The Conservation Report

Who needs regulation—especially environmental regulation, it’s just too inconvenient for some folks. From the Washington Post:

The White House is working to enact a wide array of federal regulations, many of which would weaken government rules aimed at protecting consumers and the environment, before President Bush leaves office in January.

The new rules would be among the most controversial deregulatory steps of the Bush era and could be difficult for his successor to undo. Some would ease or lift constraints on private industry, including power plants, mines and farms.

Those and other regulations would help clear obstacles to some commercial ocean-fishing activities, ease controls on emissions of pollutants that contribute to global warming, relax drinking-water standards and lift a key restriction on mountaintop coal mining.

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A rule put forward by the National Marine Fisheries Service and now under final review by the OMB would lift a requirement that environmental impact statements be prepared for certain fisheries-management decisions and would give review authority to regional councils dominated by commercial and recreational fishing interests.

An Alaska commercial fishing source, granted anonymity so he could speak candidly about private conversations, said that senior administration officials promised to “get the rule done by the end of this month” and that the outcome would be a big improvement.

Lee Crockett of the Pew Charitable Trusts’ Environment Group said the administration has received 194,000 public comments on the rule and protests from 80 members of Congress as well as 160 conservation groups. “This thing is fatally flawed” as well as “wildly unpopular,” Crockett said.

Two other rules nearing completion would ease limits on pollution from power plants, a major energy industry goal for the past eight years that is strenuously opposed by Democratic lawmakers and environmental groups.

One rule, being pursued over some opposition within the Environmental Protection Agency, would allow current emissions at a power plant to match the highest levels produced by that plant, overturning a rule that more strictly limits such emission increases. According to the EPA’s estimate, it would allow millions of tons of additional carbon dioxide into the atmosphere annually, worsening global warming.

A related regulation would ease limits on emissions from coal-fired power plants near national parks.

A third rule would allow increased emissions from oil refineries, chemical factories and other industrial plants with complex manufacturing operations.

These rules “will force Americans to choke on dirtier air for years to come, unless Congress or the new administration reverses these eleventh-hour abuses,” said lawyer John Walke of the Natural Resources Defense Council.

ANIMAL WELFARE: Animals Often Victims of Foreclosures, More pets are being cut loose as owners respond to economic hard times: During an economic downturn what’s the first expense to go? Some may say dining out or taking lavish trips. How about the family pet? Rising home foreclosures, food…, Military Dogs Get New Vet Hospital, Modesto police dog helps save suicidal teen

BIOGAS: London gets its first biogas fueling station

CARBON: Obama’s Carbon Ultimatum

CARPOOLING: Vote and save gas with Zimride’s “Carpool to the Polls”

CLIMATE CHANGE: Climate Changing Walden Pond’s Flowers, Climate Changing Thoreau’s Woods

DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO (DRC): Rebels Seize Congo Gorilla Park; Hopes Dim for Apes

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Electric black cab project makes progress: Londoners could be hailing the first battery-powered black cabs in early 2009

ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT: Species review begins: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service published a notice of review in the Federal Register initiating 5-year reviews for wildlife and plant species as required under the Endangered Species Act. The species in consideration in the notice of review are…

EXPOSURE TO CHEMICALS AND TOXINS: Man to sue after ‘toxic sofa’ left him with heart failure: A man is suing a furniture company over claims his “toxic sofa” left him with a permanent heart condition.

EVOLUTION: Vampire Moth Discovered — Evolution at Work: A previously unknown population of vampire moths has been found in Siberia. And in a twist worthy of a Halloween horror movie, entomologists say the bloodsuckers may have evolved from a purely fruit-eating species.

FISHERIES: Migrating Alaskan pollock are creating the potential for a new dispute with Russia

FLORIDA EVERGLADES: High water in the Everglades threatens wildlife: With deer belly-deep in the marsh, state wildlife managers fear animals will die if water levels in the Everglades don’t recede.

FUEL CELLS: Pepperidge Farm Opens Largest Fuel Cell Plant In United States

GEOTHERMAL ENERGY: 12,100 Megawatts of Geothermal Power by 2025: Department of Interior Opens Up Lands For Leasing

GLOBAL WARMING: Global Warming Good for Sharks?

GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS: 2 greenhouse gases on the rise worry scientists

HABITAT DEGRADATION LOSS FRAGMENTATION: Fearful Elephants Would Sooner Starve Than Cross Roads: New research by the Wildlife Conservation Society and Save the Elephants has found that African Elephants are quickly becoming trapped by new road construction cutting through their forest habitats.

HOMOSEXUALITY IS NATURAL: How gay sex can produce offspring

IVORY: Ebay Bans Ivory Sales Amid Conservation Concerns

IVORY-BILLED WOODPECKER: Cornell cuts back ivory-billed woodpecker search

MADAGASCAR: The Sapphire Mines of Madagascar, THE BIG PICTURE: The sapphire mines of Madagascar

MARINE MAMMALS: Orcas Missing From Puget Sound Thought Dead, Whale Endangered, Palin Pouts: The NYT reports that Cook Inlet Beluga Whales were listed as “endangered” under the Endangered Species Act yesterday.

MINING: Bush rushes to open Grand Canyon to toxic uranium mining: BLM publishes proposed rule which ignores House committee’s resolution

NUCLEAR POWER: Should Libertarians Support Nuclear Power?

