Conservation & Environment

February 18, 2015 — For the first time, a fish has been removed from U.S. Endangered Species Act protection as federal officials declared on Tuesday that a tiny shimmering minnow found only in an Oregon valley was no longer in danger of extinction.

Millions of the two-inch (5-cm) fish, the Oregon chub, once swam in waters surrounding Western Oregon's Willamette River. But their numbers declined sharply over the past century as wetlands were drained for development and due to predation by nonnative fish like largemouth bass.

Fewer than 1,000 remained in just eight wetlands in 1993 when the chub gained protection under the Endangered Species Act. The fish was upgraded from "endangered" to "threatened" status in 2004, as populations began to rebound.

Today, more than 150,000 chubs are estimated in 80 sites along the river valley because of recovery efforts like restoring water flows, floodplain reconstruction and stocking in private ponds.

Read the full story at Reuters

February 13, 2015 — As part of a global wildlife-trafficking issue that is growing exponentially, 22 tiny baby turtles — likely destined for soup pots in China — were recently rescued and brought to a nursery at the SoundWaters Coastal Education Center, in Stamford, where they are being coddled and cared for after a harrowing, near-smuggling experience.

Last fall, 211 baby turtles that had been stuffed into boots —with little air and no room to move were confiscated from international smugglers in Alaska. In December, once they were stabilized, the turtles were shipped to new homes at SoundWaters and 13 other facilities across the U.S.

SoundWaters President Dr. Leigh Shemitz, says most smuggled wild animals face a disastrous end.

“This is one of those rare poaching cases with a very happy ending, and the journey isn’t over.,” she said.

She adds that the rescued terrapins cannot be released back into the wild, so SoundWaters is now their permanent home.

“Diamondback terrapins have a lifespan of up to 40 years, so Connecticut and New York residents can follow each chapter of this success story for decades to come,” Dr. Shemitz said. “Our terrapins, and our students, will grow together.”

Read the full story from the Easton Courier

February 13, 2015 — The following was released by NOAA:

NOAA Fisheries today has proposed to expand the designated critical habitat for endangered North Atlantic right whales in the northwestern Atlantic Ocean, including areas that will support calving and nursing.
 
The area, proposed in compliance with a court order, would expand the critical habitat to roughly 29,945 square nautical miles, and includes northeast feeding areas in the Gulf of Maine/Georges Bank region and calving grounds from southern North Carolina to northern Florida.

To get all the details, read our web story, press release or the signed proposed rule.

The comment period for the proposed rule will open upon publication of the rule in the Federal Register, which is expected next week. At that time, the public may submit comments, identified by the NOAA-NMFS-2014-0085, by either of the following methods:
 
– Electronic Submissions: Submit all electronic public comments via the Federal eRulemaking Portal.

– Mail: Assistant Regional Administrator, Protected Resources Division, NMFS, Greater Atlantic Regional Office, 55 Great Republic Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930.

For questions or additional information, please contact Jennifer Goebel at 978-281-9175 or email jennifer.goebel@noaa.gov

 

February 11, 2015 — Every night, a deadly event shadows oysters in what was widely thought to be a safe haven in the Chesapeake Bay.

Low oxygen “dead zones” caused by nutrient pollution show up every night in shallow waters near the shores of creeks and rivers, according to a new study released Wednesday by the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center.

Research shows dead zones plaguing waters as low as 20 feet, but little is known about their presence at night near the water’s edge, and their impact on oysters.

Oysters fight to breathe, and that struggle compromises their immune systems long enough to make them vulnerable to the attack of a second nemesis, a disease called dermo.

This troubling finding could be one of the reasons behind why small-scale — but pricey — efforts by Virginia and Maryland to restock the bay’s decimated oyster population failed in years past, marine scientists said, and why today’s larger-scale efforts to seed huge reefs with tens of thousands of young oysters could require a closer watch.

Read the full story from The Washington Post

 

February 12, 2015 — Deep under the cold, dark waters of the Chesapeake Bay, the answer to whether the decimated blue crab population can survive lies buried in mud.

Tens of millions of female crabs are scattered across the floor of the lower bay in southern Virginia, where the estuary pours into the Atlantic Ocean, waiting out winter for one of the most important events in their short lives. When spring comes, they will inch closer to the ocean with billions of eggs.

It’s a critical time because the blue crab population is reeling, facing some of the lowest numbers in history. Officials are desperately hoping that steps taken to protect females last year will allow the fishery to rebound from the edge of disaster. But those efforts are also mired in a debate over the best way to protect the crabs.

As females go, so go blue crabs. Last year, scientists estimated that there were only 68.5 million females old enough to spawn, far below the 215 million that officials say are needed to overcome natural threats such as predators and cold — and human threats such as commercial overfishing — without depleting the population. This year’s count is underway by Maryland and Virginia scientists at 1,500 locations.

