Focus on conserving Asramam - The Hindu

Focus on conserving Asramam  The Hindu

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Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Strait of Georgia Herring in Steep Decline

New DFO data validates concerns of First Nations and conservation groups, shows 60% decline in biomass since 2016.

(Coast Salish Territory/Strait of Georgia) International and local conservation groups are calling for an immediate closure of the herring fishery in the Strait of Georgia, after recently released data from the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) revealed the population biomass has dwindled from approximately 129,500 metric tonnes in 2016, to 85,700 tonnes in 2019, and is predicted to fall to 54,242 tonnes in 2020. This is a reduction of almost 60 percent in four years.

“The fact DFO can contemplate any commercial herring fishery on such reduced stocks shows their lack of leadership in conservation and recovery of the species”, stated Captain Locky MacLean, Director of Campaigns at Sea Shepherd, continuing, “We know how important herring is to the wildlife on this coast, the Americans were smart enough to shut herring fishing down in Puget Sound, we should be too.”

The herring population in the Strait of Georgia has endured years of excessive quotas, based on overestimated biomass calculated using a post-industrial fishing baseline. According to Victoria Postlethwaite, DFO’s Regional Herring Officer, the 2019 quota was set based on a predicted return of 122,291 tonnes, but only 85,700 tonnes returned. Fisheries ended up catching 25% of the population—exceeding the 20% harvest quota once again. The four other herring populations in B.C. have already collapsed in recent years due to overfishing.

On Friday, October 25, DFO released Commercial Fisheries Plans for the Food and Bait and Special Use fisheries, with recommended quotas of 500 short tons (453.6 metric tonnes) and 902 short tons (818.3 tonnes), respectively. The plan for the Roe fishery is expected in early December. According to a DFO representative, the department is discussing total harvest levels between 1,600 and 10,850 tonnes for 2020 with stakeholders. Stakeholders are defined by DFO as predominantly herring industry representatives and some First Nations.

It seems incredible to us that after liking the DFO modelling that allowed them to continue to overfish, the herring industry now doesn’t like it because it says the quotas should be drastically reduced. They can’t have it both ways.” Stated Grant Scott, Chair of Conservancy Hornby Island.

Additional data disclosed by DFO forecasts that not only will fewer fish be returning, but the population will consist of smaller and younger fish with lower reproductive capacity. Herring once spawned throughout the Strait of Georgia and Johnstone Strait, but only one area of spawn remains, located between Qualicum Beach and Comox. In their management approach, DFO does not address the severely reduced geographic range and historical abundance of herring in the Strait of Georgia.

“If DFO is serious about protecting endangered Chinook salmon populations and Southern Resident Killer Whales, the first step should be to protect what is left of their food supply”. Said Ian McAllister, Executive Director of Pacific Wild, continuing, “Shutting the herring fishery down to let stocks recover should be the first course of action.”

Conservancy Hornby Island and the Association for Denman Island Marine Stewards, headquartered at the epicenter of the remaining herring spawning grounds in the Northern Gulf Islands, Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, and Pacific Wild, are calling on the federal government to create a Pacific Herring Recovery Program for the Strait of Georgia and immediately close the fishery.

The conservation groups will co-host a forum with the W̱SÁNEĆ Leadership Council on November 7 in W̱SÁNEĆ territory to discuss strategies for restoring the abundance and distribution of herring populations in the Salish Sea, develop ideas for what management will look like moving into the future, and return benefits to local communities.



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Research on large storm waves could help lessen their impact on coasts

An international team of researchers has analyzed months of data of large nearshore waves to provide new insights that could help improve the designs of a variety of coastal structures from seaports to seawalls to better withstand destructive waves.

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Monday, October 28, 2019

Sea Shepherd Conservation Society Partners with Costa Rica’s Ministry of Environment

OVER 1700 MILES (2800 KILOMETERS) OF FISHING LINE THAT WAS REMOVED FROM COCOS ISLAND HAS ARRIVED AT AQUAFIL’S SLOVENIA PLANT TO BE TRANSFORMED INTO ECONYL® REGENERATED NYLON

Cartersville, Georgia, October 28, 2019 — As part of a campaign to protect the Cocos Island UNESCO World Heritage Site, Sea Shepherd Conservation Society partnered with Costa Rica’s Ministry of Environment to collect and transport 34 tons of marine pollution, illegal shark finning long lines, and other confiscated fishing gear, which had been accumulating on the remote volcanic island of Cocos for over 25 years.

