New study reveals mechanism regulating methane emissions in freshwater wetlands

Though they occupy a small fraction of the Earth's surface, freshwater wetlands are the largest natural source of methane going into the atmosphere. New research identifies an unexpected process that acts as a key gatekeeper regulating methane emissions from these freshwater environments.The study describes how high rates of anaerobic methane oxidation substantially reduce atmospheric emissions of methane from freshwater wetlands.

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Florida mangroves razed for boat show - News24

News24

Florida mangroves razed for boat show News24 Miami - New revelations that a long strip of protected mangrove trees were illegally razed amid preparations for the 2016 Miami International Boat Show has outraged Florida environmentalists. The lost trees, critical to the marine ecosystem, were ...

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Mapping ocean noise on a round-the-world sailing trip

20,000 Sounds under the Sea is a project that aims to study ocean sounds. The Swiss ship Fleur de Passion will go around the world in four years with the aim of measuring human impact on oceans and contributing to the debate surrounding the role of humankind at sea.

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Ocean algae will cope well in varying climates, study shows

Tiny marine algae that play a critical role in supporting life on Earth may be better equipped to deal with future climate change than previously expected, research shows.

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The Bloody Horror of the Ferocious Isles

The Bloody Horror of the Ferocious Isles

Commentary by Sea Shepherd Founder, Captain Paul Watson

The aftermath of the Hvannasund slaughter
Photo: Sea Shepherd/Rosie KunnekeThe Danish Navy and the Faroese Police are strict in enforcing the laws that protect the whalers but there seems to be a lack of concern and enforcement in response to the violation of the laws by the killers. Illegal killing techniques are seen in this video, shot by Sea Shepherd in the Faroes yesterday – the use of the knife and the intentional infliction of suffering to the whales. The Faroese say the whales are killed instantly and do not suffer, yet the intense pain experienced can be seen in the long, bloody thrashing of these dying whales.

This video exposes the lie of the two-second kill, the myth that the Faroese constantly parrot in their justification of this horrific slaughter.

It is illegal to stress the animals, yet the driving of these whales onto the beach to be killed is intensely stressful.

Last year, Sea Shepherd crew were charged with stressing the whales by interfering with the intent to kill them and this year it is now illegal not to report sighed whales to the whale killers. Sea Shepherd volunteers – or any tourist in the Faroe Islands – can now be charged for not reporting whales to the whalers.

Denmark has laws against cruelty to animals, but not in the Faroes. The killing of whales is illegal under European Union regulations, but the Faroes, despite annually receiving millions of Euros in subsidies, are exempted from these laws.

It is illegal to feed toxic meat to the public and especially to children, but despite the dangerously high levels of methyl-mercury found in pilot whale meat, the Faroese do so without investigation or warnings.

Ripping fetuses from the wombs of the mothers, mutilating the bodies, hacking out the teeth, having children play upon and mutilate the bodies, carving numbers into their flesh, stabbing with knives, ripping their flesh with boat props, decapitating them, stressing the animals with banger poles and forcing these gentle, intelligent, social and sentient beings to witness the slaughter of their family members around them in their own blood before they are slain is viciously barbaric and has no place in any civilized society.

Why does Denmark subsidize this? Why do the Danish Navy and the Danish police defend this? Why do the Danish people tolerate this horrific cruelty and this disgracefully primitive violence that masquerades under the pretense of culture and postures under the justification of tradition?

The world must condemn this crime against nature, and Denmark must say to these killers that as a compassionate nation such an abomination of ecological principles and common decency should be tossed upon the dustbin of history with the likes of slavery and animal brothels.

Visit our Operation Sleppid Grindini site for more information.

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Graphic Images of Pilot Whale Slaughter in the Faroe Islands

Graphic Images of Pilot Whale Slaughter in the Faroe Islands

Bloody faces of the whalers following the slaughter. Photo: Julian PattersonSea Shepherd volunteers on the ground in the Faroe Islands have captured horrific scenes of the slaughter of a pod of pilot whales which took place at Hvannasund in the north of the island archipelago yesterday morning.

