Shark slaughter a global catastrophe

The Daily Telegraph July 21, 2010 12:00AM THEIR bodies rotting on the floor of a Japanese dock, hundreds of sharks have been slaughtered for just one thing – their fins. Moving slowly up and down the rows of the dead, Japanese workers on a dock in the Japanese city of Kesen-numa hack off the fins […]

Clyde ecosystem ‘in meltdown’

By DEBORAH ANDERSON12 Jul 2010 The Firth of Clyde has been so heavily fished it risks being emptied of almost all sea life, according to a new report. Researchers at the University of York have set alarm bells ringing with a warning that the Clyde has become “an ecosystem in meltdown.” Once known for its […]

Sea creatures flee oil spill, gather near shore — ‘At some point they'll get trapped’

Dolphins and sharks are showing up in surprisingly shallow water just off the Florida coast. Mullets, crabs, rays and small fish congregate by the thousands off an Alabama pier. Birds covered in oil are crawling deep into marshes, never to be seen again. By JAY REEVES, JOHN FLESHER and TAMARA LUSH Associated Press Writers GULF […]

Manta rays next on restaurant menus as shark populations plummet

By Frank Pope, Ocean Correspondent Conservationists fear a falling shark population is prompting Asian chefs to look for manta and devil rays to help meet the voracious demand for shark fin soup. Found in coastal waters throughout the world, rays present an easy target as they swim slowly near the surface with their huge wings. […]

Oil spill creates huge undersea ‘dead zone’

By Emily DuganSunday May 30, 2010, 1:46 PM The world’s most damaging oil spill – now in its 41st continuously gushing day – is creating huge unseen “dead zones” in the Gulf of Mexico, according to oceanographers and toxicologists. They say that if their fears are correct, then the sea’s entire food chain could suffer […]

Whale shark, world's biggest fish, very vulnerable to oil spill

Swimming with a whale shark off the Alabama coast By Janet McConnaughey, AP WriterMay 19, 2010, 11:37AM NEW ORLEANS — The world’s biggest fish may be highly vulnerable to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill and one of its favorite feeding grounds is in the area of the spill. Whale sharks feed on the surface, […]

CITES fails to protect 5 species of sharks from overfishing and finning

By John Platt The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) this week decided not to create any new international trade restrictions to protect five endangered shark species, all of which are highly prized for their use in the Chinese delicacy known as shark fin soup, or as I […]

Shark conservation proposal defeated at UN meeting

By MICHAEL CASEY, AP Environmental Writer Michael Casey, Ap Environmental Writer   – Tue Mar 16, 2:54 pm ET DOHA, Qatar – China, Japan and Russia helped defeat a U.S.-endorsed proposal at a U.N. wildlife trade meeting Tuesday that would have boosted conservation efforts for sharks, expressing concern it would hurt poor nations and should be […]

Great white sharks more threatened than tigers

  By Steve Connor Saturday, 20 February 2010 The number of great white sharks may have fallen below the number of tigers, one of the world’s most endangered terrestrial species that benefits from a huge effort to save it from extinction. Like tigers, great whites are a top predator and, like tigers, they have suffered […]

UN: Cheetah and dolphin among new species in danger of extinction

AFP – Twenty-one animal species, including the cheetah, three dolphin families and an Egyptian vulture, were added to the list of those in danger of extinction by a UN conference that ended Friday. … A spokesman for the Whale and Dolphin Society welcomed measures on increased protection for marine species, but said governments had not […]

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