For a one-time project, Sea Shepherd Conservation Society removed over 1700 miles (2800 kilometers) of nylon monofilament fishing line from Cocos Island and shipped it to Aquafil to be transformed into ECONYL® regenerated nylon, which is used for carpet flooring and fashion items.

Island Del Coco National Park is home to many marine ecosystems that provide universal importance. The Costa Rican thermal dome off the coast of the Cocos Island gives 7% of biodiversity to the world. Thanks to this one-time collaboration, harmful marine debris was recovered from the ocean and is set to be transformed into a high performing material that can have a second life in new products.

“It is not just about sending a boat to the island and bring the trash to the mainland, it is to do the whole work,” stated Costa Rica’s Minister of the Environment Carlos Manuel Rodriguez, concluding “this is an achievement we are very proud of, and above all, we are very grateful for the support we received.”

“Plastics are a serious threat to marine ecosystems. Removing illegal nylon fishing gear from such a pristine environment, repurposing the material and ensuring it will not be used to kill sharks again is a big step in protecting sharks and the Tropical Eastern Pacific marine environment, which Cocos Island is part of,” said Captain Paul Watson. Adding “This is a very important migration route for sharks and Sea Shepherd’s commitment to protect sharks and their habitats is a holistic one, tackling Illegal targeting of sharks by longline and overseeing the proper disposal of the fishing gear, by ensuring a chain of custody from the high seas to the recycling facility.”

ECONYL® nylon is obtained through the regeneration process of nylon waste and reduces the global warming impact of nylon by up to 80 percent compared with material generated from oil. Aquafil, the Italian company that invented ECONYL®, brings new purpose to waste materials that would otherwise pollute the world’s landfills and oceans.

ABOUT AQUAFIL

Since 1965, Aquafil has been one of the leading players, both in Italy and globally, in the production of polyamide 6 (nylon 6). The Aquafil Group has a presence in eight countries on three continents, employing

more than 2,700 staff at 16 plants located in Italy, Germany, Scotland, Slovenia, Croatia, the USA, Thailand and China. Over the past decade Aquafil invested significant resources in the research and development of sustainable materials, which resulted in the creation of ECONYL® in 2011. To learn more about the company, please visit: https://www.aquafil.com. For media inquiries, contact Ellie Eckerle at ee@connectiveagency.com.

ABOUT SEA SHEPHERD CONSERVATION SOCIETY

Sea Shepherd Conservation Society is the world’s most passionate and powerful protector of ocean life. Since 1977, they have been on a mission to defend, conserve and protect the seas and marine wildlife like no organization can. As the largest private navy in the world, they lead direct-to-action, collaborative campaigns all ‘For The Oceans.’ For more information about Sea Shepard and their campaigns, please visit seashepherd.org. For media inquiries, contact Fox Deatry at fox@seashepherd.org



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Saturday, October 26, 2019

Sea Shepherd Signs New Marine Conservation Agreement with Mexican Government

MEXICO CITY, October 25th, 2019-In an official signing presided over by Dra. Blanca Mendoza Vera, Mexico’s Federal Attorney for Environmental Protection, Sea Shepherd Conservation Society officially entered into a new agreement to support the protection and care of marine wildlife in Mexican waters.

The meeting marks heightened cooperation and collaboration between the marine conservation group and Mexico’s PROFEPA, the enforcement arm of SEMARNAT (Secretariat of Environment and Natural Resources).

Captain Locky MacLean, Sea Shepherd’s Director of Campaigns and Maritime Operations, stated “Sea Shepherd is grateful for this opportunity for increased collaboration in the protection and care of Mexico’s marine species and protected areas”, concluding “we take this responsibility very seriously, and look forward to the positive results this bolstered partnership will bring in the field”.

Sea Shepherd has been present in the Upper Gulf of California protecting the vaquita porpoise since 2015 as part of Operation Milagro. Less than 22 vaquitas remain alive. The main threat to the tiny cetacean is illegal totoaba gillnet fishing.



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First in-depth study of marine fungi and their cell-division cycles

A first deep dive into the diversity of marine fungi and their cell division cycles has revealed unusual cell cycles, cell division patterns, and polarity. The study broadens our knowledge of ocean diversity into the nearly unstudied Kingdom Fungi.