Two Sea Shepherd volunteers were able to film the infamous drive hunt from a distance outside of the one-nautical-mile exclusion limit surrounding the slaughter. Later, volunteers captured shockingly graphic photographs of the aftermath of the slaughter.

Video footage of the slaughter, which is known by the Faroese term “grindadráp” or “grind,” shows one of the killers pulling a knife from his pocket and using it to violently cut a number of the pilot whales.

Since May 2015, the primary killing method permitted in a grindadráp has been a spinal lance. The use of a knife is reportedly permitted only under special circumstances, though it is not clear what these circumstances are.

Operation Sleppid Grindini Land Team Leader, Rosie Kunneke has expressed concern over the apparent lax approach to the regulation of the killing methods. “Faroese authorities have made it very clear that they expect Sea Shepherd – and everyone else visiting the Faroe Islands – to follow the very letter of their grind laws. However, it appears that the laws are considerably more relaxed when it comes to the whale hunters themselves. It is obvious that the Faroese authorities are intent on protecting the continuation of this depraved slaughter while paying only lip service to so-called ‘humane’ killing methods,” she said.

Children play on the carcasses of the slaughtered pilot whales. Photo: Nils GreskewitzThe pod of 22 pilot whales was spotted at approximately 0830 local time on Monday morning. The animals were then driven to Hvannasund in the north of the island archipelago, where the entire pod was eventually slaughtered.

Campaign Co-Leader for Operation Sleppid Grindini, Ross McCall, who was also on the ground during the slaughter, has praised the efforts of his fellow Sea Shepherd crewmembers. “It has been a sad day in the Faroe Islands. With the new laws that have been put into place as a move to tie Sea Shepherd’s hands, getting teams to the beach where the pilot whales were being herded was a challenge. With quick thinking and communication, part of Sea Shepherd’s land crew managed to capture the hunt on camera. I, myself, witnessed an excruciating sight – the whales being lifted by crane onto the decks of the dock, blood pouring from the wounds that caused their deaths. Such a shameful sight. But documenting these tragic events is now of the utmost importance in order for Sea Shepherd to show the world.”

The slaughter at Hvannasund is the second grindadráp of 2015. On Saturday June 6, 154 pilot whales were slaughtered on Miðvágur beach on the island of Vágar in the northwest of the Faroe Islands. The grind took place prior to the arrival of Sea Shepherd, and was the largest dolphin slaughter in the islands since 2013.

“The Danish Navy and the Faroese police are strict in enforcing the laws that protect the whalers but there seems to be a lack of concern and enforcement in response to violation of the laws by the killers. Illegal killing techniques are seen in this video, shot by Sea Shepherd in the Faroes yesterday – the use of the knife and the intentional infliction of suffering to the whales. The Faroese say the whales are killed instantly and do not suffer, yet the intense pain experienced can be seen in the long, bloody thrashing of these dying whales. This video exposes the lie of the two-second kill, the myth that the Faroese constantly parrot in their justification of this horrific slaughter,” said Sea Shepherd Founder and senior strategic advisor for Sea Shepherd USA, Captain Paul Watson.

Operation Sleppid Grindini is Sea Shepherd’s sixth Pilot Whale Defense Campaign in the Faroe Islands.

Visit our Operation Sleppid Grindini site for more information.

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Exit dinosaurs, enter fishes

A pair of paleobiologists have determined that the world's most numerous and diverse vertebrates -- ray-finned fishes -- began their ecological dominance of the oceans 66 million years ago, aided by the mass extinction event that killed off dinosaurs.

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Scientists begin research on Indonesia's mangrove - Jakarta Post

Jakarta Post

Scientists begin research on Indonesia's mangrove Jakarta Post The true potential of Indonesia's massive mangrove area has never been properly measured and because of this, the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), along with the Maritime and Fisheries Research and Development Center at the ...

