Government muzzling of Canada scientists widespread, survey suggests – ‘We live in a climate of fear’

OTTAWA, 7 November 2014 (The Canadian Press) – The union representing scientists and other professionals in the federal public service is abandoning its tradition of neutrality in elections to actively campaign against Prime Minister Stephen Harper. The Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada (PIPSC) says delegates to its annual general meeting have agreed […]

The Big Lie behind Japan’s ‘scientific’ whaling program

By Peter Wynn Kirby13 October 2014 TOKYO (The New York Times) – The International Court of Justice’s decision last March to prohibit Japan’s annual whale hunt in Antarctic waters was greeted by many as an historic step against a reprehensible practice. Yet last month, despite the enormous diplomatic toll, Japan vowed to continue its whaling […]

A porpoise species ensnared by criminals and nets – ‘It’s definitely the last call for this species’

[UPDATE: Petition to save the vaquita from extinction] By ELISABETH MALKIN 14 September 2014 SAN FELIPE, Mexico (The New York Times) – It is a rare moment when scientists can point to an animal at the edge of extinction and predict when it might disappear forever. But it is happening here, under the golden waters […]

Video: Japan sounds bluefin tuna warning, calls for 50 percent catch reduction

27 August 2014 (euronews) – Is the sun setting on Japan’s tuna fishing industry? Faced with a recent report that the bluefin tuna population is close to collapse, Tokyo has done an about-turn and decided to slash catches by half. Last year the USA, Japan, China, and South Korea agreed to cut catches by 15% […]

How the tuna we buy is killing sharks in Indonesia – ‘The big problem is a total lack of management regulations for most shark species – no catch quotas, no minimum sizes, and no fishing bans’

By Johnny Langenheim     15 September 2014 (theguardian.com) – The tuna fishermen use a crane to lift the clutch of frozen sharks onto a flat bed truck backed up on the edge of the wharf at Benoa harbour in Bali, Indonesia. The sharks’ heads and dorsal fins are missing, but the crane operator obligingly tells me […]

33 whales slaughtered in Faroese Grind hunt – Danish Navy intervenes to protect whale poachers – 14 Sea Shepherd volunteers arrested

By Captain Paul Watson30 August 2014 Faroes Update Total Sea Shepherd Arrests 17 All taken by helicopter to Torshaven. Number of whales murdered: 33. Cheering adults and kids on the scene celebrating the death of the whales and the arrests, All excellent images for the case we intend to build against Denmark. Crew arrested from […]

Beautiful and sad GIFs show the ongoing destruction of the oceans

By Laura McClure     15 August 2014 (TED) – Scientist Sylvia Earle (TED Talk: My wish: Protect our oceans) has spent the past five decades exploring the seas. During that time, she’s witnessed a steep decline in ocean wildlife numbers — and a sharp incline in the number of ocean deadzones and oil drilling sites. An […]

Derelict fishing nets have turned the bottom of the sea into a death trap

By Gwynn Guilford13 August 2014 (Quartz) – Each year, at least 640,000 tonnes of nets and other fishing gear goes overboard and never comes back. But just because it’s lost to the sea doesn’t mean that derelict gear stops doing its jobs. The lobster pots, crab traps and dense thickets of nets that litter the […]

Graph of the Day: Global fishing fleet capacity and productivity, 1975-2005

24 June 2014 (Global Oceans Commission) – The main drivers leading to overfishing on the high seas are vessel overcapacity and mismanagement. However, measures to improve management alone will not succeed without solving the problem of overcapacity caused by subsidies, particularly fuel subsidies. Overcapacity is often described as “too many boats trying to catch too […]

What you need to know about the coming jellyfish apocalypse

By James West30 June 2014 More than 50 million Americans swim in the oceans every year (there are actual government surveys of such things). So if your summer plans involves stripping down and bathing in the sun and salt water of your dreams, read on, intrepid beach-goer. There’s something gooey and stingy that’s loving warm […]

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