OBAMA IS NOT A SOCIALIST: “Socialism”

OCEANS: Pictured: The incredible secret world at the bottom of the sea: In a year-long mission, a BBC team probed a small part of the earth’s amazing undersea world. They completed 1000 dives and explored seven different oceans across the globe. What they found was extraordinary…

ORGANIC FARMING: Organic farming ‘could feed Africa’: Traditional practices increase yield by 128 per cent in east Africa, says

POLITICS: Biden Slammed During Florida Interview, Same Anchor Gives McCain Softballs, Where Eight Years Of Republican Leadership Has Left America Economically (VIDEO)

RECOMMENDED MAP: Map of Newspaper Endorsements in the 2008 US Presidential Election

RECYCLING: Thai Temple Built From One Million Recycled Bottles, Q and A: Recycling Astronaut Urine

SALMON: Dams Not Main Cause of Salmon Collapse, Study Says

SPACE: Depressed astronauts might get computerized solace, NASA unveils new lunar rover built for endurance, India’s manned mission not before 2012: Madhavan Nair, NASA turns to the private sector as China flexes new space muscles, Chandrayaan a wake-up call for America, says Obama

SCIENCE: Artificial Heart Gives New Hope to Patients: French Scientists Develop Artificial Heart that Beats Much Like the Real Thing, ‘Flying syringe’ mosquitos, other ideas get Gates funding: The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation awarded 100,000 dollars each on Wednesday to scientists in 22 countries including funding for a Japanese proposal to turn mosquitos into “flying syringes” delivering vaccines., It ain’t half snuggly, Mum! The ground-breaking pictures of animals capturing life in the womb, 3M taps into wind-power business with new `Wind Tape’: 3M Co., best known for its Scotch Tape, Post-it brand notes and adhesives, is going into the wind-energy business, with a new line of fillers and protective coverings that can extend the life of wind turbine blades.

SHARKS: “Shark Island” Swarms With Jaws

SOLAR: FedEx Ups Its Solar Power Production To Almost Double: FedEx’s New Solar System Is Enough To Power 370 homes, Solar Refrigeration: A Hot Idea for Cooling: How to build a solar refrigerator: The brighter the sun, the better it works, Solar-Powered Rickshaw Unveiled in India, In downturn, solar industry sees bright days ahead, BWL will build solar array: Project expected to produce enough electricity to power up to 50 homes

TAILPIPE EMISSIONS: Is This the Most Eco-Friendly Car Innovation Since the Hybrid?

UNDECIDED VOTERS: Swing Set

WAVE POWER: World’s first wave farm now generating power for 1,500 homes

WIND POWER: UK Becomes World’s Biggest Producer of Offshore Wind Power, Wind Power Generators Guide

WTF?: Toilet stench clears out London airport

YEAR OF THE FROG: Yellowstone Amphibians Declining Under Climate Change

“Environmental News Picks” are made possible with help from Kevin.

Visit the Marine Fish Conservation Network’s new website to learn more about fisheries, marine conservation, sustainable seafood, and other ocean issues. The site also lets you download reports, press releases, and other information.

A man was caught smuggling lobsters out of the La Jolla State Marine Conservation Area. Binh Quang Chau was cited after game wardens noticed “odd bulges” in his pants. The odd bulge turned out to be six lobsters wrapped in newspapers. Apparently, Chau is a chronic lobster thief, since he has been caught three or four times poaching lobsters. I love seafood, but I’m not sure six lobsters are worth the risk—for several reasons. More at blogfish, and from the San Diego Union Tribune, United States:

When wardens arrested Chau for the second time, they noticed “odd bulges” in Chau’s pants.

Chau had wrapped six lobsters individually in newspaper and stuffed them down his drawers.

.       .       .

Fortunately, all six lobsters that Chau stuffed down his pants were still alive and were returned to the ocean, [said Department of Fish and Game warden Daryl Simmons].

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Warden Simmons said yesterday that Chau spent six days in jail after he was arrested a third time by him and warden Borjeson. Once again, Chau was reported to be in the La Jolla State Marine Conservation Area, this time with three undersized lobsters, Simmons said. Because he had shown chronic disregard for Fish and Game laws, Chau was booked into San Diego County Jail, where he was held for six days. Chau combined the three cases the DFG made against him and plead guilty. His plea agreement called for three years’ probation, with a penalty of 90 days in jail if he violates his probation, 13 days’ work service, three-year suspension of all fishing in state ocean waters out to three miles and a $500 fine.

Image Found Here

From CBSNews.com on YouTube:

Bob Simon gets a glimpse of an ancient tuna fishing method called “la mattanza” off the coast of Sardinia. The global demand of sushi-grade tuna is having a big impact on the local fishermen. (CBSNews.com)

On the Net: The King Of Sushi, Growing Demand For Sushi Is Having A Big Impact On The Bluefin Population - CBS News

Overfishing of one species can result in the decline or rise of others. For example, data suggests that there is a causal link between declining large shark populations and the declining North Carolina bay scallop fishery.

The data suggests that predation of bay scallops has increased, because large sharks have been overfished.  These sharks prey on marine organisms, such as cownose rays, which prey on the bay scallops. As a result of the anthropogenically caused imbalance, rays are becoming too abundant. These rays are blamed for impacting the Chesapeake Bay oyster fishery as well.

Obviously there are other factors preventing the recovery of the clam, oyster, and scallop fisheries. Other factors that have impacted shellfish fisheries include habitat degradation, loss, and fragmentation; and pollution coupled with overfishing are other factors, so predation is just another factor that prevents recovery of these fisheries. However, to protect North Carolina bay scallops, scientists are constructing sanctuaries that rays cannot enter. From The Virginian-Pilot, VA:

Scientists believe that three new sanctuaries in coastal sound waters will protect scallops during the summer onslaught of feeding rays, which have proliferated with the decline of great shark species.

“They range upwards to the size of the infield of a baseball diamond,” UNC Chapel Hill Professor Charles “Pete” Peterson said of the sanctuaries, which are referred to as stockades.