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Jefferson Project at Lake George in US uses big data analytics to manage fresh water

Researchers are using 'Internet of Things' to create a 'Smart Lake' at Lake George in upstate New York for big data analytics, which will help in managing and protecting the fresh water body.

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Oxymem selected in Brew accelerator programme to address fresh water challenges

Ireland based startup Oxymem has been selected to participate in The BREW (Business Research Entrepreneurship in Wisconsin) accelerator programme in the US.

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Public Can Still Weigh in on Perico Island Mangroves - The Bradenton Times

Public Can Still Weigh in on Perico Island Mangroves The Bradenton Times When it comes to the unique permit Pat Neal requested from SWFMD to allow the developer to destroy high-quality mangroves and replace them with four homes, the message could not be more clear: don't do it. Neal requested a permit similar to the days of ...

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Protected Florida mangroves razed for boat show - Reuters

Reuters

Protected Florida mangroves razed for boat show Reuters New revelations that a long strip of protected mangrove trees were illegally razed amid preparations for the 2016 Miami International Boat Show has outraged Florida environmentalists. The lost trees, critical to the marine ecosystem, were hacked away ... Fred Grimm: We love our mangroves; never mind the chainsaw massacreMiami Herald (blog) Mangrove removal adds to Miami show controversyTrade Only Today all 9 news articles »

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Fred Grimm: We love our mangroves; never mind the chainsaw massacre - Miami Herald (blog)

Miami Herald (blog)

Fred Grimm: We love our mangroves; never mind the chainsaw massacre Miami Herald (blog) But these were mere mangroves. My Herald colleague Jenny Staletovich reported last week that Miami city workers had hacked down clusters of red and black mangroves down some 330 feet of the Virginia Key waterfront. Apparently, they were clearing the ... Protected Florida mangroves razed for boat showYahoo News Mangrove removal adds to Miami show controversyTrade Only Today all 3 news articles »

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Pilot Whales Dead at the Hands of Vicious Thugs

Pilot Whales Dead at the Hands of Vicious Thugs

Commentary by Sea Shepherd Founder, Captain Paul Watson

The family of 20-30 pilot whales was driven to shore and brutally massacred
Photo: Sea ShepherdThis morning approximately 20-30 wonderful creatures were swimming in the cold Northern waters enjoying life in the company of their small family group.

It was a beautiful Monday morning; the seas were calm and the skies were blue.

Though most civilized people in the world would view this as a beautiful thing, watching a pod of these unique creatures swimming gracefully through the sea, a small group of thugs on the shore nearby gazed over the water with murderous intentions in their heart.

The call was issued to kill. The police closed the tunnels. The Sea Shepherd ship Brigitte Bardot was patrolling approximately 25 nautical miles to the south but quickly raced to the site where the whales were spotted. However, the vessel was unable to proceed through the entrance of the fjord, which was being guarded by the Danish Navy vessel Triton." The thugs were unleashed with huge hooks and sharp knives.

The pilot whales were driven to shore and massacred as the police blocked the path of any interference.

The bodies were hoisted onto the dock by a crane as each animal was disemboweled, unborn fetuses ripped from their mothers’ wombs. The bodies were decapitated one by one. One supporter of the slaughter sent me a message saying, "We could show ISIS a thing or two about decapitation, you whale-loving bastards."

As the mutilations continued, Sea Shepherd volunteers were surrounded by Faroese police officers charged with the duty of preventing any interference with the slaughter.

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An Egregious Mass Murder in the Faroes Islands This Morning

An Egregious Mass Murder in the Faroes Islands This Morning

Commentary by Sea Shepherd Founder, Captain Paul Watson

The aftermath of the Hvannasund slaughter that claimed the lives of 20-30 pilot whales
Photo: Sea Shepherd20 to 30 dolphins were viciously slaughtered this morning on the beach at Havannasund on Vidoy Island.

