Wave of jellyfish shuts down Swedish nuclear reactor

By Gary Peach1 October 2013 (AP) – Marine biologists say that the wave of jellyfish that caused a Swedish nuclear plant to shut down a reactor is going to become a more common occurrence. It wasn’t a tsunami but it had the same effect: A huge cluster of jellyfish forced one of the world’s largest […]

President’s pledge to ban commercial fishing around Kiribati nation slow to materialize

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 […]

The day the Earth ran out: The causes and consequences of Earth Overshoot Day

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 […]

Icelandic poachers kill 89 endangered fin whales – Whale meat turned away in Hamburg, shipping companies refuse to carry it

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 […]

Richard Branson and James Cameron: U.S. should support United Nations initiative to save the high seas

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 […]

Blast fishing rampant in 5 Philippine towns – ‘We cannot totally eradicate the illegal fishing activities in these areas’

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 […]

Fishermen dump hundreds of dead stingrays on Mexico beach – Local mayor says fishermen dumped stingrays because they couldn’t get a good price for them

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 […]

Kill gone wrong: The slow death of a whale on a hunting trip in Norway – ‘I want you to know, it almost never happens like this’

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 […]

In Caribbean, push to create no-take reserves – ‘If we keep destroying areas with thousands of baby and juvenile fish, where will the big fish come from tomorrow?’

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 […]

Graph of the Day: State of the world’s fishery stocks, 1974 and 2009

(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 […]

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