Costa Rica prepares to export 10 tons of hammerhead shark fins – “The Costa Rican Fishery authority has allowed fishing efforts upon hammerhead sharks to continue at their current unsustainable levels”

2 March 2018 (The Costa Rican Times) – Ten tons of hammerhead shark fins have been in storage in Costa Rican warehouses since 1 March 2015, when the government issued a ban on the export of hammerhead shark fins as part of its Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora […]

World’s biggest seafood companies must address deadly ghost fishing gear – At least 640,000 tons of ghost gear are added to oceans every year

13 March 2018 (World Animal Protection) – Ghost gear accounts for 10 percent of all the debris accumulating in our oceans and is a major threat to marine wildlife. Global estimates in 2009 found that at least 640,000 tons of ghost gear are added to our oceans every year. This number is likely now even […]

Beef, lamb, lobster or fish? Fisheries study shows impact of food choice on carbon emissions

4 April 2018 (University of Tasmania) – A new study by a team of Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies (IMAS) and Canadian scientists has found that catching most types of fish produces far less carbon per kilo of protein than land-based alternatives such as beef or lamb. The researchers undertaking the study found that […]

Costa Rica prepares to export 10 tons of fins poached from endangered hammerhead sharks – “Once again, Costa Rica is evading its CITES obligations in order to favor private interests”

2 March 2018 (The Costra Rican Times) – Ten tons of hammerhead shark fins have been in storage in Costa Rican warehouses since 1 March 2015, when the government issued a ban on the export of hammerhead shark fins as part of its Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora […]

New maps reveal industrial fishing in more than half of world’s oceans

By Shreya Dasgupta 24 February 2018 (Mongabay) – Industrial fishing takes place across more than 55 percent of the world’s oceans, according to a new study published in Science.Fishing is vital for food security and livelihoods across the globe, yet the extent of industrial fishing has remained largely unknown. Now, a team of researchers has […]

North Atlantic right whales face extinction by 2040 after no new births recorded – “At the rate we are killing them off, this 100 females will be gone in 20 years”

By Joanna Walters 26 February 2018 (The Guardian) – The dwindling North Atlantic right whale population is on track to finish its breeding season without any new births, prompting experts to warn again that without human intervention, the species will face extinction.Scientists observing the whale community off the US east coast have not recorded a […]

Right whales, after deadly year, could become extinct, officials say – “You do have to use the extinction word, because that’s where the trend lines say they are”

By Patrick Whittle  10 December 2017 PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Officials with the federal government say it’s time to consider the possibility that endangered right whales could become extinct unless new steps are taken to protect them. North Atlantic right whales are among the rarest marine mammals in the world, and they have endured a […]

Number of natural World Heritage sites affected by climate change nearly doubles in three years

Bonn, Germany, 13 November 2017 (IUCN) – The number of natural World Heritage sites threatened by climate change has grown from 35 to 62 in just three years, with climate change being the fastest growing threat they face, according to a report released today by IUCN, International Union for Conservation of Nature, at the UN […]

Thousands of scientists issue bleak “second notice” to humanity – “Humanity has failed to make sufficient progress in solving these foreseen environmental challenges, and alarmingly, most of them are getting far worse”

By Sarah Kaplan 13 November 2017 (The Washington Post) – In late 1992, 1,700 scientists from around the world issued a dire “warning to humanity.” They said humans had pushed Earth’s ecosystems to their breaking point and were well on the way to ruining the planet. The letter listed environmental impacts like they were biblical […]

Endangered vaquita porpoise dies in captivity – Fewer than 30 vaquitas remain

By Mark Stevenson 5 November 2017 MEXICO CITY (AP) – Researchers were thrilled to have captured one of the few remaining vaquita porpoises, but announced Sunday that the adult female died after a few hours in captivity in a floating pen, raising questions about the last-ditch effort to enclose the world’s smallest porpoises to save […]

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