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Friday, October 25, 2019

Mexico’s Director of PROFEPA Joins Sea Shepherd Vessel in Vaquita Refuge

Sea Shepherd Conservation Society was recently honored to host Dr. Antonio Diaz de Leon, Deputy Head of PROFEPA (Federal Attorney of Environmental Protection of Mexico ) who was on the ground in San Felipe on an unofficial visit to see first-hand the issues currently facing the Upper Gulf of California, and the important work being done to protect the critically endangered vaquita from extinction.

Dr. Diaz de Leon boarded Sea Shepherd’s Island Class Cutter MV Farley Mowat, meeting crew members and discussing the important net retrieval operations the vessel has been carrying out inside the Biosphera del Alto Golfo y Rio Colorado Vaquita Refuge, a federally protected sanctuary for the world’s smallest and most endangered marine mammal.

Dr. Diaz de Leon embarked on board the MV Farley Mowat as an expedition being led by CONANP (Mexico’s Commission on National Protected Areas) with the support of Sea Shepherd to locate and photograph vaquitas is underway inside the zero tolerance area of the vaquita refuge, a 150 square kilometer area of heightened biological importance.

The presence of pangas or small fishing skiffs actively fishing with gillnets (which are banned inside the refuge) was witnessed first-hand by Dr. Diaz de Leon, who expressed immediate need for both heightened and coordinated enforcement as well as solutions for the artisanal fishing community, to ensure that this important habitat of the last vaquitas remains gillnet free.

Dr. Diaz de Leon expressed his support and thanks for Sea Shepherd’s work protecting the vaquita from extinction, and the dedication of the Mexican and International volunteers making the mission possible in the Upper Gulf of California.

The visit reinforced the strengthened collaboration between Sea Shepherd Conservation Society and PROFEPA who have been collaborating under an agreement since 2016 to remove illegal gillnets from the vaquita habitat and protect it from extinction.

Sea Shepherd is grateful to Dr. Diaz de Leon and PROFEPA under Dra. Blanca Mendoza Vera for their commitment to protecting the fragile and critically important biodiversity in the Upper Gulf of California. Sea Shepherd Director is currently attending meetings in Mexico City, where the two organizations are working together to renew and reinforce an agreement of collaboration to include the ongoing presence of PROFEPA agents onboard Sea Shepherd vessels to undertake inspection activities within the vaquita refuge, as well as other expanded forms of collaboration in the interest of protecting marine wildlife in Mexican waters.



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Warming waters, local differences in oceanography affect Gulf of Maine lobster population

Two new studies point to the role of a warming ocean and local differences in oceanography in the rise and fall of lobster populations southern New England to Atlantic Canada.

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Thursday, October 24, 2019

Citrus County Fishing Reports - Citrus County Chronicle

Citrus County Fishing Reports  Citrus County Chronicle

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Fed by the waters - Philippine Star

Fed by the waters  Philippine Star

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Farewell, Sanibel - Captiva Current

Farewell, Sanibel  Captiva Current

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The shelf life of pyrite

What exactly triggers the increase in carbon dioxide concentrations that causes the transition from a glacial stage to a warm stage is not fully understood. Scientists have developed a new model in which the weathering of pyrite, a common mineral containing sulfur, plays a key role.

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Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Expedition Sights Endangered Vaquita Porpoise and Rampant Fishing Inside Biosphere Reserve

Sea Shepherd ship M/V Farley Mowat and Museo de la Ballena research vessel Narval encounter dozens of skiffs fishing with prohibited gillnets near a live vaquita inside protected Refuge

San Felipe, BC, Mexico, October 23rd, 2019 – Leading scientists, supported by conservation patrol vessels carrying out the second leg of a scientific expedition to study the critically endangered vaquita porpoise (Phocoena sinus), have encountered dozens of fishing skiffs, including one in close proximity to a live vaquita, within the 150 square kilometer “zero tolerance” area of the federally protected Vaquita Refuge in Mexico’s Biosphere Reserve of the Upper Gulf of California and Colorado River.

Military and police on Farley bow Credit: Sea Shepherd | Melissa Romao

The skiffs, setting and retrieving prohibited gillnets mainly for shrimp, chano and corvina fish, numbered over 70 altogether and were sighted in groups of up to 28 at a time by crews and scientists on board the vessels M/V Farley Mowat and Narval during the morning of October 17th. The vessels departed San Felipe Harbor at 05:00 am and by 07:34 am photographed a vaquita, the world’s most endangered marine mammal, within a few feet of a fishing skiff inside the “zero tolerance” area recommended by CIRVA (the International Committee for the Recovery of the Vaquita).