The police mobilized quickly to block off a tunnel to the island and to set up a restricted zone to keep people away from the killers as the blood colored the water a deep red and the screams of dying dolphins echoed across the beach. Laughing and cheering Faroese whalers splattered themselves with hot blood in a perverse orgy of sadistic lust.

The police closed the tunnel to the island to prevent anyone from reaching Havannasund.

The police are aggressively assisting the dolphin killers.

The Sea Shepherd ship Brigitte Bardot was unable to reach the location in time. The dolphins had been quickly spotted and driven with stones and banger poles onto the beach where their killers waited with their knives, eager to extinguish the lives of these gentle creatures.

The Faroe Islands continue to encourage the barbarity of slaughtering dolphins with the full complicity of the government, the media, the police with new authoritarian “special” laws, and now the Danish government and the Danish Navy.

The waters run red with blood at Hvannasund following the slaughter
Photo: Sea ShepherdThe Faroese have decided to pull out all stops in their defense of this savage cultural obscenity.

It appears that many people in the Faroes are so traditionally and morally bankrupt that they can only find identity in the bloody ritualized culture of sadistic slaughter, as if to proclaim to the entire world that they, the Faroese, require blood sacrifices to illustrate their complete lack of empathy and morality. It is their way of spitting in the face of common human decency by declaring their uniqueness in the only way that has any meaning for them – the deliberate and prideful infliction of suffering and death on innocent, intelligent, self-aware, socially complex and sentient beings.

With the power and force of the Kingdom of Denmark defending their little backwater vassal entity in the Islands of Sheep, the whalers are intent to cowardly continue killing, believing they have God on their side (“Gott mit us”) and knowing they have the politicians in their pockets.

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WCI launches sales at The Estuary in Heron Bay - Sun Sentinel

Sun Sentinel

WCI launches sales at The Estuary in Heron Bay Sun Sentinel Estuary, along Hillsboro Boulevard near the north entrance to Heron Bay, will feature 46 homes priced from $521,900. WCI said the three- to five-bedroom homes will range from nearly 3,000 square-feet under air conditioning to roughly 5,000 square-feet, ...

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Microplastics entering ocean food web through zooplankton, researchers find

Tiny microscopic animals called zooplankton are ingesting plastic particles at an alarming rate, according to a new study. That could not only pose a risk to salmon but also spell trouble for the entire aquatic food web -- from zooplankton to humpback whales.

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Retreating sea ice linked to changes in ocean circulation, could affect European climate

Retreating sea ice in the Iceland and Greenland Seas may be changing the circulation of warm and cold water in the Atlantic Ocean, and could ultimately impact the climate in Europe, says a new study.

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Waters of the Faroe Islands Run Red With Another Horrific Grind

Waters of the Faroe Islands Run Red With Another Horrific Grind

Another bloody slaughter in the name of tradition in the Faroe Islands.
Photo: Sea Shepherd/Rosie KunnekeFor the second time this season, the waters of the Faroe Islands are red with the blood of slaughtered pilot whales, killed in the infamous drive hunt known by the Faroese term “grindadráp” or “grind.”

The pod was spotted at approximately 0830 local time this morning. The pilot whales were then driven to Hvannasund in the north of the island archipelago, where they were eventually slaughtered.

Sea Shepherd estimates that between 20 and 30 pilot whales were killed in the slaughter.

The Sea Shepherd ship Brigitte Bardot was patrolling approximately 25 nautical miles to the south but quickly raced to the site where the whales were spotted. However, the vessel was unable to proceed through the entrance of the fjord, which was being guarded by the Danish Navy vessel Triton.

Operation Sleppid Grindini Land Team Leader, Rosie Kunneke of South Africa said, “Another harrowing, bloody massacre has been allowed to occur, under the protection of the increasing police state in the Faroe Islands. While authorities ramp up grind laws and penalties, which require even those visiting the islands to partake in this brutal slaughter, Sea Shepherd remains on watch. We will not let the screams of these magnificent, slaughtered animals go unheard.””