Peterson is part of a team from the school’s Institute of Marine Sciences in Morehead City that worked in recent weeks to build the sanctuaries in the Bogue, Back and Core sounds.

The enclosures, which Peterson said have proved successful in the past, will keep the rays from eating some of the scallops during the spawning season.

They are created by placing PVC pipes vertically in the water close enough together that the rays can’t enter. Peterson said the hope is that enough scallops survive the ray migration that the population can start to rebuild itself.

.       .       .

The cownose ray has been blamed for nearly finishing off a Chesapeake Bay oyster population already ravaged by disease. The winged marine animal has also taken a heavy toll on North Carolina’s scallop fishery, which has been closed since 2004.

The ray population has grown as the number of great sharks - their predators - has fallen from overfishing, Peterson said.

Peterson co-authored an article published in the journal Science last year. He and fellow marine researchers presented the results of numerous marine studies conducted since the early 1970s.

Image Found Here

Genetic work has revealed two species of goliath grouper, so the “new species” or the Pacific goliath grouper is formally known as Epinephelus quinquefasciatus. It’s not surprising that two species of goliath grouper exist, since the two populations have been geographically separated for millions of years. The discovery will have implications for fisheries conservation, since the Pacific goliath grouper is considered overfished and critically endangered. Furthermore, the Atlantic goliath grouper (E. itajara) is considered overfished and critically endangered by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

Some interesting images of the Brazilian Atlantic goliath grouper fishery in action can be found on Flickr, and there is more on this story at the DR Corner. From Science Daily (press release):

“For more than a century, ichthyologists have thought that Pacific and Atlantic goliath grouper were the same species, and the argument was settled before the widespread use of genetic techniques. The genetic data were the key to our finding: two species, one on each side of the isthmus.,” said Dr. Matthew Craig of the Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology, lead author of the study.

Because the two populations of grouper are identical in body form and markings, they were both considered part of the same species: Epinephelus itajara. About three-and-a-half million years ago—before the Caribbean and the Pacific became separated by present-day Panama—they were the same species.

Since that time, the two populations have evolved into genetically distinct populations. While testing the hypothesis that Pacific and West Atlantic grouper were the same species, the research team found significant differences in the DNA from both populations. The differences indicate that the two populations have effectively evolved into two separate species after being separated from one another by Central America. The new Pacific species is now classified as Epinephelus quinquefasciatus. E. itajara is currently listed as critically endangered to extinction in the World Conservation Union’s Red List of Endangered Species of Fauna and Flora. Due to its scarcity, E. quinquefasciatus may also be considered critically endangered.

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Photo source for attribution. The author or licensor of this image does not endorse my work or me and their image is protected under an attribution license.

Information about the top-centered image showing a large goliath grouper can be found here

Bait and switch: Fish being mislabeled as more expensive, desirable, or eco-friendly species

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Highlights:

1. Cheaper fish species are being mislabeled as more desirable or expensive species
2. Endangered fish species are being mislabeled as eco-friendly species
3. The study reveals consumer fraud and public health issues

Today I caught an interesting story on the The Early Show about some high school science students that purchased fish from restaurants (i.e., sushi) and grocery stores to determine if mislabeling was occurring. They tested fish at restaurants and grocery stores in various cities by taking samples and placing them in alcohol vials, which were then DNA bar-coded to determine if species mislabeling was occurring.

Some of what they found: (1) White tuna (a name that refers to pale-fleshed tuna or Albacore tuna and Escolar, a species that must be prepared with caution) being mislabeled as Mozambique tilapia; and (2) red snapper (a species that is overfished and commonly mislabeled) being labeled as Acadian redfish (Sebastes fasciatus, a deeper water species that is considered endangered by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species) or Nile perch (a large, introduced, freshwater species that has become invasive and threatens fish endemic to various African lakes with extinction).

Certainly, customers should be getting what they pay for or want. For example, if I am choosing a more sustainable alternative, then I want the eco-friendly option. The group found that a significant percentage of sushi is being mislabeled, and this mislabeling doesn’t appear to be just mere confusion of market names but completely different species are intentionally being advertised or sold as something different.

I wonder how much of this bait and switch is occurring during distribution or by the restaurants themselves. Most likely, the sushi chefs know what they are preparing, so in some cases the restaurants are most likely being deceptive, which is disappointing for the consumer and activists who care about sustainable fisheries. Furthermore, overfished species are often mislabeled.  Certainly, the situation can leave some individuals cynical about efforts to make fisheries more sustainable. From the Seattle Post Intelligencer:

“Three hundred dollars’ worth of meals later, the young researchers had their data back from Guelph: 2 of the 4 restaurants and 6 of the 10 grocery stores had sold mislabeled fish,” the New York Times reported.

“A piece of sushi sold as the luxury treat white tuna turned out to be Mozambique tilapia, a much cheaper fish that is often raised by farming. Roe supposedly from flying fish was actually from smelt. Seven of nine samples that were called red snapper were mislabeled, and they turned out to be anything from Atlantic cod to Acadian redfish, an endangered species,” wrote Times reporter John Schwartz.

.       .       .

Also, before they start attacking their favorite chef or fishmonger, they should remember that the scam to mislabel inexpensive or lower quality fish could happen anywhere along the long food supply line. Although, I’d like to think our food professionals were a bit more attentive to what they serve.

And from The Canadian Press, Ont.:

The students say authorities should use DNA “bar-coding” technology to protect consumers from fraud and ensure endangered species aren’t sold illegally.
Guelph researcher Robert Hanner says people with allergies to certain species could face danger if they eat mislabelled fish.

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Photo source for attribution. The author or licensor of this image does not endorse my work or me and their image is protected under an attribution license.