This latest photograph of a live vaquita, with a fishing skiff right behind it, was taken in the same area where Sea Shepherd found a dead vaquita caught in a gillnet last March. “Unfortunately, these pangas are exactly where we saw the remaining vaquitas during the last sighting voyage,” said veteran Sea Shepherd Captain Octavio Carranza, concluding “This is also where we found a dead vaquita tangled in a gillnet a few months ago.”

Fishing inside the refuge is banned to protect the critically endangered marine mammal. Subsidies given to the fishermen by the Mexican Government to compensate for this measure ceased to be disbursed 11 months ago. Ramon Franco, President of the Cooperativas Ribereñas Rubio Castro from San Felipe, Baja California stated, “We want the United Nations to know that the fishing sector in our community went out fishing without respecting agreements or protected areas as a result of the lack of attention and dialogue the federal Government has given to this issue, it is responsible for what could happen in this community.”

Scientists on computer Credit: Sea Shepherd | Robbie Newby

The result is hundreds of pangas have been returning to sea. “We are between a rock and a hard place: between organized crime and the problems derived from illegal activities in the area, and pressure towards the commercial fishing sector by the government. Those most affected are our fishing organizations that stick to the rules. Those who most benefit are the illegal fishers” said Carlos Tirado, Leader of the Federación Regional de Sociedades Cooperativas Pescadores de la Reserva de la Biosfera, S.C, de R.L de CV, “immediate attention from the President needs to be given to this matter,” he concluded.

These recent incursions into the refuge come despite Mexico pledging to heighten enforcement in the area, and highlights the real and present danger facing the vaquita as well as the underlying socio-economic and enforcement issues that continue to plague the Upper Gulf region. Diego Sabio, Director of Museo de la Ballena considers “the current situation is unbearable for the fishermen, the vaquita and for any actions or policies being implemented to protect this critically endangered animal”.

The Mexican Navy’s Valle Class Oceanic Patrol vessel Escobedo is presently in the Upper Gulf of California and is scheduled to participate in net retrieval operations this month. A Navy interceptor or fast boat was called to the scene to inspect the skiffs. No arrests were made.

Lorenzo Rojas-Bracho, head of marine mammal research at Mexico’s National Commission on Protected Areas (CONANP) and co-chief scientist of the current expedition, highlighted the importance of the sighting: “Under the current circumstances, the most important piece of information right now is that there are still vaquitas surviving… hopefully we can track the lives of these few fit individuals and protect them exactly where they are. These type of expeditions are key to the photo ID effort, they provide the best option to guide protection measures.”

“It is heartbreaking that with less than 20 vaquitas left, this small critical area is still impacted by gillnets” stated Sea Shepherd Campaigns Director Captain Locky MacLean, continuing “We welcome the recent announcement by Mexico’s SPCC (La Secretaría de Seguridad y Protección Ciudadana) to increase capacity in the region, immediate action, collaboration and understanding with government and artisanal fishers is needed now more than ever, to keep the critical zone clear of danger for the vaquita porpoise”.

The expedition to spot vaquitas is coordinated by CONANP with the collaboration of Museo de la Ballena y Ciencias del Mar and Sea Shepherd Conservation Society as well as the participation of researchers from the Autonomous University of Baja California Sur (UABCS) and the USA, and the ongoing support of the Mexican Navy (SEMAR). The first leg of the expedition generated three sightings of vaquita pairs, on August 19th, 20th and on September 3rd, in the waters off San Felipe, Baja California, the second leg of the survey runs between the 14th and 28th of October. The elusive and critically endangered species is being driven ever closer toward extinction by becoming ensnared in gillnets, the primary cause of its decline.



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Underwater grandmothers reveal big population of lethal sea snakes

A group of snorkelling grandmothers is helping scientists better understand marine ecology by photographing venomous sea snakes in waters off the city of Noumea, New Caledonia.

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Scientists tout ocean protection progress, give road map for more

World governments and other leadership bodies are taking vital steps to protect the ocean but more progress is urgently needed, scientists reported today at the Our Ocean Conference.