The aftermath. 20-30 pilot whales, brutally slaughtered in the Faroe Islands this morning.
Photo: Sea Shepherd/Rosie KunnekeAccording to Faroese laws that govern the grindadráp, any person visiting the islands must report all sightings of whales and dolphins to local authorities so that the cetaceans can be targeted for slaughter. Those who do not abide by these laws may face arrest and prosecution, with penalties of 25,000 Faroese króna (just over 3,000 euros) and imprisonment of two years.

Sea Shepherd Founder and senior strategic advisor for Sea Shepherd USA, Captain Paul Watson said, "The blood of socially complex and sentient pilot whales has once again been spilled in the waters of the Ferocious Isles. The Faroes are not only continuing the archaic and senseless bloodbath known as the grind, but rushing to pass laws to defend this slaughter of cetaceans from any interference – even forcing visitors to the Faroe Islands to participate by alerting authorities that pods have been spotted."

Locals gather for the slaughter at Hvannasund.
Photo: Sea Shepherd/Nils Greskewitz

The waters run red at Hvannasund in the Faroe Islands as approximately 20-30 pilot whales are slaughtered.
Photo: Sea Shepherd/Nils Greskewitz

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Mangrove removal adds to Miami show controversy - Trade Only Today

Mangrove removal adds to Miami show controversy Trade Only Today City of Miami workers illegally removed mangroves from 300 feet of shoreline for the relocation of the Miami International Boat Show, giving ammunition to critics of the move to an area they say is too environmentally sensitive for the event. A Miami ...

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Mediterranean Sea classified as the sixth highest region for the accumulation of plastic debris on the planet

The amounts of plastic debris in the Mediterranean are comparable to those reported for the great accumulation areas located in the centers of the oceans, a new study has concluded.

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Extreme makeover: Humankind's unprecedented transformation of Earth

Human beings are pushing the planet in an entirely new direction with revolutionary implications for its life, a new study says, and in a new article, researchers suggest a turning point for the planet and its resources.

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Brno city in Czech Republic extends sewage treatment contract with BVK

Brněnské vodárny a kanalizace (BVK), joint venture between French utility Suez Environnement and Brno city in Czech Republic has been awarded ten year contract extension to operate the sewage network in the Czech city.

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California restricts San Francisco from storing river water in Hetch Hetchy reservoir

State Water Resources Control Board in California, US have instructed San Francisco not to take river water for storage in the Hetch Hetchy reservoir.

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City of Miami Illegally Cuts Down Mangroves at Marine Stadium - Florida Water Daily

City of Miami Illegally Cuts Down Mangroves at Marine Stadium Florida Water Daily A Miami-Dade County environmental regulator discovered the blunder in late May when he showed up to check out a pile of tree debris just west of the stadium. More than 300 feet of shoreline had been stripped of trees, including red and black mangroves ...

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Tapping the eco value of mangrove - AsiaOne

AsiaOne

Tapping the eco value of mangrove AsiaOne A study by Conservation International (CI) in West Papua province is trying to determine the potential value of these mangroves, both for Indonesia - the world's third-biggest emitter of greenhouse gases - and for the Papuan communities that live among ... and more »

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45 Indonesian Illegals Detained In Estuary Off Sungai Bernam - Bernama

45 Indonesian Illegals Detained In Estuary Off Sungai Bernam Bernama 45 Indonesian Illegals Detained In Estuary Off Sungai Bernam. PORT KLANG, June 27 (Bernama) -- The Klang District Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) detained 45 Indonesian illegal immigrants, including a boat skipper in the waters off the ... and more »

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Mangroves against monsoons - SciDev.Net

Mangroves against monsoons SciDev.Net [KALPITIYA] Residents of Sri Lanka's north-western coast are convinced that well-tended mangroves can protect lives and property against the monsoon rains that lash the island from July to October. The mangroves that Milan Gamage, a 35-year-old mother, ...

