impasse over whaling limits with Japan, the world”s most avid whaling nation. In recent years, the whaling commission, which …
• 25 January

  Last stranded whale dies in Tasmania

  

  The last of the stranded whales remained alive until just after 6pm (AEDT) on Sunday, Tasmanian Department of Primary Industries and Water spokesman Warwick Brennan told AAP. The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society lashed Tasmanian authorities for refusing to let its volunteers help in the rescue effort. Sea Shepherd leader Paul …
• 25 January

  Risk of boat strikes rises with more manatees

  

  A record 544 manatees were counted in Broward County during an aerial survey last week, leading wildlife officials to warn boaters to go slow and watch for the endangered marine mammals. The majority were swimming around the warm-water discharges of two power plants: one at Port Everglades and the other …
• 24 January

  New Bahamas Reserve Protects Marine Life From Development

  

  The Bahamas government has created a marine reserve off the island of North Bimini, preserving critical mangrove habitat and a shark nursery that had come under threat from a resort there. The reserve, which will be protected from most fishing and other “extractive activities,” is home to endangered species such …
• 24 January

  Loggerhead Sea Turtle Deaths Prompt Lawsuit Threat

  

  A coalition of conservation groups has notified the National Marine Fisheries Service of its intent to file a lawsuit as early as March if the agency does not act immediately to protect imperiled sea turtles in the Gulf of Mexico. The action comes after fisheries observer data showed that the …
• 24 January

  One whale survives mass Australia beaching

  

  (From google.com) – Just one sperm whale from a group of almost 50 that beached en masse in Australia”s south has survived, and remains sandwiched among the dead, officials said on Saturday. The pod of 48 whales became trapped this week on a sandbar 150 metres (500 feet) offshore from …
• 24 January

  Protect The Sharks, “Gimme a Hug”

  

  Sharks are one of the most important top-predators in our oceans and there is still a lot we don’t understand, or even know, about this fascinating animal. This short documentary shows one of the most mysterious phenomena in the animal world; amazing animals, showing a totally different behaviour then most …
• 24 January

  Witnesses: 3 to 5 dolphins have left NJ river

  

  (From google.com) Highlands, N.J – A handful of dolphins in a group of 16 living in an icy New Jersey river since the summer have left for open water, witnesses said. The owner and several employees of a Highlands seafood restaurant said they saw three to five of the mammals …