News clips November 26-30, 2009

Fisheries

• My View: Good news on global tuna, swordfishing fronts- Gloucester Daily Times- editorial by Jim Balsiger, acting assistant administrator for NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service
• Global deal signed to outlaw illegal fishing- fishupdate.com
• Fish fight crucial to survival of islanders- Sydney Morning Herald- Fishing for tuna in Kiribati
• 'Ghost-fishing' study to pull up lobster traps long lost in waters along Maine's coast- Newser – USA
• Trawlermen given Cod War payouts- BBC News
• New coalition formed to fight for the UK fishing industry on Marine Protected Areas- Fishnewseu
• No license, no fishing in ocean- thesunchronicle.com- Massachusetts
• Trawl fleet regulated- FIS.com (Registro)- Ecuador

Marine Spatial Planning

• Obama asked to delay wind farm decision- Cape Cod Times - Hyannis,MA,USA- Cape Wind (Nantucket Sound, MA) and Marine Spatial Planning.
• Protection plans for marine areas- BBC News; see also: New protection plan for Norfolk habitats- Norfolk Eastern Daily Press, U.K.- about new proposed MPAs in the U.K.; Marine site in line for conservation status- Kent News

Corals

• Research team to explore depths of NC waters- WECT-TV6 - Wilmington,NC,USA- MCBI is mentioned
• Reefs need protection- News & Observer- Letter to the editor in response to article about Steve Ross on Nov.22^nd, by Robert Y. George, Ph.D., Wake Forest.
• Cone Snail Venom Effective Remedy For Pain- Space Coast Medicine and Healthy Living
• Coralligenus Algal Reefs- Archipelagos- Overview of importance, threats, and conservation status of these Mediterranean reefs.

Endangered Species

• Georgia welcomes right whales back- Coastal Courier- While recognized during the 2008-09 calving season, this will be the first year the rule will be enforced by law enforcement.
• Grey nurse sharks close to extinction- ABC Online
• Rescuers Racing To Save Stranded Sea Turtles - Boston News Story - WCVB Boston- thebostonchannel.com

Ocean Acidification/ Climate Change

• Bermuda's pink sands under threat as seas become more acidic- Royal Gazette
• NOAA: Warming has fish on move- Gloucester Daily Times

Hawaii

• Jim Channon talks about saving the planet- Big Island Weekly

Science

• Mote scientists help to craft research plan for Cuba, Gulf- Bradenton Herald

Marine Protected Areas

• Marine Science Legend Dr. Sylvia Earle to Help Launch New Private Protected Area in Belize- SEO Press Releases™ (press release)

Biodiversity

• 3 RI writers produce book “World Ocean Census”- Providence Journal

News clips for Wednesday, November 25, 2009

• Southern Ocean protected area to shield marine region more diverse than Galapagos- sciencecentric.com
• Rising sea levels: A tale of two cities- BBC World Service- Comparison of Rotterdam, The Netherlands to Maputo, Mozambique
• Sea level rise could cost port cities $28 trillion- CNN
• Wildlife concern over oil tankers- BBC News- UK
• New Endangered Species Listings Wait as Obama Admin Charts New Course- New York Times
• United States and India Embark on a Green Partnership- Environmental News Service- President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh today reaffirmed the global strategic relationship between the United States and India. Recognizing that energy security, food security and climate change are linked, and that eliminating poverty and ensuring sustainable development and a clean energy future are global objectives, the two leaders agreed to forge a "Green Partnership" to address these issues.
• Azeri Fishermen Lament Vanished Shrimps - Environmental News Service- The fishermen perched on the beached boats on the Azerbaijan coast watched Faiq Balayev as he threw out his net, drew it in and trudged back to the shore. They need not have bothered, since he had once again failed to catch any shrimps. From Pirallahi, oil platforms are visible, and ecologists blame oil industry pollution for the shrimp population collapse.
• Rocket Science Leads to New Whale Discovery- World-Wire- Rocket science is opening new doors to understanding how sounds associated with Navy sonar might affect the hearing of a marine mammal – or if they hear it at all. The same type of large industrial sized x-ray scanners that NASA uses to detect flaws in the space shuttle's behemoth solid fuel rockets is now allowing scientists to peek inside the giant head of a whale.

News clips November 21-24, 2009

Climate Change

• International expedition investigates climate change, alternative fuels in Arctic- ScienceDaily.com- This relates to Scott’s webinar yesterday on alternative offshore energy
• U.S. To Bring Emissions Cut Target To Copenhagen Talks- Reuters
• Military wary of offshore wind energy development- Business Gazette- Maryland
• Report on Acidification and Coral Reefs- From CSO Weekly Report- Nov.20th
  

Marine Spatial Planning

• Fishers fear expansion of marine farms- New Zealand Herald; see also: Shake-up favours aquaculture- New Zealand Herald
• Recovery Act Spurs $4 Billion in Wind Power Projects- Reuters

Hawaii

• Public urged to stay clear of seal, pup- Maui News
• DLNR installs signs for new Kahekili Herbivore Fisheries Management Area- Lahaina News, Maui
• Pacific Whale Foundation offers free 'Be Whale Aware' workshop [for commercial & recreational boaters]- Honolulu Advertiser

Corals

• Economists put a price tag on the benefits of coral reefs- Christian Science Monitor
• Scientist digs deep to learn ocean's secrets- News & Observer- NC- Article about Steve Ross, a UNC-Wilmington marine scientist, and his studies of deep sea corals off of the Carolinas, Georgia, and Florida.
• FEATURE : Coral reefs disappearing at an alarming rate- Taipei Times (Taiwan)
• Healthy Reefs Buoy Haitian Hopes for Tourism Revival- New York Times

Science

• Biodiversity loss is Earth's 'immense and hidden' tragedy, Darwin's 'natural heir' warns- guardian.co.uk
• Aquatic Creatures Mix Ocean Water - Science Daily

Marine National Monuments

• American Samoa marine protection impacts on fishermen- Radio New Zealand International - Fears have been voiced that a ban on commercial fishing around the Rose Atoll Monument will affect the livelihoods of fishermen in American Samoa.

Marine Protected Areas

• NOAA seeks discharge ban in Florida sanctuary- Trade Only Today- NOAA has proposed banning marine sanitation device discharges from vessels in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. If this effort is successful, other similar regulations could be enacted in other marine sanctuaries, according to the National Marine Manufacturers Association.
• Botanical Whales Adventures in the Tortugas reveal that seagrass fields need saving too- Science News

Policy

• DICTA: Balancing Freedom of Navigation and Environmental Protection- Virginia Law Weekly- Editorial by Commander Trevor Rush, U.S. Navy, about the Law of the Sea and the National Ocean Policy. A quote from the article: “Hopefully, when the Task Force issues its framework for coastal and marine spatial planning in December, it will include the guiding principle that our marine environmental protection regimes should be science-based, should not exceed what is minimally necessary to achieve the desired protection, and must protect navigational freedoms.”
• Politicians urged to save the Great Barrier Reef- Power Boat – World

Marine Debris

• Rothschild heir to cross Pacific on boat made of plastic bottles- CNN- link also includes short CNN video about the building of the boat

Fisheries

• Tuna's Death Spiral- New York Times- editorial
• New Salmon Recovery Plan - Flexible or Flawed?- Public News Service – Portland, OR; see also: Federal judge praises new salmon-protection plan- Seattle Times
• Domestic farm animals are devouring the world's fish stocks, UBC study finds- Vancouver Sun
• Alaska - Arctic Fishery Management Plan is Implemented - From NOAA FishNews