Ocean Sentry
Conservation groups filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration today for failing to respond to their emergency request to ban certain seafood imports from Mexico’s Gulf of California in order to save the critically endangered vaquita porpoise from extinction.
December, 2017
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22 December
West African dolphin now listed as one of Africa’s rarest mammals
A group of scientists now considers a little-known dolphin that only lives along the Atlantic coasts of Western Africa to be among the continent’s most endangered mammals, a list that includes widely recognized species such as gorillas, African wild dogs, and black rhinos.
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22 December
Ecuadorian fishing vessel transporting sharks apprehended in the Galapagos
On Friday, an Ecuadorian fishing vessel was caught transporting sharks and other protected species in the Galapagos Marine Reserve. Its 23 crew members and eight minor fiberglass vessels were apprehended by the Galapagos National Park rangers and Ecuadorian Navy for illegal possession and transport of protected species.
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22 December
Algae growth reduces reflectivity, enhances Greenland ice sheet melting
New research shows algae growing on the Greenland ice sheet, the Earth’s second-largest ice sheet, significantly reduce the surface reflectivity of the ice sheet’s bare ice area and contribute more to its melting than dust or black carbon.
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21 December
Manatees endure another deadly year
Statewide, 101 manatees died from boat strikes, 20 percent of this year’s 513 manatee deaths. That was a typical percentage of the overall deaths but also the second highest boat-strike manatee death toll on record.
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21 December
The injured dolphin calf who inspired me to keep fighting to end the annual cruel Taiji hunts
Getting on the train and leaving Taiji is one of the most difficult things I have ever done. Every single Dolphin Project Cove Monitor I know feels the same way: Once you have witnessed the atrocities that dolphin hunters and dolphin trainers commit against dolphins in the Cove, part of you can never leave.
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20 December
Govt allows new seismic blasting in Māui dolphin habitat
Environmental organization WWF-New Zealand says that the New Zealand government is failing to protect the last 63 Māui dolphins by allocating oil and gas exploration rights within Māui dolphin habitat off Taranaki.
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20 December
Fish’s rapid response to climate change
When a chemical alarm cue is released into one of two flumes, the normal response for a fish is to swim down the flume without the chemical. But when the water is more acidic, some fish do not behave normally.
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20 December
Mussels of the European Arctic contain most microplastics – study
Tiny bits of plastic are contaminating mussels from the European Arctic to China in a sign of the global spread of ocean pollution that can end up on people’s dinner plates.
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20 December
A dynamic East Antarctic ice sheet has repeatedly grown and shrunk
The East Antarctic Ice Sheet locks away enough water to raise sea level an estimated 53 meters (174 feet), more than any other ice sheet on the planet. It’s also thought to be among the most stable, not gaining or losing mass even as ice sheets in West Antarctica and …
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20 December
Hundreds of dead sharks found on Iranian island in Persian Gulf
Iranian officials say they have found hundreds of dead sharks with their fins sawed off on an island in the Persian Gulf.
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19 December
Electro-fishing blamed for Irrawaddy dolphin’s death
Fishing with direct current electricity and wastewater from gold-panning companies are to blame for the death of a dolphin, sources say.