The New Republic highlights the market-based system for fisheries management, which is already in use around the world. Market-based tools can alleviate problems associated with open-access management, derby style fishing, and the safety issues that arise from being able to fish only during certain times of the year.

The most popular method of market-based fisheries management is through the individual transferable quota (ITQ) system. Under the ITQ system, fishers are given quotas. Depending on the ITQ management scheme, there may be time constraints to when the quotas may be used, and the quotas can be traded, shared, or sold. Certainly, the ITQ system promotes efficiency in fisheries management.

The system works well for single-species management, but can be trickier when employed for multi-species management. Furthermore, regulation is still needed because people cheat, and fishers have been caught cheating. As a result, these market-based systems cannot stand alone, but they can add efficiency to fisheries management. From The Vine: The New Republic’s environment and energy blog

These regulations are a good example of the most common—and most inefficient—strategy for preventing commercial overfishing: making it harder to fish. Sometimes this takes the form of equipment restrictions—say, a requirement to use smaller nets. Sometimes it takes the form of a shortened fishing season. Either way, it doesn’t work. Commercial fishing boats that are forced to use smaller nets will generally just stay out longer, burning more fuel and taking up more crew time but coming back with the same amount of fish. A shortened fishing season just motivates fishermen to fish more intensely while they can—buying bigger, more powerful boats so they can get to the fishing grounds more quickly and catch more fish once they get there. This arms race—which often results in further reductions to the fishing season that, in turn, leave the powerful new boats sitting in port—benefits nobody.

On the Net: A Model of the Market for ITQ in Australia’s Multi-species South East Fishery

AIR POLLUTION: Aérophile´s balloon turns different colors depending on the air pollution levels, as registered by the air quality organization Airparif.

AMERICAN CONSUMPTION OF NATURAL RESOURCES: Biggest drop in U.S. oil demand in 26 years

ANTARCTIC MELTING: Antarctic ice shelf breaking up in dead of winter: Experts surprised that cold hasn’t frozen trend, now expect quicker demise

BIODEGRADABLE: Green Earth Technologies, creator of organic engine products, has released their new automotive lubricant to its G-Oil line, a 10W-30 that has set a new biodegradability standard

CATTLE GRAZING: Federal rangeland managers said continuing to allow cattle to graze on the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument is harming the rare plants, fish and wildlife the monument was created eight years ago to protect

CHINA: Plight of the Little Emperors: Coddled from infancy and raised to be academic machines, China’s only children expect the world. Now they’re buckling under the pressure of their parents’ deferred dreams.

CLIMATE CHANGE: Cattails could be agents of climate change (The good kind)

CRYPTOZOOLOGY: Vampire hound caught on film?, Farmers claim they have seen the “Dracula dogs” sink their teeth into the necks of terrified livestock

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Mitsubishi’s Electric Car Will Be Released in 2009 for $37,500

ENERGY: Honolulu to air condition buildings with seawater, $21 billion Alaska energy plan proposed: RENEWABLE AND ALTERNATIVE: Inclusion of coal in projects leaves some lawmakers less than happy, Utah four day work week environmentally friendly

ENERGY MIX OF THE FUTURE; SOLAR: How a giant solar tower could power the future

EXTINCTION: Wildlife extinction rates ’seriously underestimated’

FISHERIES: Groups deliver 150,000 comments to Bush Administration calling for withdrawal of proposed rule that would undercut environmental review, stifle public input in oceans & fisheries management, Ocean fisheries protections to be weakened: Bush plan would give industry greater power over fishery management decisions, Since the Parties to the Nauru Agreement signed a Third Implementing Arrangement which among other measures include restricting fishing in the high seas and 100% observer coverage of purse seine vessels, there has been a lot of talk in the media about a new wave in regional fisheries management., Three crew members of the trawler Atria: accused of fish dumping, and the master is accused of failing to record catch correctly

FISHERIES OBSERVER: Fisheries program graduates its first two observers

FUEL ECONOMY: Teen drives on one tank of gas for entire summer

GENETICALLY MODIFIED FOODS AND ORGANISMS: Prince Charles warns GM crops risk causing the biggest-ever environmental disaster

GEOTHERMAL ENERGY: Geothermal energy will help power Anaheim, California

GLOBAL WARMING: Schwarzenegger confirms link between global warming and wildfires, hits Bush for not believing the science

GREEN: The world’s first eco-disco, Surya, opens for business, Using carbon dioxide as an ingredient in plastics could help reduce the use of fossil fuels, and be another market for waste CO2.

GREENWASHING: Nice jugs part 2: Green packaging or greenwashing

NEW SPECIES: 21 new species of livebearing fish named, British scientists have found new species of oral cavity bacteria which contribute to various mouth problems such as tooth decay, Bird species result of climate change?: A group of scientists are scratching their heads this week as they try to figure out how a new species of bird came to be, way up in the mountains of Vermont

OFFSHORE DRILLING: Navy opposes VA offshore drilling. Period. End of debate., Pelosi indicates openness to offshore drilling vote

OPEC: Opec income hits record as oil prices soar

ORGANIC MARKET: A capitalist dream: Company designs and maintains organic garden in your backyard

PLASTIC BAGS; STYROFOAM: Seattle’s ban on plastic and styrofoam

PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION: Levitating train from L.A. to Las Vegas gets boost: Bush signs law freeing dollars for levitating train from Disneyland to Las Vegas

SALMON: NORWAY: Farmed salmon in hot water

SCIENCE: Science close to unveiling invisible man, A new BBC series makes use of satellite technology to create stunning images of Britain from above, you can also see how everything has become so traceable with the use of GPS technology, Amateur astronomer spies gassy “cosmic ghost”, Bionic bra: Victoria’s circuit: Looking for a better way to charge her iPod on the go, Adrienne So had an idea – could she invent a bionic bra to harness the energy of her bouncing breasts?