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Monday, October 21, 2019

Catastrophic events carry forests of trees thousands of miles to a burial at sea

While studying sediments in the Bay of Bengal, an international team finds evidence dating back millions of years that catastrophic events likely toppled fresh trees from their mountain homes on a long journey to the deep sea. The discovery may add to models of the Earth's carbon cycle.

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Antarctic ice cliffs may not contribute to sea-level rise as much as predicted

Researchers report that in order for a 90-meter ice cliff to collapse entirely, the ice shelves supporting the cliff would have to break apart extremely quickly, within a matter of hours -- a rate of ice loss that has not been observed in the modern record.

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Clay minerals call the shots with carbon

Clay minerals suspended in seawater binds sedimentary organic carbon to their mineral surfaces. But the quantity of carbon that is bound and the source of that carbon very much depends on the clay mineral in question. A research team has shown this by studying sediments in the South China Sea.

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A success story - The Statesman

A success story  The Statesman

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California's crashing kelp forest

First the sea stars wasted to nothing. Then purple urchins took over, eating and eating until the bull kelp forests were gone. The red abalone starved. Their fishery closed. Red sea urchins starved. Their fishery collapsed. And the ocean kept warming. This ecological horror story movie took place between 2013-2017, with lasting impacts. This study chronicles the catastrophic shift in 2014 from a robust bull kelp forest to a barren of purple sea urchins.

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Saturday, October 19, 2019

Slow Road to Recovery after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill for Deep-Sea Communities

The Deepwater Horizon disaster released approximately 4 million barrels of oil from the Macondo Wellhead over the course of 87 days in 2010.  Thus, becoming the largest accidental marine oil spill in history. The impacts of the oil spill were readily visible on shorelines, beaches, and marshes.  

However, in the deep Gulf of Mexico the  devastation was hidden 2 kilometers below in the dark depths of the ocean .  

Investigations of the site began just months after the oil spill using a remote operated vehicle. Dramatic losses of deep-sea biodiversity in the immediate aftermath of the spill were documented by Louisiana State University researchers.  Additional surveys continued for one year until the summer of 2011. Meanwhile, ship-board collection of sesdiments monitored the slow recovery of life, noting a 40-90% reduction in diversity, on the deep-sea floor until 2014

…after which monitoring stopped. 

In 2017, Clifton Nunnally and I with a team of scientists revisited the DWH wreckage and Macondo wellhead site for the first time since monitoring ceased in 2011.  Video captured a unrecovered after 7 years.  Showing a seafloor, marred by wreckage, physical upheaval and sediments covered in black, oily marine snow unrecognizable from the healthy habitats in the deep Gulf of Mexico.

Near the wreckage and wellhead, many of the animal characteristic of other areas of the deep Gulf of Mexico, including sea cucumbers, Giant Isopods, glass sponges, and whip corals, were absent.  What remained was a homogenous wasteland in contrast to the rich heterogeneity of life seen in healthy deep sea.  

Conspicuously absent were the sessile animals that typically cling to any type of hard structure in an otherwise soft, muddy habitat.  Hard substrate in the deep sea is a valuable commodity but at the Deepwater Horizon site metal and other hard substrates were devoid of typical deep-sea colonizers.

Sea floor communities at the impact site were also characterized by high densities of decapod shrimp and crabs.  Crabs showed clearly visible physical defects and sluggish behavior compared to the healthy crabs outside of the impacted zone of the Deepwater Horizon wellhead.  

We hypothesize these crustaceans are drawn to the site because degrading hydrocarbons may serve as luring sexual hormone mimics. Once these crustaceans reach the site they may become too unhealthy to leave in a La Brea Tarpit scenario.

The scope of impacts may extend beyond the impacted sites with the potential for impacts to pelagic food webs and commercially important species.

Our Recommendations:

  1. Longer funding cycles are needed to assess the recovery of deep-sea ecosystems.
  2. Increased commitment to fund pre-impact baseline surveys.
  3. Stronger, more explicit policy to support future monitoring efforts.

Overall, deep-sea ecosystem health, 7 years post spill, is recovering slowly and lingering effects may be extreme. 

In an ecosystem that measures longevity in centuries and millennia the impact of 4 million barrels of oil constitutes a crisis of epic proportions. 



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Agroforestry in the Amazon - The Ecologist

Agroforestry in the Amazon  The Ecologist

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