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More Pygmy Sloths in Panama--Beyond the Mangroves - Nature World News

Nature World News

More Pygmy Sloths in Panama--Beyond the Mangroves Nature World News Pygmy three-toed sloths are perhaps not as lazy as their sloth image would tell us. Rather than loll around in the mangrove fringes of their one tiny island in the southern Caribbean, some of them have wandered inland. After learning this, scientists ...

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Miami cuts Virginia Key mangroves to make way for boat show - Miami Herald

Miami Herald

Miami cuts Virginia Key mangroves to make way for boat show Miami Herald City of Miami workers ripped out red and black mangroves from about 300 feet of shoreline to make way for the International Boat Show at the Marine Stadium. | John Ricisak Courtesy Miami-Dade County Department of Regulatory and Economic Resources.

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Slow erosion of Fraser River estuary - Delta-Optimist

Slow erosion of Fraser River estuary Delta-Optimist Over the years many changes have further degraded the Fraser estuary, with projects like the trifurcation to increase the flow of the Fraser River to lessen the cost of dredging. Solid causeways and islands were built off Roberts Bank at the mouth of ... and more »

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‘Operation Jairo’ Volunteers Attacked by Armed Sea Turtle Poachers in Costa Rica

Sea Shepherd ‘Operation Jairo’ Volunteers Attacked by Armed Sea Turtle Poachers in Costa Rica; Two Volunteers Sustained Minor Injuries

The Violent Assault Comes Just Ten Days after Sea Shepherd Reported to Costa Rican Authorities Receiving Warning of an Impending Attack by Poachers

Sea turtle nesting grounds on Pacuare Beach,
Costa Rica Credit: Sea Shepherd/Eva HidalgoA group of 11 volunteers working with Sea Shepherd Conservation Society’s Sea Turtle Defense Campaign Operation Jairo were physically attacked by poachers last night during a peaceful patrol of Costa Rica’s Pacuare Beach to locate and protect nesting endangered turtles and their eggs. Two volunteers sustained minor injuries.

Upon spotting the Sea Shepherd crew, which included a media team as well as beach patrol volunteers, a group of poachers immediately approached and, unprovoked, began to attack the unarmed Sea Shepherd volunteers with branches and machetes. Initial reports indicate that more than 10 poachers were involved in the attack. Operation Jairo Ground Leader for Costa Rica, Brett Bradley of Australia, stood in between the poachers and his fellow volunteers, enduring most of the violent assault and sustaining injuries to his arms. Media crewmember Ellen Campbellof Canada also suffered an injury to her shoulder.

As Sea Shepherd volunteers attempted to leave the beach to safety, a security guard fired a total of eight shots into the sand in an effort to scare off the attackers. The aggressive poachers continued their assault, even firing three shots at a second member of the security team, who was hired by Sea Shepherd to protect the organization’s volunteers following threats of violence. One guard was attacked by three of the men, but managed to fend off two as the other retreated.

In addition to Australia and Canada, Sea Shepherd’s multi-national team of Operation Jairo volunteers currently on the ground in Costa Rica and present during last night’s attack also includes individuals from Austria, Spain, the United States, France and Costa Rica.

On June 4, Sea Shepherd volunteers caught a poacher in the act of stealing eggs from an endangered leatherback sea turtle, as the vulnerable nesting female laid them in the sand of Pacuare Beach. Sea Shepherd surrounded the turtle, standing between her and gathering poachers until she finished nesting and returned safely to the sea. The remainder of her eggs were relocated to a guarded hatchery. Shortly thereafter, Ground Leader Brett Bradley was told by a confidential informant that poachers were planning an attack to intimidate Sea Shepherd volunteers. These threats were reported on June 16 to the Costa Rican Judicial Investigation Organization (OIJ).

Jorge Serendero, Sea Shepherd spokesman for Central America, said at this time the group of volunteers is preparing to file a new complaint with the OIJ in Bataan, Limon. There they will also reorganize and implement increased security measures to resume efforts to protect turtles in Pacuare.

