By Katie Moore, Program Director-Animal Rescue 26 September 2013 (IFAW) – Four years ago I rushed to Madagascar to help stop over 100 melon-headed whales from stranding and dying along the islands’ shores. Like most cetacean species, melon-headed whales are very social animals. They rely on sound for communication and echolocation that are essential to […]
By Tanya Dimitrova, special to mongabay.com 23 September 2013 (mongabay.com) – In 2010 President Anote Tong of Kiribati made a historic pledge, committing to protect the waters around his island nation in a massive marine protected area. He said the gesture represented Kiribati’s contribution to protecting the environment and he urged industrial countries to do […]
By Carter Roberts 20 August 2013 (Foreign Affairs) – Many readers will be familiar with the worrisome, white-knuckle wait that comes when you drain your checking account long before payday, the anxiety that builds until the coffers are replenished. That is what all of humanity has signed on for, effective today. Earth Overshoot Day marks […]
14 August 2013 (WDC) – Latest figures (August 12th) from the Iceland Fisheries Directorate give a shameful total of 89 fin whales killed by Kristjan Loftsson’s fleet so far this season. Loftsson could slaughter as many as 184 fin whales under a self-allocated quota, but the rationale behind the hunt is looking increasingly shaky. There […]
By Richard Branson and James CameronAugust 18, 2013 We share a deep and abiding passion for and fascination with the ocean that has led us since childhood to wander the world under the waves. We also share an increasing concern that the health of the ocean is rapidly deteriorating under the strain of human pressure […]
By Roel Catoto 21 July 2013 SURIGAO CITY (MindaNews) – Five towns in Surigao del Norte are under tight watch by the Philippine National Police Maritime Office Caraga for alleged rampant dynamite fishing. Edgard Cuanan, regional director of PNP Maritime Caraga named the five towns as Tagana-an, Placer, Claver, Socorro and General Luna. Cuanan admitted […]
17 July 2013 (BBC News) – Hundreds of dead stingrays have been found on a beach in the eastern Mexican state of Veracruz. The stingrays – more than 250 in total – were spotted on Chachalacas beach near the town of Ursulo Galvan on Tuesday. Some locals reported seeing fishermen dumping the rays on the […]
By Jo Fidgen14 July 2013 NORWAY (BBC News) – Whale hunters tend to shy away from publicity because of the controversy surrounding their profession. But the crew of the Jan Bjorn in Norway – a country whose fishermen kill around 500 minke whales a year for commercial purposes – agreed to let us join them […]
David Mcfadden12 July 2013 BLUEFIELDS BAY, Jamaica (AP) – Young fish leap in the wake of a warden’s patrol boat as it motors through waters off Jamaica’s southwest coast that are a brilliant palette of blues. Beneath the surface, reefs bristle with spiny lobsters, and rainbow-colored parrotfish graze on algae and seaweed. After rampant destruction […]
(FAO) – Major marine stocks are shrinking rapidly. The proportion of stocks estimated to be under- or moderately exploited declined from 40 percent in the mid-1970s to 12 percent in 2009. In contrast, the proportion of overexploited, depleted or recovering stocks increased from 10 percent in 1974 to 30 percent in 2009. The proportion of […]
