Chinese appetite for totoaba fish bladder kills off rare porpoise – No more than 30 vaquita left in the northern Gulf of California today, and they could be extinct within months

By Damian Carrington16 May 2017 (The Guardian) – The world’s rarest marine mammal is on the verge of extinction due to the continuing illegal demand in China for a valuable fish organ, an undercover investigation has revealed. There are no more than 30 vaquita – a five-foot porpoise – left in the northern Gulf of […]

Killer whale Lulu found with extreme levels of PCBs, may be “the most contaminated on planet”

By John Bacon 4 May 2017 (USA TODAY) – A killer whale found dead on the Scottish island of Tiree had one of the highest levels of PCB pollution ever recorded, scientists say. Lulu, well known to researchers as one of the last surviving whales in the waters around Britain, died after becoming entangled in […]

Depleted fish stocks and huge dead zone signal tipping point in the Bay of Bengal

By Amitav Ghosh and Aaron Savio Lobo31 January 2017 (The Guardian) – The Bay of Bengal’s basin contains some of the most populous regions of the earth. No less than a quarter of the world’s population is concentrated in the eight countries that border the bay1. Approximately 200 million people live along the Bay of […]

Bluefin tuna Sells for $632,000 at Tsukiji’s New Year Auction

TOKYO, 5 January 2017 (NBC News) – A sushi chain boss paid $632,000 for a 466-pound bluefin tuna at auction on Thursday. The 74.2 million yen winning bid for the prized but imperiled species was the second highest ever after a record 155.4 million yen bid in 2013 at the annual New Year auction at […]

Environmental crime threatens peace and security – Global environmental crime valued up to $258 billion annually

WASHINGTON, D.C., 8 December 2016 (UNEP) – More than 80 per cent of countries consider environmental crime a national priority, with the majority saying new and more sophisticated criminal activities increasingly threaten peace and security. INTERPOL and UN Environment surveyed close to 70 countries for their new joint report, Environment, Peace and Security? A Convergence […]

Time short to save vaquita by tackling illegal fish trade – Fewer than 60 individuals alive

Collateral Damage from EIA on Vimeo. LONDON, 20 September 2016 (EIA) – With distinctive markings around its mouth and eyes, the vaquita is one of the world’s most iconic marine mammal species – but with fewer than 60 left, it is doomed to extinction in the very near future unless immediate and meaningful action is […]

Report revels 56 percent of UK species have declined since 1970 and 1,199 species are threatened with extinction

By Dr. Barnaby Smith14 September 2016 (CEH) – The State of Nature 2016 UK report is launched by Sir David Attenborough and UK conservation and research organisations at the Royal Society in London this morning (Wednesday, September 14). Following on from the first State of Nature report published in 2013 the report reveals that over […]

Deepwater Horizon oil spill impacted bluefin tuna spawning habitat in Gulf of Mexico – ‘Population shows little evidence of rebuilding’

30 September 2016 (Stanford University) – The Deepwater Horizon oil spill was one of the largest environmental disasters in history, releasing roughly 4 million barrels of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico. For Atlantic bluefin tuna, it occurred at the worst time of year, during peak spawning season, when eggs and larval fish that […]

Larger marine animals at higher risk of extinction, and humans are to blame

By Ker Than14 September 2016 (Stanford University) – An unprecedented pattern of extinction in the oceans today that selectively targets large-bodied animals over smaller creatures is likely driven by human fishing, according to a new Stanford-led study. “We’ve found that extinction threat in the modern oceans is very strongly associated with larger body size,” said […]

One of the world’s biggest fisheries is on the verge of collapse – ‘It’s just chance, whether or not we can feed our families now’

By Rachael Bale29 August 2016 PUERTO PRINCESA, Philippines (National Geographic) – Years ago Christopher Tubo caught a 660-pound blue marlin in the South China Sea. The fishing was good there, he says. Tuna fishermen would come home from a trip with dozens of the high-value fish as well as a good haul of other species. […]

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