“The criminal poachers targeting Costa Rica’s endangered sea turtles are becoming increasingly frustrated that Sea Shepherd’s ground crew volunteers are standing in the way of their illegal activities. This is a clear indication that Sea Shepherd’s presence as we patrol the beaches has been effective,” said Sea Shepherd Campaign Coordinator, David Hance.

“Ground Leader Brett Bradley has confirmed to me that all volunteers are well in the wake of the attack. Our team reports that after experiencing this violence at the hands of the poachers, they are more determined than ever to continue to protect the turtles,” added Hance. “Sea Shepherd is taking all appropriate steps to ensure the safety of our crew. We have again contacted the Costa Rican Ministry of Environment, Energy and Seas and the Coast Guard, as well as the local embassies that govern each of our crewmembers. We are also in contact with the local police and are demanding that they protect our volunteers, take swift action against these poachers for their attack, and enforce the law as it relates to poaching of turtle eggs.”

With an average of only one in 1,000 sea turtle hatchlings surviving to adulthood, Sea Shepherd is addressing the urgent need to protect these endangered marine animals before it’s too late. Operation Jairo is currently taking place in Costa Rica and Honduras, where Sea Shepherd volunteers are protecting sea turtles from poaching. The campaign will also launch in mid-July in Florida, where volunteers will work with non-profit Sea Turtle Oversight Protection (S.T.O.P.) to guide hatchlings safely to the sea and ensure that ordinances regulating commercial lighting along the beaches, which can disorient nesting turtles and hatchlings and cause them to head away from the sea and toward dangerous roadways, are adhered to and enforced.

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'Hydrothermal siphon' drives water circulation through seafloor

Vast quantities of ocean water circulate through the seafloor, flowing through the volcanic rock of the upper oceanic crust. A new study explains what drives this global process and how the flow is sustained. About 25 percent of the heat that flows out of Earth's interior is transferred to the oceans through this process.

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ADB offers $453m loan to Sri Lanka to resolve water scarcity in dry regions

Asian Development Bank (ADB) has agreed to provide a $453m loan to Sri Lanka to support its ongoing initiatives of improving water access in dry regions.

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i2O Water to partner with WaterAid to improve water access

UK-based water network pressure management specialist i2O Water has agreed to work with international non-profit organisation WaterAid to realise the vision of water, sanitation and hygiene to everyone, everywhere by 2030.

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Environmental Impact Statement to restore wetlands and estuary of Nehalem ... - North Coast & Cannon Beach Citizen

Environmental Impact Statement to restore wetlands and estuary of Nehalem ... North Coast & Cannon Beach Citizen A coalition of government and private interests has progressed a Tillamook Bay Estuary project to the point of obtaining funding and preparing the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). This could be an important development for those interested in the ...

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GES Construction Ltd. completes Biscayne custom estate model in Estuary at ... - Naples Daily News

GES Construction Ltd. completes Biscayne custom estate model in Estuary at ... Naples Daily News Toronto-based G.E.S. Construction Limited has announced the completion of the Biscayne, its newest custom model home located at 1234 Gordon River Trail within Estuary at Grey Oaks in Naples. The community is marketed exclusively by Premier Sotheby's ...

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A tale of two whales

A new study indicates a steady population trend for blue whales and an upward population trend for fin whales in Southern California.

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CALL TO ACTION: Ask Maryland and Virginia to Stop Brutal Ray Bow-hunting Tournaments!

CALL TO ACTION: Ask Maryland and Virginia to Stop Brutal Ray Bow-hunting Tournaments!

"Cownose Rays" by Dorothy Birch
Original Work by Author.
Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0
via Wikimedia CommonsSea Shepherd Conservation Society is calling on the NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office (NCBO), Maryland Department of Natural Resources and the state of Virginia to put a stop to the cruel and archaic bow-hunting tournaments targeting pregnant cownose rays for sport in the waters of Chesapeake Bay.