SOLAR: New, cost effective solar energy devices from MIT, GM to build world’s biggest rooftop solar station in Spain: US automaker General Motors said Tuesday it will equip the roof of its factory in Zaragoza in northeastern Spain with solar panels to create the world’s largest rooftop source of power from the sun, 90% of Israeli homes solar hot water equipped, Hawaii first state to require solar water heaters, Solar energy creating economic boom for Nevada, U.S. allowing new solar again, Times Square gets solar-powered billboard, India launches climate change plan focusing on solar power, Community solar power, Dyeing to boost solar efficiency by 50%: MIT has perfected a dye technology that could change the solar world as we know it

SUBURBIA: What is the future of suburbia? A freakonomics quorum

UPWARD MIGRATION: Pacific species set to invade warmer Arctic, Atlantic waters

WAVE POWER: Giant rubber snakes to capture wave power?

WHALING: Japan says we are witnessing the death of the International Whaling Commission

WIND POWER: Village of Mackinaw City wind turbine generators: They went on line the day of the ribbon cutting, December 3rd, 2001. In their first 4 days of operation they produced enough energy to power 9 homes for a year. As of the Fall of 2003 they produced over 4,000,000 kWh of energy.

This project has received many positive comments from residents and visitors alike. The residents voice their pride in being part of such a project that brings renewable energy to the region. The visitors are impressed with the way they look. Some go so far as to call them kinetic sculptures., Argentina will produce massive wind power turbines, While U.S. off-shore wind industry struggles, Germany announces 30 new wind farms: European nation sets ambitious renewable energy goals, Debate flares over wind power in Texas

AL GORE: Al Gore places infant son in rocket to escape dying planet

ARCTIC MELTING: Robot planes getting bird’s eye view of shrinking Greenland Ice Sheet

AUTO INDUSTRY: Going small: A smart experience: With $4-a-gallon gas and waiting lines nine months long, the Smart Fortwo is becoming the car for informed Americans wanting to make a statement, The Cars.com true mileage index

BIG OIL: Big Oil’s biggest quarter ever: $51.5B in all

CARBON TAX: South Africa pushes climate change plan: Ambitious proposal includes carbon tax

CHINA: China fails to keep promises it made to win Olympic game

ECOSYSTEM IMBALANCE: Jellyfish invasion bothering beachgoers: The stinging creatures showing up on sand and in water in unusually high numbers

ECOSYSTEM SERVICES: Incredible fish armor could suit soldiers

ENERGY CONSERVATION: Energy conservation: Starting at home, Maryland residents asked to cut energy use

E-WASTE: Electronic e-waste to be e-cycled: How to greenly recycle your gadgets

FISHERIES: Killer herpes decimates young French oysters

GREENWASHING: Insidious Examples Of Greenwashing

HUMAN-WILDLIFE CONFLICT: Pelican vs. trout: Who wins in Idaho?

HYBRID TECHNOLOGY: Things go better with Coca-Cola hybrids

MARINE MAMMALS: Belugas troubled by tourism?

NEGLECTED DISEASES: Nigeria’s neglected diseases: Making the case to fight schistosomiasis

NEW SPECIES: Aptostichus stephencolberti: Stephen Colbert gets a spider named after him, Dolphin find may make marine history: A DIMINUTIVE dolphin called “Snubby” may make history in marine science if DNA samples taken this week from animals off the northwest Kimberley coast prove they are the world’s newest dolphin species or sub-species, New catfish species found, Crew films rare species of dolphin:
A camera crew has filmed a rare species of dolphin that has only been known to scientists for three years near Broome, Western Australia

OFFSHORE DRILLING: Drilling is up, prices are up, Bush rips Democrats for opposing offshore drilling

SCIENCE: ‘Gravity tractor’ could deflect asteroids

SHARKS: Blue sharks beat the odds, by tasting bad, Shark avoids suffocation by turning off electricity

SOCIAL ISSUES: Attenborough alarmed as children are left flummoxed by test on the natural world

SOLAR: Utah’s solar fired furnace to power California for less than the cost of coal or gas

WIND POWER: World’s largest wind farm planned in Oregon

AIR POLLUTION: Beijing smog awful: Dutch coach

ALTERNATIVE FUELS: Power from poop: Putting manure to use, From garbage to gas tank: Trash as biofuel

ATLANTIC HURRICANE SEASON: Tarantulas, fire ants lurk in Texas floodwaters, Power outages widespread in Texas after Dolly

AUTO INDUSTRY: New markets spur Honda to record quarter: Honda reports record fiscal 1Q profit as demand in new markets offsets currency damage

BIOFUELS: Chemical breakthrough turns sawdust into biofuel

CETACEANS: North Shore residents want whale carcass off their property, Whale playground sheds light on melting Arctic

CHINESE CONSUMPTION OF NATURAL RESOURCES: China’s cars, accelerating a global demand for fuel

CLIMATE CHANGE: Bush cronies tried to redefine ‘carbon dioxide’ to save power plants from emissions regulations

DEFORESTATION: Half the Amazon rainforest to be Lost by 2030

FISHERIES: Coast Guard ends search for missing fishing-boat captain, Point Judith memorial to honor Rhode Island fishermen lost at sea, Mexico risks losing mangroves, fisheries

FOOD INDUSTRY: Schwarzenegger Terminates Trans Fat in Calif.

GREEN: Direct mail tries to go green. No, really.

