Gulf seafood deformities alarm scientists
Eyeless shrimp and fish with lesions are becoming common, with BP oil pollution believed to be the likely cause. Dahr Jamail Last Modified: 18 Apr 2012 03:16 New Orleans, LA – “The fishermen have never seen anything like this,” Dr Jim Cowan told Al Jazeera. “And in my 20 years working on red snapper, looking at somewhere between 20 and 30,000 fish, I’ve never seen anything like this either.” Dr Cowan, with Louisiana State University’s Department of Oceanography … Read entire article »
Filed under: Boats, Conservation, Dolphin, Earth, Featured, Fish, General Question, ocean, Open Water, Reefs, Reference, Report, Shrimp
Divers Direct Sponsors Multi-Location Beach and Reef Cleanup
Sunday, April 22nd FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Divers Direct, Florida’s largest retailer of SCUBA diving equipment, announces its 2nd annual “Scrub & Grub” beach and reef cleanup to benefit multiple locations throughout the state of Florida. This year’s event is being held on Earth Day (Sunday, April 22nd) to bring awareness to the importance of maintaining the health of the aquatic environment by engaging in “green” practices when enjoying this natural resource. Each of the Divers Direct store … Read entire article »
Filed under: Adv. Open Water, Artificial Reefs, Conservation, Diver, Earth, Events, Featured, ocean, Promotions, Reefs, Reference, Report, Volunteer
DEMA WORKS WITH FLORIDA FISH AND WILDLIFE COMMISSION (FWC) TO PLACE FAIR LICENSURE LANGUAGE IN FLORIDA BILL
Culmination of Effort That Began Last Year Clarifies Responsibility and Ensures Options for Divers and Dive Operators in Fishing and Lobster Licensing Law Following months of close collaboration with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), DEMA has succeeded in placing language regarding the licensure of dive charter vessels in Florida House Bill 7025. This Bill amends a previous law which would have forced dive charter operators to purchase a fishing and lobster license … Read entire article »
Filed under: Artificial Reefs, Boats, Conservation, Diver, Earth, Featured, ocean, Open Water, Reefs, Reference, Report
Underwater World Offshore Jacksonville Florida Event
Thursday March 29th, 2012 @ 7PM Intuition Ale Works 720 King Street, Jacksonville, Fl. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Artificial Reefs, Conservation, Diver, Earth, Events, Featured, ocean, Open Water, Photography, Promotions, Reefs, Reference, Report, Volunteer
Shark fin soup to blame for blue shark decline
by Tamera Jones hey discovered that the sharks feed in exactly the same places in the ocean that long-line fishing boats operate, which means they get caught along with other target fish. The researchers add that such regions are ideal places to implement so-called marine protected areas, where fishing is banned, to safeguard blue sharks and other vulnerable species. ‘These sharks aren’t simply by-catch; we think along with mako sharks they’re being targeted for the shark fin market … Read entire article »
Filed under: Conservation, Earth, Featured, Fish, ocean, Promotions, Reefs, Reference, Report, Sharks
Amazon.com Confirms New Policy to Ban Sale of Whale and Dolphin Products
On March 2, 2012, Divetalking posted Petition Amazon To Ban the sale of Whale/Dolphin Today, Internet giant Amazon.com has now officially banned the sale of all whale and dolphin products from its wholly owned Japanese website, following global outrage that these products were offered for sale. Amazon confirmed the prohibition on its main website by adding language under the Food and Beverage section that prohibits “Products containing shark, whale, or dolphin” and Amazon’s Japanese website contains a similar ban on selling whale and dolphin products. The Environmental Investigation Agency and Humane Society International revealed last month that Amazon Japan not only sold products from endangered and protected whale species, but also products containing dangerous levels of mercury. In response, Amazon withdrew all whale products from Amazon Japan within 24 hours, but declined to … Read entire article »
Filed under: Conservation, Earth, Events, Featured, ocean, Reference, Report, Rescue, Whales
Oceans Turning Acidic Faster than Past 300 Million Years
By Wynne Parry | LiveScience.com The oceans are becoming more acidic faster than they have in the past 300 million years, a period that includes four mass extinctions, researchers have found. Then, as is happening now, increases in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere warmed the planet and made the oceans more acidic. These changes are associated with major shifts in climate and mass extinctions. But while past increases in the atmosphere’s carbon dioxide levels resulted from volcanoes and other natural causes, today that spike is due to human activities, the scientists note. “What we’re doing today really stands out,” lead researcher Bärbel Hönisch, a paleoceanographer atColumbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, said in a news release. “We know that life during past ocean acidification events was not wiped out — new species evolved to replace those that died off. But if industrial carbon emissions continue at the … Read entire article »