The blue crab, Maryland’s state crustacean and a symbol of pride for the region as much as a resource, is more threatened now than at any time since biologists started to record numbers in the late 1940s. Both watermen and state officials are deeply worried about blue crabs’ future. Sixty years ago, the Chesapeake Bay yielded 75 percent of the crabs harvested in the United States; now the withered stock yields about 35 percent, according to a report by the Maryland’s natural resources department.

Read the full story from The Washington Post

 

February 12, 2015 — About eight million tonnes of shopping bags, bottles, food wrappers, toys and other plastic waste drifted into the world's oceans in a single year, says a new study that warns the amount could double over the next decade.

The unique research, published Thursday in the journal Science, suggests that between 4.8 million and 12.7 million tonnes of plastic entered the oceans in 2010 from people living within 50 kilometres of coastlines in 192 countries.

In the same year, those countries generated a total of 275 million tonnes of plastic waste, with much of it coming from mismanaged landfills and litter.

Kara Lavender Law, one of the report's authors, said she was stunned by the findings after determining that eight million tonnes is the equivalent of several shopping bags of plastic for every 30 centimetres of coastline.

"I've been out to sea and I've seen plastics in the middle of the open ocean, so I didn't think it was going to be a small number," she said in an interview from Portland, Maine. But, she said, the results were "pretty staggering."

The researchers found that countries with the highest populations, the largest amount of coastline and less developed waste management systems produced the most plastic garbage that was likely to blow into waterways.

Read the full story from The Hamilton Spectator

 

February 7, 2015 — Now, he thinks he can level the playing field a bit for environmentally minded fishermen and make a chunk of change himself, too.

The secret? Salmon-skin wallets and crab-shell shirts.

No, really.

Kasberg’s plan is to reuse and recycle discarded fish skins and turn them into leather—just like cow hide. Kasberg sees potential for fish-skin wallets, belts, and more.

But what about the smell? Nonexistent, Kasberg claims: The smelly fish oils are removed and replaced with vegetable oils during the tanning process.

“Smells more like cow leather than fish,” he said.

The Alaskan salmon samples he’s been testing are about as durable as cow leather, but the texture is more like snakeskin.

And those crab shirts? The fabric will feel softer yet will be heavier than your average cotton shirt. The textile is spun with chitosan, a natural compound found in crab shells that works as an antimicrobial barrier,reducing the smell from sweat. Some athletic wear on the market today already contains chitosan, but Kasberg says he’s working on a textile mixture with a much higher percentage of chitosan that won’t wash out of the clothing.

Dubbed Tidal Vision, Kasberg’s company is still in the prelaunch phase, but he’s hoping to unveil his first product line by summer.

Read the full story here

February 11, 2015 — The Pacific herring—an oily, silvery, schooling fish—is rarely high on the list of marine animals people fret about.

But for the second straight year, the Canadian government has ignited a skirmish in British Columbia by moving to let fishing nets scoop up spawning herring, despite objections from scientists, Native people, and even commercial fishing groups.

"Last year it almost got to a war—locals were geared up to block fishing boats in port," said Tony Pitcher, a fisheries scientist with the University of British Columbia. "There were more police on the dock than there were local people."

This unusual battle is part of a global debate about the future of some of the oceans' most important fish: the abundant schools of sardines, squid, smelt, anchovies, and herring that serve as forage for larger animals in the sea.

Scientists like Pitcher argue that too few governments take into account the essential role these forage fish play in marine systems before deciding how many of them can be caught.

Herring, in particular, are energy-rich creatures that often swim close to shore and provide nutritious meals for everything from pelicans and sea ducks to humpback whales, sea lions, sharks, larger fish, and even bears.

Read the full story at National Geographic

February 12, 2015 — Commercial herring fishermen are concerned about the explosion of the sea lion population and the effect it could have on herring stocks.

The sea lion feeding frenzy was filmed in December at a herring fishery near Qualicum Beach.

Fishermen say the sea lions have now figured out how to get into the herring nets, get the fish and in many cases, chase the fish out of the nets to eat them.

“Every night it gets progressively worse,” said Neil Jensen, an Okanagan-based fisherman.

Read the full story and watch the video from Global News

 

February 9, 2015 — A council that sets regulations for fishing off the mid-Atlantic coast will meet on Wednesday to consider protections for little known and fragile ecosystems of deep sea corals in and around 15 ocean sites.

Environmental groups and sport fishermen are pushing for protection of these canyons and other sites, which run from Block Canyon off New York to Norfolk Canyon off Virginia, from squid fishing. They also are lobbying for other restrictions on fishing in a much broader zone.

The squid-fishing industry is opposed to the broader restrictions and has proposed further study and more limited boundaries on four of the canyons, as well as further discussion on the other canyons.

Some of the corals could also be affected by oil and gas drilling in the Atlantic, after President Obama said last month that he would open up the region to oil and gas leases. However, different agencies are involved in that process.

The canyons are distributed from New York to Virginia, while the drilling leases would be granted from Virginia on south, an area that would include Norfolk Canyon, and perhaps part of another.

Read the full story at the New York Times