INVASIVE SPECIES: New research seeks methods to kill alien species, Foreign shellfish on ‘pest’ list

OCEAN DEAD ZONES: Gulf dead zone grows bigger than ever

OIL: Debate on oil speculators hits new pitch, How lower oil prices might increase demand

PLASTIC BAGS: No plastic bags in LA stores beginning July 2010

REEL BIG FISH: Giant river stingrays found

SEA TURTLES: Global warming forces innovative sea turtle protection

SHARKS: Sharks feed on whale carcass, Swimming with whale sharks, a reality near Cancun, Aquarium abuses whale sharks, Shark count to begin off Cornwall coast

WILDFIRES: Yosemite Park wildfire rages out of control

WIND POWER: Homeowners living near windfarms see property values plummet: Thousands of homeowners may see the value of their properties plummet after a UK court ruled that living near a wind farm decreases house prices, U.S. takes global lead in wind energy production, World’s largest offshore wind farm back on track

WTF?: Piglet born with monkey’s face

A giant 22-pound lobster that may be 100-years-old was saved from being boiled and consumed by gluttonous humans. The lobster was affectionately named Dee-Dee. A group offered $5,000 to serve the lobster at a banquet, but the New Brunswick fish store that was auctioning the giant crustacean had a change of heart and donated the lobster to the Huntsman Marine Science Centre.

Why someone wants to eat a 100-year-old lobster baffles me. Smaller lobsters of legal size taste much better than larger older lobsters. That was one of two secretes I learned from fishers about lobsters while working as a fisheries observer. The second secret was the best way to eat lobster: Chop the meat in chunks, bread the chunks with a good seafood breader like House-Autry Mills, and then lightly deep-fry the breaded chunks.

I have eaten both boiled lobster and deep-fried breaded lobster. The lobster flavor is much stronger in deep-fried breaded lobster than boiled lobster. Certainly, it’s a preference, and some folks may think frying lobster is sacrilegious. The fisherman who shared his lobster cooking guidelines is from the North Carolina/Virginia area. He married a girl from Maine. He told me of a risky move he made upon meeting her parents. He took the sacred Maine custom of cooking lobster and prepared a batch of deep-fried breaded lobster. He claimed the deep-fried breaded lobster was a success amongst the Mainers. From CTV.ca:

The store owner, Denis Breau, said he accepted a $1,000 bid from Vancouver resident Laura-Leah Shaw to save the lobster, despite receiving a $5,000 bid from an Ontario group that wanted Dee-Dee for a banquet.

“Some of my regular customers were starting to tell me I should release him in the water,” Breau told CTV Atlantic of the reason for his decision.

Dee-Dee will go to a conservation group’s aquarium, because releasing him back to the sea would probably be fatal.

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Conservationists hope that Dee-Dee’s case sparks enough interest for the creation of a lobster sanctuary in New Brunswick.

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IMAGE: The top image shows the new species of migratory manta ray and the bottom image shows the resident species of manta ray

Manta rays (Manta birostris) are giant cartilaginous filter feeders of the order Rajiformes, which includes skates and many other species of rays. They are the largest of all ray species and are often associated with pelagic or coral reef waters (oceanodromous or residents of reefs). Giant manta rays are distributed worldwide and remain a scientific mystery. Certainly, there are more species to be discovered, and many believe that more species exist.

A marine study in Mozambique by Andrea Marshall aims to gather more information on giant manta rays. She is a PhD marine biologist sponsored by the Save Our Seas Foundation (SOSF). Recently, Andrea’s work has revealed a new species of manta ray through genetic and morphological studies.

The SOSF study has also observed reproductive behavior. Giant manta rays have a very low, minimum population doubling time, so the large marine animals are vulnerable to overfishing since they “are now known to give birth to a single large offspring about 1.4m in size after a year of gestation and, once reaching maturity at about 4m across, typically produce a pup every other year.” Modern fishing pressure may influence how large these rays can grow, since recent research on whale sharks shows that because “humans have over-exploited the whale shark — the world’s largest living fish — to such a degree that the ocean giants are actually shrinking in size.”  Giant manta rays are often bycatch in the industrial tuna fisheries as well. From the Telegraph.co.uk, United Kingdom:

The manta now confirmed as a distinct species is the larger of the two and shys away from divers rather than seeking interaction.

Little is known about its lifestyle or migration patterns and Marshall has only ever witnessed it arriving at sea-mounts or at particularly productive areas along a coastline to feed on plankton before disappearing back into the deep ocean.

Although both species are harmless the larger, migratory manta has retained the presence of a non-functioning sting in its tail.

Other differences between the two species lie in colour, skin texture and reproductive biology. The smaller of the two species is not migratory and is often encountered at coral reefs where they congregate to be cleaned by parasite-eating fish in locations such as Hawaii, the Maldives, Mozambique, Australia, Japan and the Island of Yap.

The more commonly known ray resides in the same areas year round making it particularly susceptible to fishing pressure. If resident rays continue to be fished unsustainably they face localised extinction.

The larger rays, migrants and ocean wanderers which makes conservation management difficult, are fished heavily particularly in southeast Asia, and thousands are killed each year.

Many fall victim to ghost nets and are killed alongside other marine creatures as by-catch. Rays are also threatened by habitat degradation, boat traffic and disturbance by divers.

This old image illustrates the size that giant manta rays can reach. This particular specimen was caught of the coast of New Jersey:

This is an image from one of my presentations on trawl fisheries when I worked for NOAA/NMFS. I cannot remember where I found the image (it may be a Greenpeace image), but it shows a manta ray as bycatch amongst some type of Scombridae species, possibly skipjack tuna. Note the Leatherback sea turtle (Dermochelys coriacea) in the background too.