Filed under: Conservation, Earth, ocean, Reference, Report
Petition Amazon To Ban the sale of Whale/Dolphin
Last week, public outcry forced Amazon.com to pull over one hundred whale and dolphin meat products from its Japanese site. Consumers were outraged that the world’s largest online retailer supported the killing of whales and dolphins — and Amazon.com listened. But now, Amazon.com is refusing to put a permanent ban in place to protect these animals in the future. Melissa Sehgal, an Amazon.com customer, is in Taiji, Japan — the site of an annual dolphin hunt that was exposed in the documentary The Cove. Every day she is witnessing how dolphins are captured and killed, and she wants Amazon.com to help stop it. That’s why Melissa started a petition calling on Amazon to never again sell meat from dolphins and whales. Click here to sign Melissa’s petition asking Amazon.com to permanently ban whale, dolphin, and porpoise meat … Read entire article »
Filed under: Conservation, Dolphin, Events, Featured, ocean, Promotions, Report, Rescue, Whales
Inshore reefs next for city artificial reef program
by Joe Wilhelm Jr., Staff Writer The City’s Waterways Commission was updated on the progress of the City’s Artificial Reef program Wednesday and learned of efforts to develop in-shore reefs. Dana Morton, City Aquatic Biologist and Artificial Reef Coordinator, was joined by City Planner Jody McDaniel in presenting an update requested by the commission City Waterways Coordinator Jim Suber also helps coordinate the program’s efforts. “Artificial and natural reefs are public resources that provide recreation benefits and income to local economies,” said McDaniel. “Fishing is a multibillion dollar industry in Florida and its estimated economic impact is $5.4 billion and 54,000 jobs associated with the fishing industry,” she said. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission administers a state artificial reef program created by the Florida Legislature in 1982. The program provides financial and technical assistance … Read entire article »
Filed under: Artificial Reefs, Conservation, Events, ocean, Reefs, Reference, Report
$10,000 reward in sea lion killings
By msnbc.com staff A group best known for fighting off whalers has joined federal investigators looking into the recent killings of sea lions near Seattle, offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of whoever is responsible. Another sea lion was found dead over the weekend, adding to seven others found in recent weeks with bullet wounds. A harbor seal was also found dead. Federal officials planned to examine the latest sea lion on Tuesday to determine if it, too, had been shot. ——————————————————————————– The latest sea lion found was on the Nisqually River, south of Seattle, as were six of the other sea lions. “This is a violation of U.S. federal law and the person or persons responsible for these shootings must be apprehended and brought to justice,” Paul Watson, founder … Read entire article »
Filed under: Conservation, Featured, Reference, SeaLions
Conversations with History: Ocean Voyages with Sylvia Earle
I present to you Dr. Sylvia Earle … Read entire article »
Filed under: Conservation, Diver, Featured, Promotions, Reference, Report, Training
Shark fin soup disappearing from the menu at Chinese weddings
Couples marrying in Hong Kong and mainland China swayed by conservation groups’ campaign to ban shark trade Justin McCurry in Hong Kong guardian.co.uk, Thursday 10 November 2011 12.06 EST Chinese couples who have chosen Friday – 11/11/11 – one of the most auspicious days of the year to exchange their wedding vows, could be among the last to mark the occasion by feasting on shark fin soup, if environmental groups get their way. As the wedding parties scoop pieces of the slippery, glutinous flesh from bowls of broth, they will not just be respecting tradition; they will also be defying a growing campaign to ban the trade in shark fin that has now spread to its most lucrative market, Hong Kong. It is easy to see during a short walk through Sheung Wan, a … Read entire article »
Filed under: Conservation, Report, Sharks
Conservationists Find it Hard to Dent Hong Kong’s Appetite for Shark Fin Soup
The Wrong Kind of Status Symbol In many parts of Asia, shark fin soup is considered a delicacy. It is traditionally served at weddings, but it’s also a way for the newly wealthy to show their status. The problem is, the number of people in Asia who are entering the middle-class and can now afford to eat more shark fin soup has grown exponentially in the past decades and – as Jaymi explains in her post about shark finning – there are between 73 and 100 million sharks killed every year, mostly just for their fins. Because sharks are top predators, they are crucial to oceanic ecosystems. Conservationists have long tried to either ban or at least regulate the practice, with various levels of success, and to convince people living where the … Read entire article »
Filed under: Conservation, Featured, Reference, Report, Sharks