IWC Discusses Whaling Future
This week, the International Whaling Commission (IWC) opened its 62nd Annual Meeting in Agadir, Morocco, and will vote on the future of the whaling moratorium [...]
Category: Policy
Jun 22, 2010 | 0 comments
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Miami’s Rosenstiel School Launches Oil Spill Info Web Page
The University of Miami (UM) Rosenstiel School of Marine & Atmospheric Science has launched a new “Oil Spill” web page http://www.rsmas.miami.edu/oil-spill/ designed to share the science being conducted at the Rosenstiel School that is relevant to the issues emerging from the incident on the Deepwater Horizon oil platform. Designed for use by teachers, students and [...]
May 27, 2010 | 0 comments
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Indian Ocean Now Home to World’s Largest Marine Reserve
Just recently the United Kingdom established the world’s largest marine reserve. The reserve is a 210,000 square mile area (545,000 square kilometers) in the Indian Ocean encompassing the Chagos Islands. British Foreign Secretary David Miliband said that this reserve “doubles the global coverage of the world’s oceans under protection,” and says that its creation is “a major step [...]
Endangered Killer Whales Eat Only One Kind of Salmon
In a report released on March 15, NOAA announced that new advances in genetic testing have allowed scientists to determine the origin of the Chinook salmon that are consumed by a group of endangered killer whales in the inland waters of Washington and British Columbia. This group of killer whales, known to scientists as the Southern Resident [...]
Apr 08, 2010 | 2 comments
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NOAA Tracking Program Verifies Truth of “Dolphin-Safe” Label
We’ve all seen the “dolphin-safe” labels on the tuna products we buy, but how do we know if that tuna was actually caught in a dolphin-safe way? NOAA Fisheries Service’s Sustainable Fisheries Division operates the Tuna Tracking and Verification Program (TTVP) designed to determine the truthfulness of the “dolphin-safe” labels on tuna products. This year, [...]
U.S. to Support Restrictions on Bluefin Tuna and Other Imperiled Species at CITES Conference
According to the U.S. Department of the Interior, Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Fish and Wildlife and Parks Tom Strickland said the United States will support trade restrictions on bluefin tuna, polar bears, and imperiled corals and sharks among other proposals at the meeting of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of [...]
Mar 15, 2010 | 0 comments
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Oregon No Longer Permits Driftnets
A vote on December 11 decided that the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission will no longer issue commercial fishing permits for drift gillnet gear used to target swordfish and thresher sharks in waters off the Oregon coast. These expansive driftnets are known to ensnare and drown dolphins, sea lions, endangered sea turtles and other animals.
This decision means that the State of Oregon will no longer provide necessary State permits to Oregon-based fishermen wishing to use this gear, effectively ending this indiscriminate fishery in Pacific waters off Oregon.
Dec 29, 2009 | 0 comments
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First High Seas Marine Protected Area in Antarctica
The Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) approved the new high seas marine protected area south of the South Orkney Islands in the Antarctic Peninsula Region. The Commission further agreed to a work plan to create networks of high seas MPAs across 11 other high priority areas in the Southern Ocean by 2012.
Nov 30, 2009 | 0 comments
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Legal Effort to Protect Endangered Blue Whale Underway
The National Marine Fisheries Service, the agency charged with the stewardship of the U.S.’s living marine resources, may be sued for failure to implement the 1998 Blue Whale Recovery Plan. Friends of the Earth, Pacific Environment and the Center of Biological Diversity have joined the notice of intent to sue submitted by the Environmental Defense Center last week.
Nov 23, 2009 | 2 comments
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