On the Net: Save Our Seas Foundation - Manta Rays, Mozambique
On the Net: The American Elasmobranch Society

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Image Found Here

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I have some terrible news from the Atlantic coast. Two fishermen – Rayford Carr 50, and Anthony Hendrickson, 22 – were pulled from the ocean after the fishing vessel (F/V) Sea Breeze sank off the coast of New Jersey. However, Philip Ruhle, Sr., 58 is still missing. According to one report, the 80-foot fishing boat capsized and sank about 45 miles east of Atlantic City, New Jersey. The F/V Sea Breeze was targeting squid, and apparently the boat was too heavy with catch and riding too low before the weather picked up and the boat capsized. Fishing vessels store squid with some saltwater to maintain freshness and marketability of the product, so the boat was no doubt loaded down well.

The information that I provide next comes from a videotaped interview courtesy of the U.S. Coast Guard with rescued crewmember Rayford Carr. According to Carr, the crew was steaming in with a 100,000 pounds of squid in calm weather. However, a breeze picked up, and water began entering the boat. At one point according to Carr, the boat was at a 45-degree angle as Captain Ruhle tried to right the boat. As the boat sat at that angle, the outrigger was far in the water, and as Captain Ruhle attempted to right the boat, it capsized. Afterwards, both rescued men climbed on top of the boat, and the Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacons or EPIRB alerted the Coast Guard. The incident happened so quickly that Captain Ruhle did not have time to call for help. Carr said that he is done with fishing. The first thing he did when he got home was hug his wife. There was no fisheries observer on board the F/V Sea Breeze.

Philip Ruhle, Sr. was a leader and important member of the fishing community. The F/V Sea Breeze, Philip Ruhle, Sr., Rayford Carr in addition to other crew members have provided their time to make fisheries sustainable by participating in cooperative research. Such work, has included bycatch reduction projects and improving efficiency by increasing the catch of target species through testing improved fishing nets such as the eliminator trawl. During May 2003, Captain Ruhle was recognized as an environmental hero by receiving the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Environmental Hero Award. According to NOAA, “During a time when there was little support for cooperative research between industry and the agency to test and document trawl performance, Ruhle stepped forward and worked cooperatively with the scientists and crew of the NOAA R/V Albatross IV.” My heart and prayers go out to the family of Philip Ruhle, Sr. and the survivors. From pressofAtlanticCity.com:

Rescued were Rayford Carr, 50, and Anthony Hendrickson, 22.

The Coast Guard received a signal from an electronic position indicating radio beacon, an emergency device used to signal distress, at approximately 10 p.m. Wednesday from the fishing boat Sea Breeze, homeported in North Kingstown, R.I., with three people aboard.

Two helicopter rescue crews from Coast Guard Air Station Atlantic City, N.J., arrived on scene and hoisted two of the fisherman from the water as the boat sank.

It was reported the captain was still aboard the boat when it sank.

On the Net: F/V Sea Breeze Homepage
On the Net: Bycatch days may be bygone with creation of ‘Eliminator’ trawl
On the Net: Big Holes in Researcher’s Nets Could Boost Haddock Catch
On the Net: BYCATCH REDUCTION IN THE DIRECTED HADDOCK BOTTOM TRAWL FISHERY

From YouTube:

An interview with Rayford Carr, a survivor from the Sea Breeze, an 80-foot fishing boat from Rhode Island that capsized and sank 45 miles off the coast of Atlantic City, N.J., July 24, 2008.
(Provided by the U.S. Coast Guard)

AIRLINE INDUSTRY: British PM blasts polluting ‘ghost’ flights: British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said Wednesday that airlines flying empty planes simply to maintain valuable airport slots were “unacceptable” due to their environmental impact.

ANIMAL WELFARE: Trend alert: Pill-popping pets, 16 stingrays in Brookfield Zoo exhibit killed: Water in fish tank gets too hot for them to handle, Bunny beheadings: Over 40 rabbits have been have been mysteriously murdered since last summer in the Ruhr district of Germany

ARCTIC DRILLING: Interior Dept. Opens 2.6 Million Alaskan Acres for Oil Exploration

ASSISTED COLONIZATION; ASSISTED MIGRATION: Should we move species to save them?

CAPE WIND: Cape Wind: The legal challenges

CLIMATE CHANGE: Some thoughts on testifying in front of Congress, Something strange is happening at the coldest, driest place on Earth

CONSTITUTIONAL HEALTH: Al-Marri and the power to imprison U.S. citizens without charges, The political establishment and telecom immunity — why it matters, Suing George W. Bush: A bizarre and troubling tale: U.S. officials went to extremes to stifle our legal challenge to Bush’s warrantless surveillance — but a federal judge says the program is criminal, anyway.

DEVELOPMENT; POPULATION GROWTH: Growing pains in the land of Bollywood

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Electric cars take over: 17 electric cars you must know about

ENERGY MIX OF THE FUTURE; CLIMATE CHANGE; AL GORE: A generational challenge to repower America: This speech was given today at the D.A.R. Constitutional Hall, Mr. Gore, how do you feel about 90 percent?: Blogosphere responds reservedly to Gore’s call for 100 percent renewable electricity in 10

ENDANGERED SPECIES: Delta smelt moves towards endangered status as ecosystem collapses

ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY: Schwarzenegger criticizes Bush White House on environmental policy, Cheney wanted to delete major parts of environmental testimony

EXTINCTION: Evolution & extinction

FISHERIES: Big old fat fecund female fish: The BOFFFF hypothesis and what it means for MPAs and fisheries management

GLOBAL WARMING: Global warming sends Russian researchers fleeing

HIV/AIDS: Senate agrees to triple anti-AIDS funding

HYBRID TECHNOLOGY: Overworked hybrid engineer dies

HYBRIDS: Grizzly-polar bear hybrid found: But what does it mean?