Grassroots groups have recently released undercover footage showing the brutality of one of these tournaments, “Battle of the Rays,” held on June 13 near Mechanicsville, MD. The video shows hunters shooting rays with arrows and using hooks to haul the injured animals up to the side of the boats, where they are bludgeoned with bats or mallets to stop their thrashing. Many, though, are still alive when piled onto other rays onboard.

Pregnant rays, who migrate to Chesapeake waters each year to give birth to their pups, are specifically sought in these tournaments that are held annually in Maryland and Virginia because the heaviest ray will be the “winning catch” at weigh-in. The appalling recent video even captured a hunter seemingly attempting to insert a baby ray back into the body of its dead mother to increase her weight. Many of the dead rays are simply dumped back into the ocean after being weighed.

Some fishermen advocate for the killing of these majestic rays because they eat oysters. The state of Virginia has even advocated for a commercial ray fishery to “control” their numbers, using the misleading slogan “Save the Bay, Eat a Ray.” Sea Shepherd has seen this misguided reasoning used elsewhere to justify the slaughter of marine species with cruel and ineffective culls – for example, along the Columbia River in Oregon and Washington, cormorants and California sea lions are harassed and killed by those states for the “crime” of eating salmon (while fisheries are allowed to take up to 17% of the yearly salmon run).

The Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has emphasized that these bow-hunting tournaments are legal, but the DNR’s own statement also confirms why they must be ended. “There is currently very little scientific data available on the cownose ray population in the Chesapeake Bay and given this limited information, the DNR cannot put a management plan in place at the state level.”

Based on the DNR’s own findings, it is time that the Department take the prudent step of stopping this unsustainable sportfishing targeting pregnant rays given the dearth of information as to status of their current population.

Researchers caution that cownose rays, much like sharks, do not reach sexual maturity until late in age and give birth to only one pup at a time, thus the species is left highly vulnerable to overfishing, also much like sharks. The NCBO states, “Some people have suggested that a commercial fishery for cownose rays should be started so that people can eat this shellfish predator, instead of it eating oysters. But because cownose ray populations grow slowly, we need to make decisions very carefully. Effects from these decisions will last a long time because if the population is reduced too much, it would take a long time to recover.”

The NCBO adds that it is not in support of a commercial cownose ray fishery or other methods of reducing the population at this time. “More science is needed to determine if a sustainable fishery would be possible given the cownose ray’s biology, population numbers and distribution, and reproductive capacity. In the meantime, focus can be put on developing ways to protect oysters and other shellfish from cownose rays that do not involve removing rays from the Bay ecosystem.”

WHAT YOU CAN DO: Sea Shepherd is voicing our opposition to these brutal tournaments and asking our supporters to join us. Additional tournaments are scheduled this Saturday and Sunday, in Virginia and Maryland. Please use the contact information below to call for an immediate end to this cruel and senseless killing for sport:

Peyton Robertson, Director
NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office
410 Severn Avenue
Suite 207-A
Annapolis, MD 21403
Phone: (410) 267-5660
Email: Peyton.Robertson@noaa.gov

Maryland Department of Natural Resources
580 Taylor Avenue
Tawes State Office Building
Annapolis, MD 21401
Phone (for callers in MD): 1-877-620-8367
Phone (for out-of-state callers): (410)-260-8367
Email: customerservice.dnr@maryland.gov

Maryland Governor Larry Hogan
100 State Circle
Annapolis, MD 21401-1925
Phone: (410) 974-3901 OR 1-800-811-8336
Email form: Contact Governor Larry Hogan

Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries
P.O. Box 90778
Henrico, VA 23228-0778
Phone: (804) 367-1000
Email: dgifweb@dgif.virginia.gov

Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe
1111 East Broad Street
Richmond, VA 23219
Phone: (804) 786-2211
Email form: Communicating with the Governor's Office

More information: Cownose Rays: What Effect Are They Having?

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