NATURE: Eight new natural wonders inscribed on World Heritage List

NEW SPECIES: New primate species discovered on Madagascar: Number of known mouse lemur species increases to 16

NONRENEWABLE RESOURCES: Reflections: The death of gallium

NUCLEAR ENERGY: Do nukes have a bright future? Maybe not.

OCEAN DEAD ZONES: NOAA and Louisiana scientists predict largest Gulf of Mexico “dead zone” on record this summer: Mississippi River flooding is major contributor to size of this year’s dead zone

OFFSHORE DRILLING: Bush lifts oil drilling ban, wants Congress to act, The Santa Barbara oil spill of 1969: A lesson in offshore drilling, Naomi Klein debunks Bush’s offshore drilling plan

OIL: New Iranian oil field discovered, ‘Two oil men’ to blame for high gas prices, Pelosi says

OPINION: Let’s get rid of Darwinism

SCIENCE: Humans and machines will merge in future, Flatfish fossils fill evolutionary gap, ‘Missing link’ flatfish has eye that’s moved halfway across its head, Flatfish fossils fill in evolutionary missing link, Incredible pictures of Mars - and they look surprisingly like some parts of Earth

WALL-E: Will Cockroaches Inherit the Earth?: What Wall-E gets wrong about the apocalypse

WIND POWER: Deep-water turbines get Mass. congressional support , New Texas wind power project is massive

ZOOLOGICAL CONSERVATION: Selling SeaWorld, Busch Gardens: Could InBev do it if it wanted to?

ZOONOTIC DISEASES: Ebola-like virus returns to Europe after 40 years

The Mozambican government recently seized a Namibian ship containing tons of illegally fished shark parts. The seizure highlights the problem of foreign fishing vessels pirating the natural resources of other countries, and taking advantage of countries with insufficient monetary resources but rich natural resources. Countries such as Mozambique lack sufficient funding to enforce fisheries regulations or scientifically monitor their fisheries. According to Reuters South Africa, South Africa:

Noticias said fishing inspectors found 43 tonnes of sharks, four tonnes of shark fin, 1.8 tonnes of shark tail, 11.3 tonnes of shark liver and 20 tonnes of shark oil, all with an estimated value of $5 million on board the unlicensed ship.

Shark fins are an expensive delicacy in Asia, while shark liver and oil are used for medicinal purposes.

The Fisheries Ministry fined the ship’s owners $4.5 million, and confiscated the craft and all its contents, the paper said.

Illegal fishing is rife in Mozambique, which lacks the capacity to effectively monitor its high seas.

See more Shark Week on The Conservation Report

A commercial fisher netting in shallow Tuggerah Lake, Australia, claims to have netted a great white shark (Carcharodon carcharias), which may have been around 21-feet in length. The commercial fisher’s boat is 18-feet in length, and he claimed the shark was larger than his boat. He took the shark in nets “he had cast off Canton Beach, at the northern end of the lake.” Despite the fisher’s account, some shark experts strongly doubt the encounter.

However, great white sharks have been recorded swimming in shallow saltwater lagoons and ponds. In 2004, a “1,700-pound female shark” was found swimming in a salt pond on Naushon Island, which is located near Woods Hole, Massachusetts. The 14-foot female great white shark “swam in circles in a shallow area filled with smaller fish”, but the shark was eventually coaxed into deeper water. Additionally, Tuggerah Lake has been visited by great white sharks in the past. From The Central Coast Express Advocate:

It is the second great white found in Tuggerah Lake since 2005. It comes on top of three other shark sightings in the lakes system in as many years. Experts fear the great white may be trapped in the lake unable to reach the sea because The Entrance channel is too shallow.

But the channel has been open to the ocean since last year’s June long weekend storms and after recent king tides others, including senior NSW Fisheries staff, believe large sharks could come and go as they pleased.

Furthermore, in spite of the title from the TIME magazine article: “Attack of the Freshwater Shark?,” which highlights the recent Tuggerah Lake encounter, Tuggerah Lake is brackish, since both freshwater and saltwater flow into the coastal lagoon. Furthermore, it has been reported that the fluctuations of salinity influences the species composition of the lake. Freshwater shark attacks are most likely to occur from bull sharks (Carcharhinus leucas), because their physiology allows them to enter freshwater for some periods of time. From TIME:

It was around 4 degrees Celsius on the lake at 5.30 am on Wednesday, making it the coldest morning of the year in these parts. Wrapped in several layers of clothing, the fisherman was startled by splashing noises coming from underneath his craft, then alarmed by a recurring thudding sound, as though something were striking it. Having rushed to one side of the boat, he peered down to see a gigantic fish trapped in a net….

“He said it was bigger than his boat,” reported local Chief Inspector Tim Winmill. “He’s got an 18-ft. boat and he said it would have been 21 ft. (6.5 m.).” Winmill said police had no reason to doubt the fisherman’s story: he was known to local authorities as a responsible member of the industry. As a result, police have issued a warning to anyone using Tuggerah and two smaller, connected lakes to take extreme care. Though the water at this time of year is numbingly cold, it’s school holidays in New South Wales until the end of next week and some children won’t necessarily be deterred from swimming or other activities.

How would the ocean-going monster have gotten into a freshwater lagoon? Tuggerah Lake is connected to the Pacific Ocean through a tidal channel called The Entrance. It is 12 km long and 4 km. wide, with an average depth of 6-7 m, roughly 20 feet. “It’s not a big lake,” said Chief Inspector Winmill, “but it’s a bloody big shark — if it’s true.”

Some images from the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries of the 14-foot female great white shark found in a Cape Cod salt pond during 2004:

More images, videos, and press releases can be found at the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries.

See more Shark Week on The Conservation Report

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